COUNTRYSIDE: Countrified Cobham and Chertsey Attractions and Restaurants

Cobham and Chertsey

We drove from NW London south to Cobham for a race track event near Cobham and drove back through Cobham and Chertsey.

Little Cobham 

   South of London is the smart stockbroker belt.  Cobham race track is where you can drive a Ferari, and a Porsche, for a price, not a cheap price. However, if you enjoy seeing upmarket houses and traditional England you will love this area. Very expensive to live there. But driving through costs nothing.

   My son Anthony sighs, 'Even the bushes look expenses'. Yes, they do. Topiary gardens. Immaculate lawns. After other areas of England, with boarded up houses, peeling paint, litter, what a refreshing change. Every tree, every tree-lined road, is a photographer's delight. A picture book church.

   I'd scanned the page about Cobham in Wikipedia and found nothing much there except restaurants. As only 14 were mentioned, I took a card index card and ruled it vertically into three columns. I listed those expensive restaurants which were recommended in order in my left column under a double tick, those which were possible coffee stops, or pubs, less pricey, in column two, those which were to be avoided, or not reviewed, under a cross in column three. (We'd had a disaster on a previous weekend away and I wanted to avoid repeating that experience.)

   Driving into the village, we passed first the gourmet and upmarket restaurant. 

The Four Horseshoes

A traditional pub. See Tripadvisor for reviews.

The Four Horseshoes

13-15 Barrow Hill Green, Chobham, Surrey  GU24 

Tel 01276 856257

When they say horses, they mean it. Looks like a horse box parked outside to me.

Stovells

Tudor restaurant, gets good reviews on Tripadvisor, quite pricey.

Stovell's Restaurant

125 Windsor Road, Chobham

gU24 8QS

Tel:01276 858000

   Cobham has a Co-op, the classiest we have ever seen, in a gabled building. Next door is a sign to Cobham Museum. chobham.com/museum shows pictures of the local carnival in May.

The Chobham Museum

Benhams Corner, Bagshot Road, Surrey GU24 8BP

   The church spire seen over the rooftops looked very elegant, with a weathervane or whatever at the top attracting attention with its glistening gold. Even the petrol station looked like a historic building.

  We drive on. Not a fast food place in sight. Shops selling items for horses, and spa baths. Look - the most exclusive property agent.

Larger Chertsey

   Chertsey, by contrast with sleepy Cobham, was much larger and busier. Like a smaller version of Slough, or any UK, town. Lots of huge modern buildings on the outskirts. Part seemed to be pedestrianised and blocked off, signs to car parks. 

   Yes. We found a drive-through bustling high street. And a free museum. Hurray!

  A pizza place. At least two pubs. The old town hall converted into a restaurant. Bet that has character.

Online I found that the museum has clocks and the history of Runnymede.

Chertsey Museum
The Cedars, 33 Windsor Street, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8AT
Tel: +44 (0) 1932 565764

website chertseymuseum.org

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   Then across the river bridge. Over the River Thames. The Kingfisher pub has a huge hanging sign showing the colourful kingfisher.

  Past Heathrow - gosh - that big British Airways plane came in low. ('Mum, it has to fly low to land.')

A Jury's Hotel. 

   We debate where the next airport runway should be built. Two out of three of us vote for Stanstead. One says don't know.

Contrast Cobham with Suburbian London

   Back to London. Mock-Victorian semis, not the real thing. But typically British. 

   A few art deco 1930s buildings in Rayners Lane, North Harrow, and Pinner, houses in white with green tiled rooftops. (More art deco such as large offices and factories, you will find online, notably the former Hoover building on the Western Avenue A40, and the Bath Rd A3.)

   Semi-detached houses in red brick made from London clay. 

Suburban trees: crab apple; Tibetan silver birch; wisteria. (See my post on trees.)