My love for the English countryside: a visit to Surrey, England

Cities are interesting and definitely fun, but to feel the pulse of the region, one should visit the countryside as well. One trip that made me experience a completely different scenario was during my visit to England.

I was once on a solo trip to London and captivated by the city as much as I was, I got this sudden yearning to visit the English countryside. 

At the heart of the countryside of Shere

One fine morning, I was looking for where I should visit for a day, and my first choice was the county of Surrey. The Hollywood movie 'The Holiday' has always been one of my favorite movies, particularly because of my love for the small village portrayed in the movie, Shere. When I saw this movie for the first time, I wished to visit this enchanting village once in my life, so why not use this opportunity to visit here? 

And that's what I did! I can relate to this day as one of my best unplanned, solo adventures ever! This trip was kind of an adventure because I did not even know where and how to go after I reached Dorking, a major stop of the Southern Railway in England. I hopped on an early train and headed to the south of England, the Surrey Hills! After getting down at Dorking, I checked at the train station and found that frequent buses were heading toward Guildford, another major stop. I have to get down halfway through my bus journey and walk for half an hour or so, towards Shere. As most of the people here travel by private vehicle, the bus was only mildly occupied. Something that I noticed is that most of the people in my bus are old, retired people and everyone seems to know each other. The only exception was me, sitting way up in the front of the bus. Also because of the fact that I looked less close to an English lady (Indian actually) and holding a DSLR camera, I could feel eyes on me all through the journey. After two or three stops, the driver asked me where I wanted to go to. Though I was feeling uncomfortable at that time that everyone's attention was on me, I began to cherish this moment with a smile whenever I thought of it. Finally, when I was getting down at my bus stop, there was no one on the bus apart from me and the driver. To add, the driver was giving me hints to visit the museum and the nearby vineyard if I was interested. I thanked him and was eagerly on my way to Shere.

The Restaurant 'The White Horse'

I was starting to get quite hungry, and the only restaurant that I found open was The White Horse, where I had one of the best English Breakfasts I ever had! It was not an odd hour, and I was starting to wonder why I hadn't met many people on the road here. The person who was waiting at my table was jovial but was curious about me at the same time. After a delicious brunch, I was on my way wandering along the endless streets which made me happy to see a typical English village. 

There are local red phone booths, a church, and many pretty cottages on either side of the small roads. Every cottage looked quite welcoming with hanging flower pots that added to the mood. 

The famous red phone booth of England

After some time, some kids started to play football on the grounds, which was worth a sight. The day was slightly overcast, so I went on to continue with my day, exploring the rest of the village.

Kids playing soccer on the grounds of Shere