Bringing History Alive
A town less than an hour from London with over 1000 years of history involving the terrible King John, the curious imagination of Lewis Carroll and the dramatic life of code-breaker Alan Turing.
The best way to experience the fantastic heritage of Guildford is to join one of our guided walks.
The award-winning Guildford Town Guides are knowledgeable volunteers who are passionate about the heritage of Guildford and exploring our past with visitors.
New for 2024
We have created 3 new walks about our amazing town.
Law and Disorder – the colourful history of crimes, courts and prisons in Guildford.
80th Anniversary of the D Day landings – a special walk to remember Guildford’s experiences in World War II
Brief Lives – a rapid introduction to 4 famous Guildford faces in a 45 minute walk.
In addition, to mark the 70th anniversary of Alan Turing’s death, our popular Alan Turing Encounter walk has been revised to include the latest research on Alan Turing’s links to Guildford.
Finally, we are offering tours of The Guildhall on selected dates. Join a tour to discover what makes Guildford tick!
Our Walks 2024
Plenty of interest for all ages and tastes
We have free walks:
- Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from May to September
- Every Sunday from July to September
- At other times throughout the year.
Full details of the Summer programme can be found here and on the Guildford Town Guides page of Eventbrite.
Scroll down to the next section to see the range of walks we offer. For a different experience, why not try one of our Encounter Walks, but be prepared for surprises.
Numbers are limited on all our public walks so, it is better to secure your place by booking online on the Eventbrite page linked above. Our interactive Encounter Walks book up quickly – prebooking is essential.
For a modest fee, you can also arrange a private tour by appointment at any time during the year.
Each Regular Walk takes place 3 or more times during the summer months. Guildford Story is the exception as this takes place weekly.
Click on a walk below for more information on Regular Walks. Click on the tabs above for our exciting ENCOUNTER WALKS and SPECIALIST WALKS.
Guildford Story
Fake or Fortune
Royal Guildford
Hidden Guildford
Pubs & Inns
Made in Guildford
Medieval Guildford
Law & Disorder
Lewis Carroll in Guildford
Mount Cemetery
Brief Lives
Join us on an Encounter Walk and meet characters from Guildford’s past as they step out of the history books and onto our streets.
Encounter Walks are great fun but places are limited, so please reserve your space early.
Click on a walk for more information.
Some guides are interested in subjects outside of our repertoire of Regular and Encounter Walks. A few walks on these specialist topics are included in our public walks programme.
Each specialist walk may happen just once or twice during the summer months so look out for these if you are interested.
Click on a walk for more information.
The Mount Cemetery
Georgian Guildford
Art & Artists
Victorian Guildford
Kings, Worthies & Scoundrels
World War II
The Guildhall
Private Group Walks & Talks
By appointment at any time of year
If you would like to get a group of people together, a private tour may be the ideal way to explore the town with friends, family or colleagues.
On the other hand, one of the guides can come to you to give an illustrated talk.
Click below on the category which applies to you for more information.
Charities
Each year we raise funds for a local charity.
Most recently:
2019 Oakleaf Enterprises
2020 & 2021 Guildford Street Angels
2022 Halow Project
2023 Skillway
The Therapy Garden – charity of the year 2024
The Therapy Garden is a horticulture and educational charity that uses gardening to generate positive change. They work with adults and teenagers with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health challenges and offer school-age teenagers interventional education opportunities.
The Therapy Garden is a beautiful and peaceful tw0-acre site at the heart of the picturesque village of Normandy. The garden has been designed with accessibility in mind and includes wheelchair friendly pathways, raised beds, sensory areas and quiet spaces.
£23,000 raised for local charities in the past 14 years
Photo: The Therapy Garden
The Guides
A small band of unpaid volunteers who are enthusiastic about Guildford’s past
The guides today are an independent group, supported by Guildford Borough Council.
Our knowledge of Guildford’s history is largely based on the ‘History of Guildford’ course devised by Matthew Alexander, Honorary Remembrancer of Guildford. In 2024, we have joined with Guildford Museum Heritage Service to continue this course. This is a great way to delve into the town’s history in more detail than is possible on one of our walks.
We normally aim to recruit a few new guides each year. If you would like to join us, contact us by email at enquiries@guildfordwalks.org.uk and we will be happy to explain how this works.
We were delighted that our efforts to introduce new ideas was recognised nationally by the award of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2019.
