Woking is the largest town in Surrey, with more than 100,000 people according to Surrey Live. It is built around a mainline station, a compact shopping and theatre district, and a ring of quieter neighbourhoods. Here is what to weigh up before you move.
The trains to Waterloo
Woking is a principal stop on the South West Main Line, 24 miles from London Waterloo, and South Western Railway runs all the trains that call here. Trainline says the fastest services take as little as 24 minutes. Other sources put fast trains at roughly 23 to 26 minutes, so a sensible planning figure is that the quickest trains take around 25 minutes and a typical journey is about half an hour.
Stopping services take longer, and Trainline puts the average across every service at about 51 minutes. If you are choosing a home by commute, check the timetable for your own departure times rather than relying on the headline figure. West Byfleet station also serves the borough, which is one reason Strutt & Parker says Pyrford appeals to commuters.
The line also runs west towards Winchester, Southampton and Bournemouth, which helps if your work is not in London.
The town centre
Victoria Place, formerly The Peacocks, is the main shopping and leisure centre. It opened in 1992 and links to the town's largest theatre and cinema. It sits beside Jubilee Square, and Wikipedia notes that Victoria Place and the Peacocks Shopping Centre are the two main centres there.
The New Victoria Theatre, in the Peacocks Centre, Woking (GU21 6GH), opened in 1992 and hosts touring musicals, plays, comedy and dance. Its 2026 listings include Operation Mincemeat, Legally Blonde and Barnum. It is a good reason to stay local for an evening out. By road, Ticketmaster points to the M25 (junctions 10 and 11), the M3 (junction 3) and the A3.
For green space, Horsell Common lies just north of the centre, and Woking Park has leisure facilities close by.
What homes cost
Sources differ because they measure different areas and periods, so it helps to anchor on one. The Office for National Statistics, using HM Land Registry data, puts the average price in Woking borough at £446,000 for March 2026, roughly flat on a year earlier. By type:
Detached: £941,000
Semi-detached: £491,000
Terraced: £388,000
Flats and maisonettes: £258,000
First-time buyers paid £340,000 on average. The South East average in the same data was £379,000. Over the year to March 2026, semis rose 1.4% and flats fell 3.1%.
Property Investments UK says asking prices run from the cheapest in the GU21 postcode to the dearest in GU23. At the top end, agent Curchods has individual listings in Hook Heath at £2,250,000 and West Byfleet at £2,100,000, though these are single homes and not averages.
Surrey Live, reporting migration statistics, says almost 7,900 people moved to Woking and 8,300 moved out, a net loss of 399 residents. Woking and Guildford were the only Surrey areas to lose people.
Council finances
Buyers will hear about this, so it is worth knowing. Woking Borough Council issued a Section 114 notice on 7 June 2023. Surrey Live says debts passed £2.1 billion, built up through town-centre developments and commercial investments. Check the current council tax band for any address you are considering, and the latest position on local government arrangements in Surrey.
Neighbourhoods
Horsell: adjoins the centre to the north-east and runs to Horsell Common. Strutt & Parker mentions the 1.2-mile Bedser Trail. Rightmove calls it one of the quieter, village-style areas.
Hook Heath: Jackson-Stops says it and The Hockering stand out for larger homes on generous plots.
St John's: another quieter area with a village feel, according to Rightmove.
Pyrford: on the River Wey, about two miles east of Woking, known for independent village shops, a golf course and large family homes.
West Byfleet: has its own station and sits at the upper end of the market in Curchods' listings.
Foxtons also lists Maybury, Mount Hermon, Westfield and Old Woking among nearby areas worth a look.
Schools
Secondary choice is varied. Winston Churchill School is a comprehensive for ages 11 to 16 on Hermitage Road, near Knaphill. Hoe Valley School, on Egley Road, is a free school founded in 2014. St John the Baptist, on Elmbridge Lane in Kingfield, is a Catholic school for ages 11 to 18. Woking High School is in Horsell, and Woking College is a sixth-form college with more than 1,700 students.
Save My Exams, using Department for Education data for 2025, shows St John the Baptist with a Progress 8 score of +0.73 and 42.07% of GCSEs at grades 9 to 7. Hoe Valley scored +0.21 and Winston Churchill -0.01. Check current Ofsted reports and catchment rules for each school, and look at primary options separately, as this guide does not cover them.
Is it a good place to live?
Woking Borough Council says the UK Vitality Index 2024 ranked the town second, behind Watford, and in the top three for a fourth year running. Surrey Live says it scored highest for health and environment.
See also ONS house price data, the Trainline Woking to Waterloo page and Strutt & Parker's Woking guide.
