Woldingham sits high on the North Downs in Surrey, about 20 miles south of central London, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village has no pub — an anomaly even by English standards — but it has chalk downland walks, good train access from London Bridge (about 30 minutes to Woldingham station), and a quiet character that makes it a worthwhile half-day escape from the city.
The village is surrounded by farmland and ancient woodland, with the North Downs Way running nearby. Woldingham School, a girls' boarding school occupying a Victorian mansion in the adjacent Marden Park estate, is the main institutional presence in the area. Bring a packed lunch; there is nowhere to eat in the village itself.