Village north of Epsom with Ashtead Common National Nature Reserve, good schools, rail to London in 35 minutes, and a pleasant local high street.
Ashtead is a village at the northern edge of Mole Valley district, directly north of Epsom with which it is closely connected. It has Ashtead railway station on the line between Epsom and Leatherhead, with direct services to London Waterloo via Surbiton.
The village centre has a pleasant local shopping street — The Street — with independent businesses, a Waitrose, cafes, and restaurants. Ashtead is consistently popular with commuting families: it offers good primary and secondary schools, large houses with gardens, and rail travel to London in around 35 minutes.
Ashtead Common is the village's great natural asset — a 200-hectare National Nature Reserve managed by the City of London Corporation. It is one of the largest areas of unenclosed commonland in the south of England, with ancient pollard oaks (some 500 years old), heathland habitats, and miles of walking and horse-riding trails.
Ashtead Park, at the centre of the village, provides formal parkland around a large house now used as City of London Freemen's School. The wider parish includes Woodfield Lane and the Woodcote area, where large detached houses are the norm.