Countryside

80% of the total area of Surrey is countryside. Rural Surrey includes not only farms, woodlands, heathland and commons, but a great many villages and small towns which are important in providing services to surrounding rural areas. Rural Surrey is also surprisingly diverse – from the urban edge of London to the wide open spaces of the Surrey Hills. Local residents and visitors to the County all agree that it is Surrey’s countryside which is particularly special.

The Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty stretches across a quarter of the county to include the chalk slopes of the North Downs, from Farnham in the west to Oxted in the east and extending south to the deeply wooded Greensand Hills which rise in Haslemere. This treasured landscape of beautiful countryside is rich in wildlife, woodland and attractive market towns and villages and provides some of the best walking in the whole of Southern England.

Surrey County Council owns land for public enjoyment but has also entered into access agreements with private landowners, providing public access to a total of over 10,000 acres of beautiful countryside estate. This estate is managed for the benefit of wildlife and visitors, through a partnership with Surrey Wildlife Trust. Countryside management projects also provide conservation, advice to landowners and sustainable development across our county.

Information on the Surrey countryside can be found at:

www.surreycc.gov.uk/countryside