People are baffled to learn about a gorgeous hike just an hour outside of London that goes through a quaint village that’s appeared in various films, including The Holiday
As the days are getting colder and we get closer to gorgeous autumnal days, now is the time to look for any day trips you want to visit, as there’s nothing quite like walking through an old English village as the trees turn golden.
One Londoner named Zanna van Dijk often shares her favourite spots in and around London, recommending the best places to go on for the day. In one video, she went on to praise a walking trail in Surrey, just an hour away from London, where you go through a picturesque village that has appeared in several rom-coms, including Christmas favourite, The Holiday.
“You know that cute little village in the movie The Holiday? Well, it’s just outside London and you can actually hike to it,” she said at the start of the video, before explaining how to get there.
She said: “All you need to do is catch a one-hour train to Gomshaw in the Surrey Hills. And then there is this gorgeous circular route which takes you over to the quaint little village of Shere.”
Even if you’ve never visited before, you might recognise Shere from some of your favourite films, including Christmas rom com The Holiday, featuring Kate Winslet and Jude Law, amongst others. The Surrey town served as the backdrop for several scenes in the popular Christmas film, with many of the locations still accessible to visitors today.
She went on to describe the village as a ‘quintessential storybook English village’ that boasts timber-framed cottages, a stream, and a 12th century church, called St James’ Church, which eagle-eyed fans might recognise from a scene from The Holiday where Cameron Diaz’s character walks towards the cottage she lives in for most of the film.
“In fact, for such a tiny place, there’s actually 34 historic listed buildings, which really gives you a sense of how much there is to see once you get there,” she revealed.
The village also boasts two local pubs, one of which, The White Horse, was featured in the film during a scene where Amanda (Diaz) and Graham (Law) share a meal. The pub remains largely unchanged from its on-screen appearance.
Besides The Holiday, parts of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones, and The Wedding Date were also filmed in Shere, making it the perfect destination for any film fanatics.
As for the walk, Zanna said: “And the hike itself is beautiful, taking you through ancient woodland and rolling farmland, with countryside views and plenty of bramble bushes along the way.”
She explained that the circular walk is around 11km (6.8 miles) long with 250m of elevation, explaining she thought ‘it’s not too challenging’. It’ll then return you to Gomshaw, where you can take the train back to London.
People quickly took to the comment section to share their thoughts, as many were amazed by the similarities the village had of what they’d seen in The Holiday.
“Yep this looks straight out of a movie,” one viewer wrote. Another user said: “One of my favourite places.”
Someone else wrote: “Omg I can’t wait to check it out!!!”
