The suburban village of Weybridge is located in the south east of Greater London, in the Surrey district of Elmbridge. Despite its attractive riverside location, the neighbourhood is 25 km south west from central London, but this doesn’t put off wealthy buyers who wish for a slice of rural life just a quick train ride from the inner city. Indeed, most areas in London that border the River Thames are highly urbanised, yet Weybridge is quite the opposite. The area has an unassuming nature, yet a closer inspection reveals the area also has a tremendously rich cultural history and tight local community, as evidenced in the popular waterside pubs and restaurants that draw in regular crowds on a daily basis. The Surrey village is reasonably well connected for commuters, with Queens Road taking drivers to Seven Hills Road that eventually leads to the A3, and Weybridge station, which provides semi-regular trains into Waterloo.

The area appears in the Domesday book as ‘Webrige’, and, as its name suggests, Weybridge’s history is tied up with its surrounding waterways, namely the River Wey that runs for almost 20 miles through rural Surrey. The building of Oatlands Palace was initiated by Henry VIII in 1537. Up until the late 18th century, Weybridge was a tiny village with a river crossing and a couple of water mills which were pretty much the area’s sole provider of income. In 1838 the Southampton Rail Line to London extended to the newly built Weybridge, and better-connected commuters to London. This investment in infrastructure subsequently saw an increase in housing developments by the 20th century. In 1900 Weybridge’s population was 5,300 and has grown ever since, today sitting at around 30,000.

The River Wey navigation is one of the oldest in the country, created in 1653 by Sir Richard Weston, it allowed for the easy transportation of goods from Surrey to London.

Weybridge is also a popular location for footballers to set up home, with notable players such as Peter Crouch and Petr Cech calling the neighbourhood home.

Due to the suburban nature of Weybridge there are not many public transport routes. Also, Weybridge does not benefit from the multiculturalism that much of the inner city cultivates, with a 90% white population.

Like many comparable rural satellites of London the rate of development in Weybridge is slow. This is partially because the residential centre of this area is surrounded by greenbelt land on three sides. Wealthy residents looking to keep their pristine neighbourhood exclusive also mean that developers can have a hard time getting planning permission. Nonetheless, some residents were disappointed to discover that Weybridge hospital walk-in will not reopen in the immediate future. This is after the building was badly damaged in a fire in 2018.