Surrey is one of the original 'Home Counties' , bordering London so ideal for visitors.
The county town of Surrey is
Guildford but its administrative centre is outside the county in Kingston-upon-Thames, as Kingston was originally in the county but became part of Greater London in 1965.
Because of its proximity to London, Surrey has many popular commuter towns and villages, and is one of the most affluent areas in the UK.
The combination of countryside and towns means there are lots of popular, and famous, attractions for tourists and holidaymakers to visit.
Surrey is the most wooded county in the UK. The Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty stretches across a quarter of the county. Created in 1958, the area includes the chalk slopes on the North Downs, from
Farnham in the west to
Oxted in the east, and extends south to the wooded Greensand Hills that rise near
Haslemere.
The diverse landscape, which includes rolling chalk downs, ancient woodlands, flower-rich grasslands and acid heaths, is one of the best places for walking in South East England.
The county's heathland is mostly confined to two natural areas: the Thames Basin, in the north-west of the county, and the Wealden Sands, part of a larger area stretching into Hampshire and West Sussex.