Guildford is a town in Surrey, in South East England, and with its proximity to London, excellent train links, and location next to the Surrey Hills, it makes a great base for walks.
Whether you are a serious hiker, or just want something light and easy, Guildford will have it. From a gentle stroll along the River Wey, to big hill climbs with fantastic views. You can make your walk all about woodland, or mix it up for some variety.
How do I get to these walks?
All of the walks on this list start from Guildford itself, so you can just hop on a train to Guildford station and away you go. If you want to explore other walks nearby, you can read about the best walks in Surrey here. Some of the walks on this list from Guildford will be on there, plus lots of others.
Are these walks from Guildford easy to follow?
For each of these walks around Guildford, there is a link to the blog post with more detailed information about how to do it, including a map and lots of photos. My goal is to make them as easy to follow as possible. One of the walks follows a river, so that’s easy enough. The others require some navigation.
Best Walks From Guildford
1) Guildford to Newlands Corner and St Martha’s Hill – The one with the best views
Start/Finish: Guildford Distance: 11 miles Time: 4 hours Difficulty: Medium Type: Circular
This walk has a little bit of everything, and of all the walks I have done around Guildford, this is my favourite one. You have a river, some woodland, hill climbs, fantastic views across the Surrey Hills, and some war history.
This walk starts along the River Wey before heading uphill into Chantry Wood. Up there you will get a taste of the views to come later, before heading back down and through the Chilworth Gunpowder mills. You will then head back uphill to Newlands Corner for a fantastic view across the Surrey Hills. Newlands Corner is a great spot for star gazing, although, you probably won’t be doing this walk at night.
The trail then takes you back down and up again to reach St Martha’s Hill and Church, where you will be rewarded with another great view across the Surrey Hills. You will then head back down to walk along the River Wey and back into Guildford.
Read More: Guildford to Newlands Corner
2) Guildford to Godalming – The river walk
Start: Guildford Finish: Godalming Distance: 5.7 miles Time: 2 hours Difficulty: Easy Type: Linear
This is the easiest of all the Guildford walks on the list. Both physically and logistically. You simply walk along the River Wey, from one town, to another. The walk takes you past numerous locks, and where there are locks, there are usually barges, and on this walk, you have plenty. It’s a pretty stretch of river, with some cute bridges, wildlife and lots of trees. You even have a war pillbox tucked away. The only downside to this walk, is you can hear the road noise or trains tooting for most of it.
Fun fact: The River Wey is the first river in England to be made navigable.
Read more: Guildford to Godalming route guide
3) Guildford to Farnham – One of the walks which follows a long distance trail
Start/Finish: Guildford/Farnham Distance: 11.3 miles Time: 4h 30min Difficulty: Easy Type: Linear
This is one of two walks from Guildford that follows the North Downs Way for the entirety. It is in fact stage 1 of the North Downs Way. You are never that far from civilisation for this walk, and the road noise is always there in the background (I might add, that it’s nowhere near as bad as some of the other sections of the North Downs Way).
The walk is mostly woodland, with a few open fields, and some golf courses. Have you even walked in the English Countryside if you haven’t walked through a golf course?
If we are being specific, I actually walked it the other way around, from Farnham to Guildford. But it doesn’t really matter which direction you go.
Read more: Farnham to Guildford route guide
4) Guildford to Westhumble – The other one following a long distance trail
Start: Guildford Finish: Westhumble Distance: 14.6 miles Time: 5h Difficulty: Medium/Challenging due to the length Type: Linear
The is the other one of the walks from Guildford which follows the North Downs Way. Stage 2, to be precise. This walk starts from the River Wey, before heading to Chantry Wood, St Martha’s Hill and Newlands Corner. After that, it’s pretty much woodland for the rest of the walk. It’s probably my least favourite of the walks from Guildford on this list. That’s not to say it’s a miss. If you love your woodland, then this might just be the walk for you.
One thing I found quite interesting on this walk, is that there is also a seriously high number of WWII pillboxes. They kept popping up.
This walk is also a little bit tainted for me, as it’s where I got an injury which plagued me for many months. Damn you walk. I didn’t realise I was injured at the time, but rather, thought it was normal muscle soreness. It was the next walk that put the nail in the coffin.
Read more: Guildford to Westhumble route guide
Other Walks Around Guildford
There are a few other walks from Guildford which I have been mapping out to try. I’m curious if you have tried any.
5) Guildford to Weybridge – This one follows the River Wey north. It’s long though. About 15miles long station to station.
6) Guildford Gomshall via the silent pool – The reviews of silent pool are mixed. It look’s interesting though, and I’m curious. Have you been to the silent pool? Is it worth it?
7) Chilworth Gunpowder mills – I really enjoyed walking around this area on the Guildford to St Martha’s Hill and Newlands Corner walk. That walk is quite hilly though, so if you don’t fancy hills, then you can access the area more directly from Chilworth Station…..Ok, I guess technically this one doesn’t start from Guildford.
Pin it for later: Best walks around Guildford
For more ideas of things to do around Guildford, other than walks, you can check out the Visit Surrey website.
