Location: Dorking
Top Things to do in Dorking
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10 Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Dorking That You Shouldn't Miss
Dorking /ˈdɔːr.kɪŋ/ is a market town in Surrey, England between Ranmore Common in the North Downs range of hills and Leith Hill in the Greensand Ridge, centred 21 miles (34 km) from London.
Restaurants in Dorking
1. The Gin Kitchen
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 47 reviews
The Gin Kitchen is a distillery in the Surrey Hills crafting fabulous spirits with love, laughter, passion & skill. We make just 30 bottles at a time in our beautiful copper pot stills, so each bottle receives our special care & attention. We offer tours, tasting experiences and distilling experiences as well as a shop and cocktail bar.
Reviewed By Pocu1000
The location is stunning, you could go for a lovely long walk and come back to a fab beautifully laid out and covid safe bar to relax in for a few hours (in our case all day). Gins are lovely, cocktails divine and love the food vans on certain days. Really lovely outside and inside spaces, and you can buy a bottle to take home and continue drinking - bonus Love the Ginger cat gin myself and the lavender liqueur. Highly recommend visiting. Designate a driver for your first visit, although easy to grab taxi from Dorking.
2. Dorking Brewery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 28 reviews
Multi award winning brewery in Surrey. Come and visit us every Saturday for tours at 11AM :) We have a wide range of beers available for parties and events in bottle, cask and keg.
Reviewed By chilesmandy - La Massana, Andorra
If you’re just the slightest bit interested, you’ll come out a scholar. Boutique brewing is a real art and passion, totally fascinating, a little scientific but most of all extremely tasty!! Join the club!!
3. The Yoga Centre Dorking
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 31 reviews
Purpose Built Yoga studio in central Dorking. All types of yoga for all abilities. Beginners courses monthly, therapeutic yoga, workshops and Hot Yoga. Keepfit/exercise classes also . All genders, ages, abilities and body shapes .Public parking, changing rooms and shower facilities .Privately owned and managed. Established for 18 years in Dorking . A Clean, friendly and vibrant place to be.
Reviewed By 985catrionap
I have been attending classes at the Dorking Yoga Centre for a couple of years now. It is a lovely studio, bright, clean and airy. The team are super friendly and equally importantly very knowledgeable providing just the right level of support required. There are sessions to suit everyone with some classes taught by different teachers giving insight in to different styles of yoga and methods of delivery. The centre has a very friendly atmosphere, everyone from teachers to students are very welcoming. Attending sessions has become an essential part of my week. The team has responded fantastically to the recent Covid.19 outbreak offering sessions by Zoom. I attended my first Zoom session yesterday and Gordon did a great job. The hour flew by and I felt quite restored afterwards.
4. Dorking Museum and Heritage Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 67 reviews
We are a small volunteer run Museum in the centre of Dorking. We tell the story of Dorking from the time that dinosaurs roamed around the A24 bypass (the bypass wasn't there then) We tell the story of Pilgrim Father, William Mullins, who travelled to Cape Cod only to die three months later... (luckily we also sent Priscilla Mullins who did much better) We have local celebrities including writers George Meredith (who lived on Box Hill) and E. M. Forster (from Abinger), suffragette Emmeline Pethick Lawrence and of course Ralph Vaughan Williams (composer of the greatest hit "Lark Ascending"). Come and see us... write a nice review... so that other people will come and see us.
Reviewed By marchsl
Found about this on a google search of things to do quite by chance. So glad we signed up! Peter Sturge and his wife Jen (as well as some other museum staff) we so accommodating and kind. They communicated several times prior to our visit. Although the area has more hills than this Florida girl is used to the staff took the time to let me catch up or walk at a more comfortable pace for me. They were so knowledgeable and committed to making it an enjoyable experience for all ages represented. We enjoyed a wonderful chat afterwards and would visit again if the opportunity arises. We did not get a chance to visit the museum as it was Sunday and closed but we strolled around the town and found it charming and absolutely interesting too. Thanks for such a welcoming visit!
5. The Kings Arms
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 29 reviews
Reviewed By pointmanphil - Dorking, United Kingdom
Great food, selection of ales and friendly pub atmosphere. Best pub on the High St by far. Recommend!
6. St Martin's Church
7. The Holly & Laurel Emporium
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 23 reviews
Reviewed By W4231LNemilyg
Great place to find hidden treasures, lots of variety and very friendly, knowledgeable staff! Also has a lovely cafe to unwind in...with amazing slabs of cake!
8. The Parrot
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 74 reviews
Reviewed By KatieMcD5 - Guildford, United Kingdom
Click and Collect : Brilliant! used this new take out service for the first time last night. The ordering on the web site is really easy and the whole experience was superb. The food was fantastic! We had the Steak Burger the chicken pie and the fish cakes. Everything was very fresh and just as good as it would be in the pub restaurant with excellent presentation and was piping hot. The little touches were great too such as condiments, sauces etc.We were able to order and pick up within 20 mins but you can book your collection slot for whenever you wish and its brought out to you so you don't even need to get out of the car! Also really liked the packaging as all recycles no plastic. Will definitely be using again. Highly recommend!
9. Denbies Wine Estate Ltd
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,015 reviews
The Denbies Estate, based in Dorking, Surrey, has been family owned and run since 1984. Denbies vineyard was planted in 1986, and since then has become one of the largest wine producers in the UK. Denbies core business is agriculture and we are pleased to be able to offer visitors an insight into wine production in the UK. Denbies wine now competes on an international level, including multiple gold awards for sparkling wine production, the first ever gold for an English rose wine and most recently an international gold for Denbies Noble Harvest Dessert wine. We are honoured over the years to have welcomed several members of the Royal family to the estate, completing the historical connections which date back to Prince Albert in 1851. The Surrey Hills is a beautiful area to live in and while you are visiting do take advantage of the surrounding areas, including 7 miles of public footpath which trail throughout the vineyard. Thank you for visiting Denbies Wine Estate. If you have any questions during your visit, our staff will be very happy to assist you in any matter. We very much hope that you will enjoy your visit.
Reviewed By 565anniel - London, United Kingdom
Visited on the weekend to enjoy the Sparkling Vineyard Tour and Afternoon Tea Hamper and a night's stay at Denbies Hotel with my boyfriend to celebrate our anniversary. We really enjoyed the Vineyard Tour train ride and our tour guide Geoff was delightful - he was very knowledgeable and easy going, glass of sparkling wine on the way up was also a great plus. Due to weather conditions, the Afternoon Tea Hamper had to be hosted indoors rather than on the lawn (which was no problem as we were informed of this prior to the tour). Each hamper was served at a social distance from others also enjoying their hampers and although presented in takeaway paper boxes/ paper cups to ensure covid precautions were adhered to, it was still yummy and good serving sizes for 2 people. Would like to come back and experience Afternoon Tea when things return to 'normal'. Overall, found the experience very enjoyable and good value for money. We also enjoyed our short stay at the hotel. Check in with Peter was very quick and easy - all done behind a screen for coronavirus protection. Dinner and breakfast times had to be pre-booked and orders taken in advance to ensure social distancing measures could take place/ no waiting times for food. We booked a great room with a vineyard view which was lovely to look at in the sunshine. Slept well in a firm, comfy bed and was impressed with the bathroom amenities. For dinner, we were able to reserve seating in one of the private outdoor huts, a great spot to watch the sun set over the vineyard with a glass of wine. With good weather, we really felt like we were abroad and everyone at Denbies made us feel really welcome. If you're looking for a nice little staycation just outside of London, would highly recommend a weekend away at Denbies. Thanks for such a lovely time, we had a great anniversary!
10. Leith Hill Place
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 157 reviews
Reviewed By suethack123 - London, United Kingdom
Leith Hill Place sits high on Leith Hill surrounded by the most stunning Surrey scenery and vast expanses of rolling countryside. I take my family and grandchildren here regularly and they always love to come - in fact my grandchildren ask to come to "Vaughan Williams House" more than anywhere else! There is plenty of room for children to play and for families to just take in the country air outside the house or you can sit in the cafe garden with a freshly home-made cake or scone and tea or coffee. The car park (which has picnic benches) and the walk through the Rhododendron Wood to the house are a treat. The big old house is lovely to explore. You can go into the spacious different rooms and see the wonderful views through picturesque windows, play a piano or read the excellent display about Ralph Vaughan Williams life. The humble piano that RVW used for many compositions is there to admire too. I recommend the "Soundscape" a beautifully crafted audio biography of the Composer in the upstairs rooms. You can find out some history of the Wedgwood family and Charles Darwin who also lived in the house at various times. National Trust often have seasonal activities for children. We visited recently and there was a Halloween theme with an activity which my 9 year old grandson enjoyed and the fireplaces were dressed accordingly - it looked so beautiful. It is a very reasonable price to get into the house - £6 for adults and less for children. The volunteers are all very welcoming and helpful. It is open from March until the end of October. There is an air of magic here which always draws us back. I love the peaceful feeling and being able to de-stress in this beautiful place. We've been many times and can't wait for March 2020!
