Surbiton
In 1837, when Queen Victoria was crowned, Surbiton had a population of 200. By 1852 it had risen to 2,800, and by 1887 the Queens Golden Jubilee, it had increased to 10,500.
Surbiton's steady transformation from village to fashionable suburb was due to the building of a railway link from London to Southampton (1830). Since then it has been the archetypal commuter town, and today the mainline to Waterloo dominates the area, providing fast non-stop trains (16 mins) to the City.
Victorian houses and conversions are the mainstay here, although there is also a good selection of modern purpose-built flats. The Southborough area has some large detached executive homes-mostly from from the 1930s- while the Berrylands area has a good collection of well-maintained inter-war built three and four bedroom semis.
There are a limited number of smaller Victorian houses between the town centre and the river, and some modern retirement flats have been built locally. Flats vary in price depending on proximity to the station. A number of new developments of top of the range flats have been built over the last two or three years.
The whole area is extremely sought-after and popular and caters for all types of buyers from first time and high-earning professionals to retired folk. In addition to the obvious benefit of the rail link to London, Surbiton has easy access to the Thames which provides delightful riverside walks to nearby Hampton Court and the major town centre of Kingston. The area also has many attractive buildings, and a good range of shops, restaurants, and pubs.
Surbiton has easy access to the A3 trunk road (London to Portsmouth) and the M25 motorway-junctions 9 or 10. The station gives a fast non-stop service to London Waterloo as well as serving Guildford, Woking, Basingstoke, Portsmouth and many other areas. There are also good bus links to all surrounding areas.
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