Dorking

Dorking is a small market town in central Surrey, surrounded by the Surrey Hills. The town is surrounded on three sides by the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is close to Box Hill and Leith Hill.

History
Dorking appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as the Manor of Dorchinges. It was held by William the Conqueror, who had assumed the lordship in 1075 on the death of Edith of Wessex, widow of Edward the Confessor. A market at Dorking is first recorded in 1240. The town flourished in Tudor times and, in the 1590s, a market house was built between what is now St Martin's Walk and the White Horse Hotel.

In late 1914, Dorking became a garrison town. Empty houses were requisitioned and from January 1915 around 4000 troops were accommodated. Empty houses in the town also provided billets for soldiers during World War II and over 3000 school children were evacuated to the Dorking area in September 1939. Over the course of the war, 77 high-explosive bombs and 60 incendiaries were dropped by the Luftwaffe, however only one incident (in October 1940) resulted in fatalities in the town.

By car
Dorking is at the junction of the A24 (London to Worthing) and the A25 (Maidstone to Guildford) roads.

By train
Dorking has three railway stations near the town centre:

By bus
As of Dec 2020:

By bicycle
National Cycle Route 22 passes through the town centre, and the Surrey Cycleway runs to the east.

On foot
The Greensand Way, a 108-mi (174-km) long-distance footpath from Haslemere, Surrey to Hamstreet, Kent, passes through the south of Dorking. The route approaches the town centre from the east, passing over The Nower, then crossing the junction between South Street and Horsham Road. It climbs through the Glory Wood, before crossing Deepdene Terrace.

The North Downs Way, between Farnham and Dover, passes approximately 1,000 yd (1 km) to the north of Dorking. Dorking station is the southern terminus of the Mole Gap Trail, which starts at Leatherhead station.

See




Do

 * Football: Dorking Wanderers were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in National League South, the sixth tier. They're the successors to Dorking FC, which went bust in 2017. Their home ground is Meadowbank, capacity 3000, north side of town; by train get off at Dorking West.
 * Football: Dorking Wanderers were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in National League South, the sixth tier. They're the successors to Dorking FC, which went bust in 2017. Their home ground is Meadowbank, capacity 3000, north side of town; by train get off at Dorking West.
 * Football: Dorking Wanderers were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in National League South, the sixth tier. They're the successors to Dorking FC, which went bust in 2017. Their home ground is Meadowbank, capacity 3000, north side of town; by train get off at Dorking West.

Connect
As of June 2021, Dorking has 4G from all UK carriers. 5G has not yet reached town.

Go next

 * North to Leatherhead along the A24 over the Surrey Hills.
 * South to Horsham along the A24.
 * West to Guildford {{{mi|13}} along the A25.