Attraction in Surrey

RHS Wisley Garden in Surrey is the flagship garden of the Royal Horticultural Society, a 240-acre garden of exceptional quality and variety that serves as both the society's primary demonstration and research garden and as one of the most visited gardens in Britain. The garden encompasses a remarkable range of garden styles and plant collections, from the formal walled garden and glasshouses to the naturalistic wildflower meadows, the rock garden, the Battleston Hill rhododendron walks and the great glasshouse opened in 2007, providing a comprehensive survey of horticultural excellence that attracts gardeners of all levels of expertise. The garden's origins lie in the sixty-acre estate given to the RHS in 1903 by Sir Thomas Hanbury, and its subsequent development under a succession of RHS directors has added progressively to both the collections and the designed landscape. The Trial Gardens, where the RHS assesses new plant varieties for the Award of Garden Merit, provide an annual display of the finest and most innovative plant breeding, and the results of these trials inform the advice on plant selection that the RHS provides to gardeners across the country. The new Welcome Building opened in 2021 and the ongoing development of the garden's infrastructure has provided visitor facilities that match the quality of the garden itself. The seasonal programme at Wisley, from the spring flower shows through the summer displays to the autumn colour and the winter floral displays in the glasshouses, provides a different and equally rewarding experience in every season. The proximity of Wisley to the M25 makes it one of the most accessible major gardens in southern England, and the combination of the horticultural excellence, the plant sales and the seasonal displays makes it one of the most visited paying attractions in the southeast.

Thorpe Park near Chertsey in Surrey is one of the leading theme parks in Britain, specialising in high-intensity thrill rides including several of the fastest and most extreme roller coasters available in the country. The park attracts approximately 1.5 million visitors annually and is positioned firmly at the thrill-seeking end of the British theme park spectrum, suited to older children and adults rather than a family-with-young-children demographic. The ride collection includes Stealth, a hydraulically launched coaster reaching 80 mph in 1.8 seconds, and Saw: The Ride, styled after the horror film franchise, among the most intensive experiences available. The park sits on a former gravel pit and some of the lakes created by the extraction are incorporated into the water attractions and setting. The Fright Nights Halloween seasonal events have become one of the most popular seasonal theme park events in Britain, attracting large numbers of visitors during October. The location in the Thames Valley provides reasonable accessibility from London and the southeast, and the combination of the park with the nearby Windsor Great Park and Windsor Castle provides the framework for a multi-day family visit to this part of Surrey.