Surrey Postcodes — England (ENG)

Surrey

To the east lies Kent, to the southeast is East Sussex, to the south is West Sussex, to the west is Hampshire, to the northwest is Berkshire, and to the northeast is Greater London. Surrey is a county in South East England. Surrey, with a population of around 1.2 million, is the Southeast's third-most populous county after Hampshire and Kent and the 12th-most populous in England.

As counties go, Surrey is one of the wealthier ones. Its percentage of forest cover is the greatest among English counties. It is a golfer's paradise, with several courses and the Wentworth International Golf Championships held there.

Even though Guildford is commonly thought of as the county town, the Surrey County Council has been located at Woodhatch Place in Reigate since 2020 (it had been located at County Hall in Kingston upon Thames from 1893).

Geography of Surrey

The North Downs, a chalky mountain stretching east to west through Surrey, effectively cuts the county in half. The ridge is cut through by the tributary rivers Wey and Mole that flow into the Thames, which once served as the county's northern border but has since been redrawn, leaving a portion of the river's north bank within the county's borders. To the north of the Downs, within the Thames basin, the landscape is quite flat. Here, London Clay is found in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west, and alluvial deposits along the rivers; these three types of rock make up the majority of the region's geology.

The sandstone Surrey Hills are to the south of the Downs in the western portion of the county; the plain of the Low Weald stretches eastward, rising in the far southeast to the edge of the hills of the High Weald.

As you travel south from the Downs, you'll encounter a concentric pattern of geological deposits that includes southern Kent and the majority of Sussex and is primarily made up of Wealden Clay, Lower Greensand, and the chalk of the Downs.

A sizable portion of Surrey is protected as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. It's home to precious swaths of untouched, old-growth forest (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Box Hill, Leith Hill, Frensham Ponds, Newlands Corner, and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons are just a few of the numerous scenic areas in the area.

With a forest cover of 22.4% compared to the average of 11.8% across England, Surrey stands out as one of the few counties that does not encourage the establishment of new forests by its subordinate planning authorities. The natural box woods atop Box Hill is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest in the United Kingdom. In 2020, Surrey Heath boasted 41% tree cover, more than any other English district. In the western part of the county, on sandy soils, is where you'll find the greatest concentration of lowland heath in all of England.

Due to the lack of need for intensive farming, the landscape is dotted with commons and access areas, and the area is crisscrossed by a web of scenic long-distance trails like the North Downs Way. As a result, Surrey features a sizable contemporary horse population in addition to a wide variety of rural and semi-rural recreational opportunities.

Leith Hill, near Dorking, is Surrey's highest point. It stands at 295 meters (968 feet) above sea level and is the second-highest point in the southeast of England, behind Walbury Hill in West Berkshire, which is at 297 meters (974 ft).

Economy of Surrey

The high concentration of financial services jobs in Surrey contributes to the city's relatively high median income.

More British organizations and businesses call Surrey home than any other county.

The headquarters of Canon, Toshiba, Samsung, and Philips, as well as wholesalers Burlodge, Future Electronics, Kia Motors, and Toyota UK, pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis, and oil behemoth Esso are located here. Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Superdrug, Nestlé, SC Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Colgate-Palmolive, and Colgate-Palmolive all have their European or UK headquarters in this city. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including World Wildlife Fund UK and Compassion in World Farming have offices in the area as well.