Where to live if you commute to London Waterloo

London Waterloo primarily services the South West of England, with trains passing from London, through Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire and all the way to Dorset. Below, we summarise some specific areas to consider moving to, all with direct routes into Waterloo. Note that this is a premium post and so you will need an access code to read most of the content.

London Waterloo primarily services the South West of England, with trains passing from London, through Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire and all the way to Dorset. Below, we summarise some specific areas to consider moving to, all with direct routes into Waterloo.

Commutes within 60 mins of London Waterloo

Although most 30 minute routes (green dots in the map below) would only take you to within the border of the M25, there are a great places to consider moving to.

Guildford, Surrey

40 mins - £377 monthly pass

Guildford is a bustling town located in the heart of Surrey. It is a popular destination for tourists and people looking to move to the area, thanks to its rich history, charming architecture, and vibrant culture. Guildford is known for its picturesque cobbled streets, lined with independent shops, cafes, and restaurants.

For those looking to relocate to Guildford, there are plenty of reasons to consider this town as your new home. It boasts excellent transport links, with easy access to London and other major cities in the South East. It is also home to a number of highly rated schools, making it an ideal location for families. Guildford has a thriving cultural scene, with a range of music venues, theatres, and art galleries to make the most of.

Commute

Guildford has a reliable and efficient public transport system, with regular bus and train services connecting the town to other parts of Surrey and beyond. The train station is located in the town centre and provides direct services to London Waterloo, Portsmouth, and Reading. There are also regular services to other destinations, such as Birmingham and Manchester.

The main bus station is located next to the railway station, and provides services to destinations such as Woking, Farnham, and Aldershot.

Guildford is also well connected to other areas of the UK through its extensive road network. The town is situated just off the A3, which provides a direct link to London and Portsmouth. The M25 is also easily accessible, and offers a convenient route to other parts of the country.

Broadband

Across Guildford, ultrafast broadband (>100 Mbps) is currently rolled out to 98% of households, and the average download speed in the area is 117 Mbps which is a positive for the area.

Schools

Guildford has a number of excellent primary and secondary schools, both state-funded and independent. The majority of primary schools in Guildford are rated "Good" or "Outstanding" by Ofsted.

Property

The cost of living in Guildford is high, especially compared to other towns in the region. Coupled with excellent transport links into Central London, property prices have therefore seen a sizeable increase over the last few years. As Guildford is a historic town, it is not a surprise that there are many period homes to choose from, particularly Victorian and Edwardian homes. In addition, the town centre has a variety of modern apartments that are perfect for young professionals or couples.



Surrey is an excellent county to consider for speedy commutes to London. Check out our 70-page Surrey guide which profiles seven towns and villages in the county.

Thames Ditton, Surrey

40 mins - £285 monthly pass

Thames Ditton is a quaint village located in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, right on the edge of London. It is situated on the banks of the River Thames and is known for its picturesque scenery and peaceful atmosphere. The village is a popular choice for families and commuters due to its excellent transport links, top-rated schools, and abundance of outdoor activities.

Commute

Thames Ditton’s proximity to the city makes it a popular choice for professionals who want a peaceful and serene place to call home, with a short commute. The village has great transport links, making it easy for residents to travel to and from work.

Thames Ditton station is located in the heart of the village, providing good access to London Waterloo and other major destinations. The station is served by South Western Railway, which operates frequent services throughout the day.

Thames Ditton is located close to major road networks, including the M25, A3, and M3, making it easy for residents to travel by car to London, as well as nearby towns and cities. However, the village is prone to traffic congestion during peak hours, particularly on the A309 and A307.

Broadband

For Esher and Walton, which is the area the broadband is measured covering Thames Ditton, ultrafast broadband (>100 Mbps) is currently rolled out to over 99% of households and the average download speed in the area is 125 Mbps, which is a great bonus for the area.

Schools

The Thames Ditton area is home to a number of highly-regarded primary and secondary schools, as well as a variety of further education options.

Property

Thames Ditton is a desirable area to call home, but the property market is competitive due to its very close proximity to London. Properties are also in short supply due to the size of the village, meaning house prices tend to be high.

The village has a mix of old and new properties, with some historic buildings dating back to the 18th century, sitting alongside newer developments built in recent years.

Claygate, Surrey

40 mins - £334 monthly pass

The popular and family-orientated village of Claygate offers the best of both worlds; London right on your doorstep, but also a pretty village setting. Set in the affluent Elmbridge district, it is one of the most sought-after villages in the area. Claygate is regarded as a fantastic place to raise a family, with plenty of things to do for all the family, superb schooling options, and easy rail connections into the City. You will find a range of amenities in the village and even more in nearby Esher and Cobham. The village is surrounded by beautiful countryside with gorgeous spots like Box Hill nearby. Claygate also benefits from good access to ultrafast broadband.

Commute

The village has its own train station to the edge of the village that connects to London Waterloo, with two trains every half an hour. While it is on the slower line, it will still get you into Waterloo in 40 minutes. It is a relatively quiet station and you can park for £5.70 per day or £84.00 per month. There are 144 car spaces available, although given the close proximity of the station to the village, walking or cycling is an option.

Claygate is located near the A3 and A307 major roads, providing easy access to nearby towns and cities, the M25 motorway is within easy reach and there are several cycle routes nearby, including the National Cycle Network, making cycling a popular option for commuting and leisure.

Broadband

Broadband speeds in the Esher & Walton area, where Claygate is located, are very fast, with an average download speed of 112 Mbps.

Schools

Claygate Primary School is the only one in the village, but was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ by Ofsted during a 2020 inspection, therefore, we have recommended primaries within two miles of the village. Esher Church School has a particularly good reputation locally. There are some ‘Outstanding’ rated primaries in Surbiton and Thames Ditton, although these are exceptionally competitive and catchment areas will need to be considered. As you would expect for a village so close to London, there is a high density of top-rated independent secondaries nearby to choose from.

Property

The property market in Claygate attracts families and professionals and has experienced strong growth over the last couple of years. Detached modern homes are more common than in other areas, but you will also find other period properties closer to the village centre, as well as new build apartments.

Haslmere, Surrey

50 mins - £513 monthly pass

The pretty town of Haslemere is a popular place to live. It made our list due to its lovely high street and position on the edge of the South Downs. Haslemere also offers all the conveniences and amenities of a larger town, including quick transport links into London and good superfast broadband coverage to enable you to work from home easily. The town is well suited to long walks as it is surrounded by hills, with Blackdown to the south and Gibbet Hill to the north, and much of the heathland and woodland is protected by the National Trust.

Commute

Haslemere has its own station, with trains to London Waterloo every 15-30 minutes and direct lines to other destinations such as Portsmouth, Southampton, and Guildford. It is a relatively busy station and has 358 parking spaces. At peak times, a space will cost £9.80 per day or £127.90 per month.

Broadband

Broadband speeds in Surrey are quite fast, with an average download speed of 100 Mbps. Ultrafast broadband is currently rolled out to 42% of households in South West Surrey (the area broadband is measured for Haslemere) and the average download speed is 78 Mbps.

Schools

The town has several primary, secondary, and sixth-form colleges offering high-quality education. Additionally, there are also several pre-schools and nurseries that cater to younger children.

Property

Properties in Haslemere have long been in demand by those moving out of London, and this desire for property has only increased since 2020. As a larger town, Haslemere appeals to those looking for the convenience of good transport links and amenities on their doorstep, over a country setting. Property styles range from 17th century cottages to modern builds.

Esher, Surrey

20-30 mins - £225 monthly pass

Esher is a lovely town within 30 minutes of London Waterloo and very much still in London; you can drive to Wimbledon in about 20 minutes. Even though it is close to London, Esher does have a nice quiet feel, there is an abundance of surrounding green space and it also has a great commercial high street, with an Everyman cinema at the heart of it.

Surrey is an excellent county to consider for speedy commutes to London. Check out our 70-page Surrey guide which profiles seven towns and villages in the county.

Epsom, Surrey

40 mins - £215 monthly pass

Epsom is an historic Surrey market town famous for its horse racing and excellent links to London. Direct and frequent train routes to Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge make this a top choice for commuters. The commute price is relatively affordable at around £215 per month from Epsom, or a little less if you drive to Worcester Park.

Epsom has fast broadband (85mbps average) and good local schools, including two academy converters that were rated outstanding. The average cost of a detached house in Epsom is £863,540 and overall house prices are on the increase, with a 7% increase in the last year.

Cobham, Surrey

40 mins - £277 monthly pass

Slightly West of Epsom is the large Surrey village, Cobham. Cobham has great links into London, with direct trains to Waterloo from Cobham & Stoke D'Abernon in around 40 minutes, or if you drive to Weybride then the train journey is only 25 minutes. Heathrow is a mere 10 miles away.

Commutes 1 - 1.5 hours from London Waterloo

Stretching just over a 60 minute journey (orange dots above) can take you surprisingly far.

Hartley Wintney, Hampshire

1hr 10 mins - £530 monthly pass

You will find that English village feel with the countryside right on your doorstep in Hartley Wintne. It features two lovely duck ponds and five greens, including the picturesque Cricket Green where the sport is still played and remains a key part of village life. It boasts a pretty high street lined with period buildings, largely dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, and features a range of interiors and antique shops, fashion boutiques, and galleries. The village and surrounding area also have a few good coffee shops, cafes and farm shops worth a visit, while there are many stunning walks around the village and surrounding Hampshire countryside to enjoy. The village also boasts a great community and strong broadband speeds, important for working from home.

Commute

The closest train station to Hartley Wintney is Winchfield station, which is a five minute drive away, with direct trains into London Waterloo every 30 minutes. It is a relatively quiet station but benefits from 250 car spaces that can be booked for £6.10 per day or £91.90 per month.

Nearby Hook has its own central train station, which follows the same line. It is also a relatively quiet station and has 157 parking spaces. At peak times, a space will cost £6.30 per day or £92.90 per month.

Both stations typically have spaces free during the week at 8am.

Broadband

Broadband speeds in North East Hampshire, where Hartley Wintney is situated, are relatively fast, with an average download speed of 90 Mbps.

Schools

Both Hartley Wintney and Hook have outstanding Infant Schools and both Junior Schools have a fantastic reputation locally. For secondary education there are some good schools featured in the Good Schools Guide within 10 miles of the village but there are fewer options nearby than other areas on our recommended list.

Property

The Hartley Wintney property market offers a range of properties including period homes, farmhouses and barn conversions. Sizeable gardens and quiet settings with countryside views are possible within mid-high budgets.

Overton, Hampshire

65 mins, £480 monthly pass

Looking for somewhere a bit quieter? Overton is a village close to Basingstoke - quiet, yet bustling with cool cafes and eateries.

The train to Waterloo is just over an hour, from Overton's own station. Houses are more reasonable than say Guildford, with a detached house average just over £530k and a semi-detached £330k.

Winchester, Hampshire

65 mins, £535 per month

Winchester is a super desirable city to live in, with access to Waterloo in just over an hour even though it lies close to the south coast, nearly as far as Southampton. House prices have been on the rise since the pandemic, with detached houses nearing £750k on average. Winchester has some great surrounding villages - check out New Alresford.

Twyford, Berkshire

1hr 20 mins (from Winnersh), £410 monthly pass

Twyford is a lovely village just outside of Reading. It has it's own train station, with direct trains into Paddington (19 mins!) although to get to Waterloo directly, you can drive to Winnersh station in 10-15 mins and travel from there.

As well as having access to all of the shops that nearby Reading has to offer, Twyford has a good high street which has it's own Waitrose.

If you're looking for a longer commute or cheaper areas

We're all considering living out in the 'proper' countryside these days, so what's worth considering?

Lyndhurst, Hampshire

1hr 45 mins, £608 monthly pass

Lyndhurst is a village at the heart of New Forest National Park and so is a popular tourist spot. The village doesn't have it's own station, so you will need to drive to either Ashurst New Forest station or Beaulieu Road (under 10 mins) for trains to London. A monthly train pass to London is over £600 per month, however the average price of a detached house is around £530k which is a little lower than other locations we've listed above.

Tisbury, Wiltshire

2hr, £627 monthly pass

Further West you will find Tisbury, a village in Wiltshire and in West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tisbury is a 2 hour train ride to Waterloo from Tisbury's own station, although if you look on the map this is really starting to feel far from London! It's a stunning village, surrounded by countryside but also has with a lot of great surrounding places to visit - Salisbury is a 30 minute drive away, Bath is 50 minutes and the county of Dorset is on it's doorstep.

Some statistics to consider

As the charts below show, there is a clear decrease in average property prices the further you're willing to commute. For example, the difference between a 30-40 minute train journey (Guildford, Epsom) and a 90-100 minute journey (Tisbury, Banbury), for a semi-detached house, is nearly £200k. Property pricing data as at June 2023.