Dorking offers a range of options for a stay: wine, local history, a weekly market and Real Ale. The day of the week is a useful practical guide when planning, as the Dorking Friday Market takes place on Fridays. Other highlights range from wine experiences to historical themes. You can tailor your choice to what matters most for your trip, whether that is visiting a market, wine or history.
Wine and Wine History
Denbies Wine Estate is located on London Road in Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6AA. The estate offers guided vineyard tours and wine tastings featuring award-winning English wines. These include still and sparkling wines made from grapes grown on the south-facing slopes in Dorking. The experiences offer different highlights: a wine tasting focuses on the wines, while a ride on the outdoor vineyard train provides more insight into the history of wine. The guided vineyard tour adds the vineyard itself to the range of options. Consider whether you are more interested in the wines, the vineyard or the history of wine, and check the latest tour and tasting options before your visit.
Museum and South Street Caves
Dorking Museum is devoted to the history of the region. Its exhibitions range from Cretaceous dinosaurs to William Mullins’s pilgrimage on the Mayflower. This broad span of time covers a wide variety of historical subjects. The museum also offers a free audio guide to the collection via the free Bloomberg Connects app. As well as exploring the exhibitions, you can use this audio guide to learn about the collection as another way to engage with the past.
The South Street Caves consist of four interconnected galleries. Their entrance is on South Street in Dorking, next to the War Memorial and opposite Waitrose; parking is available nearby. The number of galleries and the way they connect give a concrete impression of the layout of the Caves. If you are looking for the entrance, the two landmarks mentioned can help you find your way. The Caves’ layout makes them distinct from the historical subjects featured at the museum.
Friday Market and Real Ale
The Dorking Friday Market takes place every Friday from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm in the St Martin’s Walk car park. Stalls offer fruit, vegetables, flowers and household goods, as well as fresh fish, cheese, meat, olives and other food. The variety of product categories makes the market a different kind of highlight from a wine tasting or museum visit. If you are planning to visit the market on a Friday, check the details before you go: market information may change.
Surrey Hills Brewery is an independent, multi-award-winning brewery in Dorking, Surrey. It focuses exclusively on Real Ale and currently offers eight beers, available in more than 150 pubs in the surrounding area. Real Ale is another concrete aspect of the local food and drink scene. This is distinct from the wines at Denbies; the current information about the brewery describes an independent selection with a clear focus on Real Ale.
Discover more destinations: Hindhead, Camberley, Salfords, Ash, Leatherhead, Horley, Betchworth, Virginia Water
For the wider travel overview: Surrey.
