Our guide to luxury Surrey holidays

Nestled in the southern part of England, Surrey is a hop-skip from London, making it an idyllic escape from the city's hustle and bustle. The journey time varies depending on your exact location but, generally, Surrey's borders are around 15 to 30 miles away from central London. It’s a popular commuter belt around the city with great connections by train in and out of the city, and around 30 to 40 minutes by rail or road.

Surrey’s reputation as a burgeoning wine region has been growing rapidly, with gentle hills and favourable microclimates that have produced some of the UK’s most successful vineyards. Denbies Wine Estate is the largest in England, a short drive from Dorking, with acres of vines ripe for wine tastings. A trip to Albury Organic Vineyard offers an insider’s guide to organic and biodynamic wine-making, adding a touch of sustainability to that crisp glass of white. Take a bottle home and pop the cork in the sunken hot tub, then watch the sun set and the haze of a summer’s day transition into a starlit night.

Life in the Surrey countryside is bucolic, its landscape a haven for nature enthusiasts and adventurers alike. For ramblers, the Surrey Hills (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) provides rolling hills, woodlands, and scenic trails through ancient woodlands and alongside picturesque lakes. Cyclists often tackle Box Hill, part of the route during the 2012 London Olympic Games. If it’s water you seek, Surrey’s lakes and rivers provide ample opportunity for fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding – Buckland Park Lake in Reigate is popular, whilst the non-tidal stretch of The Thames at Runnymede offers gentle currents and a slice of history, right next to the birthplace of the Magna Carta.

Dotted with chocolate-box villages and charming hamlets, Surrey has no shortage of choice. Shere feels quintessentially English, with mediaeval timber-framed cottages lining cobbled streets and flower-laden bridges connecting one side to the other. Godalming’s winding lanes, where historic houses and romantic ruins pepper its lush surroundings, is tranquil, cosy and full of colour in the spring. Others worth seeking out include Ripley, Sunday cricket played on its village green, and Chiddingfold, a small village with an award-winning golf course that couldn’t be more British if it tried.

Surrey has its doors flung open all year-round, with each season distinct in its own right. In spring, the average temperature reaches 14°C, bringing blooming flowers and mild weather, where leisurely walks among the weeping willows of the River Wey feel positively rejuvenating. Summer brings average temperatures of 22°C and, if you’re lucky with the English weather, sunny days for picnics in wildflower meadows and pints of ale in thatched pub beer gardens. Autumn paints the countryside in golden hues, temperatures ranging from 7°C to 16°C, with enchanted woodlands like the Winkworth Arboretum kaleidoscopic in colour. During winter, cosy fires warm half-timbered inns and Christmas markets throw the smells of caramelised almonds into the wind. Whatever time of year you visit, this is a county full of countryside charm and friendly neighbours meaning, whatever the weather, there’s a spot ready for you.