TOWN AND COUNTRY: Reigate & Bletchingley

Found in the shadow of the North Downs, Reigate embraces independent lifestyle shops and coffee culture. Surrounded by pristine countryside and hilltop walks, the market town and the nearby village of Bletchingley are the perfect places to escape to for town and country living

- James Knighton

While there have been ancient signs of life found in the Reigate area, this market town really came to the fore around the 12th century when a settlement developed out from the base of its Norman castle.

The area had been gifted to the de Warenne family by William the Conqueror years earlier, and with excellent links into the capital and coast it has never looked back.

If you walk up to the castle grounds these days, you will find a mock medieval gateway that dates back to 1777, as well as picturesque flower displays and a stone pyramid that once provided entrance to a cave network underneath.

At this point, you will also be standing above the Baron’s Cave, which dates to Norman days. Local folklore has it that the barons met there to draw up the Magna Carta in 1215, but history holds that unlikely. Either way, the caves are an intriguing addition to ‘Secret Surrey’ and occasionally host open days organised by the Wealden Cave and Mine Society.

Away from the town’s bustling Priory Park centrepiece and coffee culture streets, Reigate is full of little pockets of calm and intrigue like this.

Just a short walk out of town, for instance, past the White Brasserie Co-owned Black Horse restaurant, you will discover Reigate Heath, an important example of lowland heath habitat.

Here you’ll find the everpopular Skimmington Castle pub, which has been doing a roaring takeaway trade this past couple of months, and Grow at the Skim, an independent plant nursery and garden boutique.