When in...Weybridge
RHS Wisley, image via Visit Surrey
RHS Wisley, image via Visit Surrey
Crockford Bridge Farm, image by Nik Aiman
When in...Weybridge
Though it’s just 30 minutes from the centre of London, Weybridge feels much more like a country town. It’s known for its pretty riverside setting (the National Trust has put together a five-mile walk along the River Wey that’ll take you from Thames Street in town and back again) and for the former racing circuit at Brooklands.
Our guide takes in Weybridge’s town centre (where you’ll find our store) as well as the area around it, from The Medicine Garden in nearby Cobham to RHS Wisley.
Hopefully, we’ll have included something to help turn your visit to us into a whole day out.
To do
It’s not often that you come across a National Trust property from the 20th century – The Homewood is one of the few. Built in the 1930s by the architect Patrick Gwynne, it’s a Modernist villa set in a woodland garden. You can only visit on one of the guided tours (which leave from nearby Claremont Landscape Garden), and it’s recommended that you book ahead. But the mid-century interiors are well worth it.
Though the Royal Horticultural Society is most famous for its shows (like the Chelsea Flower Show), it also has four gardens. Wisley is the main one, and where much of the RHS’ teaching and research takes place, but you can also visit it for yourself. It’s large – you’ll need most of the day to walk round it – from the Pinetum and Orchard to the Alpine Meadow and Glasshouse.
Back at the start of the 20th century, entrepreneur Hugh F. Locke King created Brooklands as the world’s first purpose-built racing track. It’s now a museum, where you can explore the motoring village and the track itself, as well as the aircraft factory, flight shed and stratosphere chamber – Brooklands also has a long history of aeroplane design and testing.
To eat
Not far from Weybridge, near the town of Leatherhead, is Beaverbrook – a country house hotel with a relaxed, eclectic style. It’s still on its way to completion, but you can eat in the main house’s Dining Room, which serves Japanese dishes, or the more informal Garden Kitchen, where the food is English meets Italian. Either way, everything’s local and seasonal, served in interiors designed by Nicola Harding and Susie Atkinson (who’s also worked with Soho House on their hotels).
Back in Weybridge, we have two favourite places to stop for coffee and cake. The first is Nikki’s Coffee House, with its contemporary-vintage interior, cosy atmosphere and breakfasts (which are the best in town). You’ll find them just a few minutes’ walk down the road from us.
Aromas is our other favourite cafe in town, this time just a hop across the road from Neptune Weybridge. Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food inspires their constantly-changing menu – stop by for salads and smoothies at lunch, or a late afternoon slice of cake (they’re open until 10pm on weekdays and Saturdays).
When it comes to supper, Sunday lunch, or just a few drinks with friends, you’ll find us at this pub. It has everything you’d want from a typical English inn – a real fire, cosy seating, and a dog-friendly atmosphere – as well as an open kitchen where all the food is made each day. The store team describe it as the best pub – and food – in Weybridge.
To shop
Valentina is an Italian restaurant, but we’ve included them as one of our favourite shops because of their deli. It’s unsurprising that they describe themselves as ‘where the Italians eat and shop’, because they’ve filled their shelves with food and drink from across Italy – think pasta, cheese, antipasti and wine.
You can visit this farm just outside Weybridge to pick your own fruit and vegetables from May to September. Much more than just strawberries, they have asparagus, rhubarb, runner beans and blackcurrants to name a few – check their website to see what’s in season before you visit. The rest of the year, you can still stop by for their farm shop and butchers.
Once the kitchen garden for Cobham Park, this walled garden is now a space dedicated to wellbeing, with the garden itself, a treatment room, and regular classes in yoga, Pilates and tai chi. In the courtyard next door, you’ll also find a collection of small shops, including spaces run by makers and craftspeople.
