This outer London suburb is a rural retreat for those who wish to be within touching distance of the city while remaining surrounded by the vast open space of the Surrey countryside. Sitting just to the west of Heathrow, the neighbourhood is very well connected for somewhere so far from central London, and this distance is reflected in the large interwar homes with private gardens. The southern half of the locality is made up almost entirely of green space and country roads, with the magnificent Great Fosters hotel topping off the rural atmosphere. Egham town centre provides locals with all the amenities they could wish for, and for those who drive, the M25 London Orbital forms the area’s eastern boundary, connecting the village of Egham to the rest of the city.

The name Egham derives from the Old English for “Ecga’s Farm”, and predates the year 670AD. The village originally covered 7,435 acres and was situated in the counties of Berkshire and Surrey. It is known for its situation beside Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was sealed in 1215, as well as for its horse races, which ceased in 1884 to the disdain of many locals. The area began to develop after the First World War and was the location of a large army barracks at which Theodore Seuss Geisel (otherwise known as Dr Seuss) was stationed during the Second World War. He would later cite the village of Egham as the impetus for his best-selling 1960 book, Green Eggs and Ham, after his retort “I do not like green Egham” inspired the phrase.

The neighbourhood is home to a number of famous educational institutions such as Strode’s College and Royal Holloway University. The university has been home to some of the country’s most notable creatives, such as the author Mary Anne Evans aka George Eliot, and the comedian Sir Lenny Henry.

Despite both Heathrow Airport and the M25 offering the neighbourhood convenient transport links, some residents have complained that both are a cause of significant noise and air pollution in the area.

Egham town centre is currently under a redevelopment project known as Egham Gateway West. The project is part of the £200m Runnymede Regeneration Programme, which is set to provide new entrances for the town, as well as building a mixed-use development, a theatre, student residences, and plenty of retail space to accommodate the area’s growing population. The Gateway project will deliver 101 new homes and a 100 bed student accommodation block consisting of studio apartments and communal areas, as well as 1,300 sqm of new retail space and a new, high-quality public realm connecting the development to the rest of the town centre. The development is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 and the final construction stages have already been started.