In 2007, The Sunday Telegraph ranked Woldingham second in its list of ‘top ten richest suburbs in Britain’. High on the North Downs, this neighbourhood area is extremely scenic and rural, with few of the trappings or annoyances of urban life, whilst remaining well-connected to London via Woldingham train station, and very close to the M25. Central London can be reached in thirty-three minutes and many of Woldingham’s inhabitants commute. The village is spread out and consists mainly of residential streets with a church, village hall, and post office clustered around the village green. There are two schools in the neighbourhood – Woodlea Primary School near the station, and the private, Catholic Girls’ boarding school, nestled deep in the hills further south. Golfers and outdoor enthusiasts will be well-served here: Woldingham Golf Club and the North Downs Golf Course sit within this neighbourhood area’s boundaries. The latter is adjacent to the Great Church Wood Nature Reserve and of course, the North Downs provide ample opportunities for hiking. The Woldingham viewpoint offers incredible vistas of the surrounding area. In addition, any gliders and riders will be pleased to know that clubs for both are situated here.

The village appears in the Domesday Book as Wallingeham. Upper Court Manor, Nether Court Manor, Marden Park Manor – now Woldingham School – all date back to the Fourteenth Century. The train station was opened in 1884, opening up the area to London and the South East. The area played a role in World War II intelligence when the Czechoslovak military radio station moved into the Garden Village Army Camp.

For such a small place, Woldingham has been home to a surprising number of famous people. Renowned slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce lived at Marden Park towards the end of the Eighteenth Century and several of his letters are dated from there. TV personality Davina McCall, and glamour model Katie Price - aka Jordan - also lived here. It is said that Donald Duart Maclean, Soviet spy and resident of nearby Tatsfield, left from Woldingham station the night he defected to Russia.

The neighbourhood area is very rural with not much in the way of shops or amenities. Most secondary-school-age children will have to travel to a neighbouring area (there is only the all-girls private Woldingham School) and the population is somewhat homogenous and un-diverse. However, residents are richly compensated by the tranquillity and beautiful countryside.

The rate of change here is slow. The number of houses has increased since 2001, but the population has decreased, meaning there is not much demand, and consequently no new developments in the pipeline. One example of new development in the area, as rare as that may be, is Tillingdown Park by Asprey Homes, a development of 16 three, four and five bedroom traditional homes. Aside from that, it seems developers for now are more concentrated to the North in Warlingham and Purley.