The neighbourhood of Woodmansterne is very residential, most houses are semi-detached or detached with ample space at both the front and back, which allows for easy parking and access. Most roads and houses are surrounded by hedges, trees, or even farm fields, which contributes to the countryside feeling of this area. The farm north of the village of Woodmansterne is called Mayfield Lavender farm and it is the largest organic lavender farm in the UK. They attract hundreds of visitors from June to September when the farm is open from 9am to 6pm. Next to Mayfield Lavender farm there is Oaks Park, a 33 hectares park with a mixture of different landscapes and areas that are perfect for picnics or BBQs.

The fields used by Mayfield Lavender farms were cultivated with Lavender as far back as the 18th century, in fact the area around Banstead used to be the centre of a thriving lavender industry, supplying famous cosmetics companies such as Yardley and Potter & Moor until the beginning of the 20th century. Another important landmark of the neighbourhood is Weston Acres, a grade II listed estate and home of the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, a charity established in 1865 to help retired seafarers and their dependents; it has since evolved to offer dedicated care to people living with dementia.

The name of Oaks park or Lambert’s Oaks comes from the ancient family of Lambert, who settled in the neighbourhood in the late middle ages. As Royalists, the family became impoverished during the Civil War, but remained in the area until the 18th century. The church of St. Peters was rebuilt in 1876 on the ground of a former medieval church dating back to the 13th century.

There is very limited public transport in the neighbourhood. The closest train stations (Woodmansterne or Chipstead) are both on the outskirts of the area, and the travel time to the main railway stations in central London is also relatively long: 45-50 minutes to Victoria and 35-40 to London Bridge. Moreover, only one bus, the 166 from Epsom Hospital to West Croydon Bus Station, stops in the neighbourhood. There are also no secondary schools in the neighbourhood, with the closest being further north than Oaks Park.

No major new developments seem to be happening in the area at the moment, though new build proposals have been submitted for plots to the north, closer to Coulsdon and Pearley. That said, this does not mean that there is development interest in the neighbourhood, just that it’s of a size and scale that is more homogenous to the rest of area. New-build detached and semi-detached houses have been developed and much of the old and new stock of such houses have been subdivided into rather spacious flats.