Woking

[worried1]

plenty city boys on the k3 at 6 or 7am going to surbiton. , yeah the esher one is faster but like you say middle of nowhere. easier to get off at surbiton and get the bus for me anyway

15mins from surbiton

That surprises me. It might only be 15 minutes from Surbiton, but the full journey from home to Waterloo must be 45 minutes minimum and a bit of hassle? (5 mins to bus stop, 5 mins waiting, 15 mins bus, 5 mins to get on train, 15 mins train). Even then if the bus is a couple of minutes late you could be into another 10 minutes at Surbiton station.

Surely it is quicker and easier to get the 40 minute rattler up from Claygate? At least then you are only relying on SWT running right rather than both SWT and TfL.

I'd hate that type of commute, but then I am a lazy commuter. I'd live in central London if I had worked harder at school.

I live about a 5 minute walk from Surbiton station, so the total commute time from home to Waterloo is under 25 minutes, but even that has taken an hour a couple of times this year already because of SWT. Then there is the onward journey from there...

Edited January 22, 2014 by worried1

[worried1]

It's a good deal quicker than Brighton, and certainly cheaper (both in terms of train, and more importantly, housing). (And there's a footpath leading to the station, so you don't have to go round on the road.)

It wouldn't suit me personally, as I am allergic to long commutes, but I agree this isn't too bad considering how far out it is. An easy one as well, an hour from front door to Waterloo with no changes. Presumably a seat as well.

The other thing is when you get down there, it does feel like the old English countryside, whereas the commuter towns just beyond the M25 don't have that at all - you either get rich vulgarity in places like the Chalfonts, Virginia Water et al, and jaded workstation slaves in some of the cheaper places.

Yep, you have got it spot on there. I love going for a meal at the Good Earth chinese restaurant in Esher from time to time but the constant braying from certain sections of the clientele is offputting to say the least.

Surely these areas further out are going to get like that as well if things keep going this way? I suppose it matters less as it is much less over-populated anyway.

And you are 15 minutes from the M25 here, which is better than could be said for many London suburbs.

Could be useful, but the train is the key one for most people. A very high % of the jobs that pay enough to secure this type of house are in central London and will be for the forseeable future, and I think that most people think about the journey they are going to be doing every day before anything else.

Having said that, if you look at the 'long commutes' thread on the main forum, it appears that a lot of people are prepared to sacrifice a lot of time commuting, so perhaps I am in the minority.

[longgone]

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/31695915?search_identifier=a3642086cb381d7412675fead45ed99e

any money in it ?

[iamnumerate]

True, but don't underestimate the power of snobbishness, especially in Surrey. People will pay a lot more to live in an area with cachet, even if the part they live in doesn't live up to the reputation.

As an extreme example, I know someone who moved to Farm Road in Esher. He loved the fact it was 'Esher' for a while, but moved out pretty quick when his car kept getting vandalised and he had a lot of other problems with the neighbours. The place was a zoo, but happened to be part of one of the poshest towns in the area.

At the other end of the scale, the nice roads between Surbiton and Long Ditton have some fantastic houses in the £1.5-£2.5m price range, but will never cost as much as the equivalent house would be worth in Esher or Cobham because people don't associate the overall area with homes of that type. Rich people like to stick together.

Not sure I agree about burglary, though. I have heard of incidences of a lot of the very high value areas being specifically targeted by gangs from London and beyond. They'd probably not bother with the very select pockets of Woking that they had not heard of.

I used to work in Woking, it was expensive then. It seemed to me very bad value for money compared to Orpington or Bromley which are cheaper, (arguably nice) and have better and cheaper train connections (SWT is really unreliable).

[worried1]

I used to work in Woking, it was expensive then. It seemed to me very bad value for money compared to Orpington or Bromley which are cheaper, (arguably nice) and have better and cheaper train connections (SWT is really unreliable).

Indeed, it all comes down to snobbery again, Surrey>Kent/London in a lot of people's eyes so they will pay a lot more for it.

Woking suffers from having one of the worst town centres in Surrey, but benefits from having definitely the best train link. There must only be a couple of other places where you can get from that far out into London in 25 minutes and that will always drive prices regardless of SWT unreliability.

Orpington and Bromley are definitely better value like for like. It is hard to say whether they are nicer per se because there are good and bad areas of both, but I'd say like for like they are at least 20% cheaper.

The trains are better too because they go into London Bridge, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Victoria etc rather than just Waterloo. Also quicker and cheaper than Woking trains, although they should be because it is under half the distance!

[bambam]

I used to work in Woking, it was expensive then. It seemed to me very bad value for money compared to Orpington or Bromley which are cheaper, (arguably nice) and have better and cheaper train connections (SWT is really unreliable).

I have no idea. When I was looking, I looked at fast trains outside of Zone 6. Looked at Hemel Hempstead (grim), St. Albans (up itself, but in a smug modern trendy sort of way), Sevenoaks (likewise, but older, 'didn't we do well?'), and then Woking seemed pretty attractive.

Moving from Zone 6 (Uxbridge), Z6 again wasn't on my radar, I wanted a fast train, though there are certainly some pockets of Z6 value around and about.

My son is going to go to Hampton School, so we need to live somewhere nearby (though the buses stretch quite a distance), but then we won't know where my daughter will go till about 2018 now, and there's a fair chance it could be in Guildford (three girls schools there), so we are stuck in Woking really, certainly other places around seem noticeably more expensive, or clearly inferior (e.g., Addlestone, which is the **** end of Weybridge, the train is very slow and the area feels pretty down-at-heel).

I did look at Staines, but I get the impression that it's worse than Woking in every respect, and no cheaper. But yeah, there are definitely some unfashionable suburbs of South London that are solid and good value.

[worried1]

I have no idea. When I was looking, I looked at fast trains outside of Zone 6. Looked at Hemel Hempstead (grim), St. Albans (up itself, but in a smug modern trendy sort of way), Sevenoaks (likewise, but older, 'didn't we do well?'), and then Woking seemed pretty attractive.

I can see what you are saying, but Sevenoaks is probably one I would consider in a few years time myself. The town centre loses the rawness of somewhere like Woking, but I don't think it is too snobby like Weybridge or Esher.

There is snobishness there without a doubt, but it seems like a 'proper town' with a 99p Store and Wetherspoons on the High Street besides all of the nice stuff. Ok, they would not be particular pulls for me personally, but they certainly make it seem a little less one dimensional than the Surrey equivalents, and a bit cheaper and better connected into the bargain.

[longgone]

I can see what you are saying, but Sevenoaks is probably one I would consider in a few years time myself. The town centre loses the rawness of somewhere like Woking, but I don't think it is too snobby like Weybridge or Esher.

There is snobishness there without a doubt, but it seems like a 'proper town' with a 99p Store and Wetherspoons on the High Street besides all of the nice stuff. Ok, they would not be particular pulls for me personally, but they certainly make it seem a little less one dimensional than the Surrey equivalents, and a bit cheaper and better connected into the bargain.

i spent a afternoon in sevenoaks , nice town but their idea of eateries is a joke, every single place was a chain restaurant not a family run place in sight .

[bambam]

I can see what you are saying, but Sevenoaks is probably one I would consider in a few years time myself. The town centre loses the rawness of somewhere like Woking, but I don't think it is too snobby like Weybridge or Esher.

There is snobishness there without a doubt, but it seems like a 'proper town' with a 99p Store and Wetherspoons on the High Street besides all of the nice stuff. Ok, they would not be particular pulls for me personally, but they certainly make it seem a little less one dimensional than the Surrey equivalents, and a bit cheaper and better connected into the bargain.

It wasn't cheaper than Woking when I looked.

Actually I don't see anything really wrong with Woking town. Ok the shops tend to be chains, and it's very ugly, but there is a decent choice of shops, and it's not actively nasty, like say Croydon.

The retail is doing better now, cf. earlier in this thread, M&S is coming back, a big new store, and there's a Pret and a Patisserie Valerie, not all that exciting perhaps, but positive indicators.

The only place worth eating in is So's Kitchen, though there's a number of independent Indian and Italian places that are reasonably cheap and cheerful, though none wonderful.

[worried1]

It wasn't cheaper than Woking when I looked.

Sorry, I mean't cheaper than Weybridge et al.

Actually I don't see anything really wrong with Woking town. Ok the shops tend to be chains, and it's very ugly, but there is a decent choice of shops, and it's not actively nasty, like say Croydon.

The retail is doing better now, cf. earlier in this thread, M&S is coming back, a big new store, and there's a Pret and a Patisserie Valerie, not all that exciting perhaps, but positive indicators.

The only place worth eating in is So's Kitchen, though there's a number of independent Indian and Italian places that are reasonably cheap and cheerful, though none wonderful.

I agree. Woking is like any large town now, you want to be near enough to use the facilities, but far enough away you are not involved in at all the time. Guildford is the best example of this, fantastic reputation but actually pretty bad at night and congested during the day.

[worried1]

i spent a afternoon in sevenoaks , nice town but their idea of eateries is a joke, every single place was a chain restaurant not a family run place in sight .

Agreed, but I can't think of many places that aren't like that now. Esher has got some good places, but it is only the Indian/Chinese places that don't seem to be chains, otherwise it is Pizza Express, Carluccios, Red Peppers etc. The same as anywhere else.

Outside of London you have to go a long way for anything approaching gourmet food. The only two I can think of off hand in this area are the French Table in Surbiton and Drakes in Ripley, and the latter is quite a long drive down the A3.

[bambam]

Agreed, but I can't think of many places that aren't like that now. Esher has got some good places, but it is only the Indian/Chinese places that don't seem to be chains, otherwise it is Pizza Express, Carluccios, Red Peppers etc. The same as anywhere else.

Outside of London you have to go a long way for anything approaching gourmet food. The only two I can think of off hand in this area are the French Table in Surbiton and Drakes in Ripley, and the latter is quite a long drive down the A3.

The Glasshouse in Kew.

[longgone]

Agreed, but I can't think of many places that aren't like that now. Esher has got some good places, but it is only the Indian/Chinese places that don't seem to be chains, otherwise it is Pizza Express, Carluccios, Red Peppers etc. The same as anywhere else.

Outside of London you have to go a long way for anything approaching gourmet food. The only two I can think of off hand in this area are the French Table in Surbiton and Drakes in Ripley, and the latter is quite a long drive down the A3.

i did try to find a nice indian in sevenoaks but there were none at all , every single one was a chain ended up in cote brasserie , rip off

£120 later for 3 people and i felt hungry coming out. should of had grill night in spoons £5.99 quality is about the same anyway.

Edited January 23, 2014 by longgone

[worried1]

i did try to find a nice indian in sevenoaks but there were none at all , every single one was a chain ended up in cote brasserie , rip off

£120 later for 3 people and i felt hungry coming out. should of had grill night in spoons £5.99 quality is about the same anyway.

The only good Indian I came across in Sevenoaks was called Spice Club at one end of the town. Not sure if it is still there, but I can't see any reason why not as it was good and had no real competition.

I used to be a fan of Cote when the Wardour Street one first opened, but as with a lot of these chains, it started going downhill when they got too many and just started treating them as 'units'. I have had an very average meal in the Esher one a while ago, and now they are opening yet another one in Kingston.

[longgone]

The only good Indian I came across in Sevenoaks was called Spice Club at one end of the town. Not sure if it is still there, but I can't see any reason why not as it was good and had no real competition.

I used to be a fan of Cote when the Wardour Street one first opened, but as with a lot of these chains, it started going downhill when they got too many and just started treating them as 'units'. I have had an very average meal in the Esher one a while ago, and now they are opening yet another one in Kingston.

had a couple of good meals in the esher one , they do a lunchtime special which was very god actually for £15 , not so good in the sevenoaks one when paying full price too.

[worried1]

had a couple of good meals in the esher one , they do a lunchtime special which was very god actually for £15 , not so good in the sevenoaks one when paying full price too.

All of these chain places rely on those special menus, tastecards and 50% off vouchers now. Their food very rarely lives up to the full menu price which they have to maintain so they can make the offers look good.

It obviously works, though, as they keep opening more branches...

[bambam]

The only good Indian I came across in Sevenoaks was called Spice Club at one end of the town. Not sure if it is still there, but I can't see any reason why not as it was good and had no real competition.

I used to be a fan of Cote when the Wardour Street one first opened, but as with a lot of these chains, it started going downhill when they got too many and just started treating them as 'units'. I have had an very average meal in the Esher one a while ago, and now they are opening yet another one in Kingston.

Not many decent restaurants around tbh. I have been to most places in Guildford and Woking, none of them are really worth the money or better than what I eat at home. Cote I was likewise impressed the first time I went there, but the second time you start to see through it. The menu at Jamies has been gone through by accountants to really screw the customers, price gouging on everything. They must make money hand over first.

Some of the chains are really dreadful, Cafe Rouge is the same food as in Yates or Wetherspoons, from the same factory, just a higher price. It's put together by minimum wage dinner ladies, basically - they don't have any chefs at all.

Ethnic places can be ok. This one is pretty good, in West Byfleet http://www.travancore-restaurant.com Though they don't know what they are doing on a Saturday night, and it's best avoided then, the service is quite bad. It replaced a nice Vietnamese place.

Strangely there's another restaurant serving the slightly esoteric brand of food (Kerala) just around the corner, towards the station. Not as good though.

I used to like Jaipur in Woking, but two of their chefs got deported and the food was never the same.

Edited January 23, 2014 by bambam

[longgone]

I used to like Jaipur in Woking, but two of their chefs got deported and the food was never the same.

red rose in surbiton is very good , does not look much from the outside but always busy in there , never had a bad meal yet.

[worried1]

Not many decent restaurants around tbh. I have been to most places in Guildford and Woking, none of them are really worth the money or better than what I eat at home. Cote I was likewise impressed the first time I went there, but the second time you start to see through it. The menu at Jamies has been gone through by accountants to really screw the customers, price gouging on everything. They must make money hand over first.

Yep, Jamies is another one that went downhill as the chain grew. I remember when the Kingston one opened, and I didn't go for about 6 months, because people were happy to queue for hours to get in there and I wasn't.

When I did eventually get in there, I enjoyed it and went a couple more times. I have not been recently, but everyone I have spoken to says it is very ordinry now, and still charging the same prices. Shows what a name will do...

I agree about the ethnic food places often being good. This is amongst by favourite types of food anyway, so I am happy enough.

I don't think that the prognosis for nice restaurants is very good to be honest. It is often impossible to get a seat in Pizza Express these days, and it is amazing how many people still find that quite high end just like they did 20 years ago.

Whilst people think like this, it must be very difficult for the independents to break in to the market, unless they really are excellent.

Is Enzo's Italian still in Woking? I seem to remember that being quite good a few years ago (probably 10 years ago now!)

[longgone]

. It is often impossible to get a seat in Pizza Express these days, and it is amazing how many people still find that quite high end just like they did 20 years ago.

you serious ? queuing up for overpriced frozen pizza

tai pan buffet place in kingston is good £7 eat as much as you like

Edited January 23, 2014 by longgone

[worried1]

you serious ? queuing up for overpriced frozen pizza

Not proper queues like Jamie' used to be (which I thought was ridiculous for a suburban restaurant), but you are often asked to 'come back in half an hour' at Pizza Express. Great for them when you consider the margins.

tai pan buffet place in kingston is good £7 eat as much as you like

Is that the one in the Rotunda centre? I tend to avoid that part of Kingston because of the sh**ty pubs and nightclubs, but might be worth a post-cinema visit if good.

[longgone]

Is that the one in the Rotunda centre? I tend to avoid that part of Kingston because of the sh**ty pubs and nightclubs, but might be worth a post-cinema visit if good.

yes that`s the one , food is very good for a buffet , same as any restaurant i have been too including the overpriced one`s in esher

[Doesn't Commute Anymore]

This is a good thread seeing a lot of action recently that I've enjoyed reading.

I'm quite new to Surrey, lived here just under a year. Initially rented for a while near Farnham and the Farnham-Waterloo commute (+add ons each side) were slowly killing me. Farnham nice but too far down too unreliable a train branch (Alton) for London several days a week even if its a refreshing country lifestyle to come home to. Farnham definitely has the non-chain stores, the type of town you could walk around the centre of in wellies (with your sheepdog in tow) and nobody would notice. But the town traffic again a nightmare. Also mildly too snobby.

Moved to a village near Woking, get on one stop before the Woking crowd come on in the morning, Commute bearable, perhaps even used to it now, with seat every morning. Nice fields and country air. Bit of an army feel with all the barracks etc, which is fine once the distant sounds of gunfire from the ranges and the odd army helicopter on the horizon are acclimatised to.

What to think of Woking? Well, I used to live in Milton Keynes, Northampton and Liverpool, so its clearly a step upwards.

That said, its a bit ugly a town centre, although useful in the sense that you can get what you need in town, unlike further towards the Surrey Hants border where none of Farnham / Aldershot / Camberley / Farnborough (strange place with no town design or organic growth) are useful in the sense they all lack critical mass with enough facilities to do several things in a visit.

I'm surprised how nice it turns in Woking - in several directions - once you get out the centre. Horsell etc. I'm also surprised how there is a high premium to the house price over many surrounding villages, even though the villages are as nice or nicer. i.e. Knaphill

At least Woking isn't Guildford which I dont understand the London house prices + valuations for. Sure, its quite nice to pop into for a trip out, and it has critical mass, but the sort of overpriced boutique shopping with fancy cafe culture that it offers to the middle classes aint my thing. And it offers standing room only commutes. Plus its a warzone of drunken revellers on Fri/Sat nights anywhere near the station, which quite rules out any pleasant trip to the town centre for a bite to eat with Mrs DCA. And its snob central.

Observations on Surrey : the most postcode-obsessed place in the country (only place I've heard people say where they live by quoting the first half of the postcode), I dont understand why places clearly in London urbanism like Kingston say they are part of the county of Surrey and how the hell do you people park your cars - the parking spaces in car parks are tiny (compared to up north) !!!!!!

[bambam]

Yep, Jamies is another one that went downhill as the chain grew. I remember when the Kingston one opened, and I didn't go for about 6 months, because people were happy to queue for hours to get in there and I wasn't.

When I did eventually get in there, I enjoyed it and went a couple more times. I have not been recently, but everyone I have spoken to says it is very ordinry now, and still charging the same prices. Shows what a name will do...

I agree about the ethnic food places often being good. This is amongst by favourite types of food anyway, so I am happy enough.

I don't think that the prognosis for nice restaurants is very good to be honest. It is often impossible to get a seat in Pizza Express these days, and it is amazing how many people still find that quite high end just like they did 20 years ago.

Whilst people think like this, it must be very difficult for the independents to break in to the market, unless they really are excellent.

Is Enzo's Italian still in Woking? I seem to remember that being quite good a few years ago (probably 10 years ago now!)

The little wine bar near Blockbuster? Yeah went there once, for lunch. I seem to remember them having a Vietnamese or Thai or something equally random as a special menu because they had a new chef.

Doesn't mention it now though. http://enzosbar.com/menu.html

Haven't been there since, didn't seem very child-friendly.

Restaurant business seems terrible to me, many open and close within 3 months. There's one particular spot under the Centrum buiding that must be on its fifth restaurant in as many years.

The chain model makes so much more sense, you make the food in a central factory, ship it out to 20 restaurants, and all they need to do there is assemble it.

My wife's a chef in a residential place, and where she works everything is cooked from scratch with individually created menus. When she's not cooking, people complain because it doesn't taste as good. While it's good for her sense of self-worth, it's not a good way to run a restaurant business. If you are going to open the place and cook in it yourself, then you are looking at 70 hours a week for years and working on all the nicest days of the yea, and if you are running a restaurant then you are at the mercy of your staff.

Cook-chill is so much more sensible as a business model.

Of course with the ethnic places they in many cases come from countries where simple establishments or street food offer the best flavours, and posh cutlery and fancy plates are just for rich snobs, and the added bonus is a willingness to work unreasonable hours as a matter of day-to-day life.

Actually there is a place in Woking that is doing quite well:

http://www.londonhouseoldwoking.co.uk

The chef was a Masterchef finalist or some such. I went there shortly after he opened, and he seemed to be trying very hard, and the food was pretty close to Drakes. He came out after the meal to ask us how it was, and honestly didn't dare to say anything we would improve, because he was clearly trying soooooooooo hard. Went back a couple of years later and got the impression he had burned out a bit, wasn't quite so impressive, more like Cote, didn't see him after the meal that time.

[bambam]

This is a good thread seeing a lot of action recently that I've enjoyed reading.

I'm quite new to Surrey, lived here just under a year. Initially rented for a while near Farnham and the Farnham-Waterloo commute (+add ons each side) were slowly killing me. Farnham nice but too far down too unreliable a train branch (Alton) for London several days a week even if its a refreshing country lifestyle to come home to. Farnham definitely has the non-chain stores, the type of town you could walk around the centre of in wellies (with your sheepdog in tow) and nobody would notice. But the town traffic again a nightmare. Also mildly too snobby.

Moved to a village near Woking, get on one stop before the Woking crowd come on in the morning, Commute bearable, perhaps even used to it now, with seat every morning. Nice fields and country air. Bit of an army feel with all the barracks etc, which is fine once the distant sounds of gunfire from the ranges and the odd army helicopter on the horizon are acclimatised to.

Brookwood/Deepcut?

That said, its a bit ugly a town centre, although useful in the sense that you can get what you need in town, unlike further towards the Surrey Hants border where none of Farnham / Aldershot / Camberley / Farnborough (strange place with no town design or organic growth) are useful in the sense they all lack critical mass with enough facilities to do several things in a visit.

The town centre at Camberley feels seriously chavvy. Quite a lot of shops though?

I'm surprised how nice it turns in Woking - in several directions - once you get out the centre. Horsell etc. I'm also surprised how there is a high premium to the house price over many surrounding villages, even though the villages are as nice or nicer. i.e. Knaphill

Well Knaphill is ok, but it doesn't officially have a train station, though Brookwood is a short bike ride if you don't mind the hill. Even so, I think the premium of being the first stop on the mainline over a quite unremarkable village. I'm not sure what the estate here is called:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Cubitt+Way,+Knaphill&hl=en&ll=51.314138,-0.615546&spn=0.006934,0.013078&sll=51.314943,-0.615513&sspn=0.006961,0.013078&oq=cubitt+&hnear=Cubitt+Way,+Knaphill,+Woking+GU21+2QJ,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=51.313828,-0.614379&panoid=dO_tj91GWiC4H1GL1iRKrg&cbp=12,2.95,,0,7.46

but it's quite a large part of the village, and a pretty generic sort of housing estate, and less than inspiring.

Worplesdon village is nicer, though it lacks much of anything, and the train station is in the middle of nowhere with there's no footpath so you get the interesting spectacle of people in suits walking in the middle of the road in the dark at 6:06pm when the train gets in.

Observations on Surrey : the most postcode-obsessed place in the country (only place I've heard people say where they live by quoting the first half of the postcode), I dont understand why places clearly in London urbanism like Kingston say they are part of the county of Surrey and how the hell do you people park your cars - the parking spaces in car parks are tiny (compared to up north) !!!!!!

Eh, I'm pretty sure people say they live in SW11 or whatever other hideously overpriced stabby part of London they live in.

Also this rather infamously happened http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2668561.stm

I'm not sure I could match all that many postcodes to places in Surrey. Would do a lot better with London, where postcodes really are vital.