Woking

Woking is a large modern town in Surrey within commutable distance of central London. H.G Wells set his famous novel War of the Worlds here. As a tribute to this a silver Martian sculpture can be seen in a square of the city centre. The town is twinned with Amstelveen in the Netherlands, Le Plessis-Robinson in France and Rastatt in Germany. Woking has a large Muslim community and now houses its own mosque.

Attractions

Situated on the top floor of the Peacocks centre are the Ambassadors Cinema and New Victoria Theatre. The cinema has multiple screens and the theatre has recently hosted productions such as The Rocky Horror Show, Guys and Dolls, Swan Lake on Ice and Acorn Antiques the Musical.

For children a great place to visit is the Pick and Mix Playstore, a large three-storey soft play area. This is a children’s attraction and height restrictions apply. Nearby is Pool in the Park and Woking Leisure Centre. These offer indoor racquet sports, competition and leisure pools with an artificial wave and slides. Within Woking there are several gymnasiums including the chains L.A Fitness and David Lloyd.

The River Wey runs through Woking, and set in the bordering fields are the ruins of Woking Palace, once a royal abode during the Tudor period. Guided heritage walks to the site of the Palace are available and open to the general public.

Within the borough of Woking and open seven days a week is Brooklands Museum. Based near the actual racetrack the Museum traces the history of the British aviation and motor industries and offers a 'Concorde Experience'.

A short drive from Woking is Thorpe Park, a large theme park set in a rural area. The park has a farm and many thrill rides including 'Colossus', the world’s first ten loop roller coaster.

Shopping

Shopping in the town centre is focussed upon the Peacocks Centre and Wolsey Place. Here there are high street chains, a department store and the designer outlet T.K Maxx. Away from the town centre is a large business park environment featuring home furnishing and electrical stores. In the town centre there is regularly an outdoor market selling flowers and fruit and vegetables.

Nightlife and Eating Out

Woking has many bars and pubs to choose from and two nightclubs Chameleon and Quake. The Big Apple complex contains laser questing, ten pin bowling and American pool. All these are in the city centre adjacent to the main shopping precincts. In addition to the standard cafés and takeaways are a variety of cuisine styles. Located in the basement of the Peacocks Centre is a specialist shop selling South African imported foods such as biltong and South African brand name products. Styles of restaurant to be found in Woking include traditional English, Chinese, Italian, American and Lebanese.

Tourist Information

Woking Visitor Information Centre:The Ambassadors,Peacocks Centre,Woking,GU21 6GQTel. 01483 720103Fax. 01483 740462tourist@woking.gov.uk

Airport

The nearest airports to Woking are the London airports Heathrow, and Gatwick, which is located 20 miles away. Woking railway station is large and has fast links to London and other major cities such as Exeter and Southampton. The station has its own, relatively small, car park, however, plenty of metered parking is available on the road and in the Peacocks and Toys’R’Us multi-storeys. On the north side of the station is a wall mural stretching over 100 feet long.