Shere Delight in the Surrey Hills

At Christmas time the online polls would tell you that you are either a “Love Actually” or “The Holiday” person. For me I’m both, though if it did come down to it my favourite Christmas movie is Love Actually. Of course, at Christmas time in London it is easy to pay homage to both films by visiting the number of locations used. For Love Actually it is delightful to walk along Southbank and sit on the bench where Sam and his Dad talk about falling in love and then on to the base of the Oxo Tower where Mark with his cue cards professes his love for Juliet.

Christmas Eve Day I drove us to the small village of Shere, deep in the Surrey Hills which is identified as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village is famous for being the chief location of the 2006 film, The Holiday. It is now well known that the gorgeous cottage where Iris lives in is a fake – a facade set up on the hillside overlooking the village but the interiors all shot inside at the studios. However, that aside, the village of Shere is a quintessential English village with an historic Norman church (where Amanda is unceremoniously dumped from her car to drag her suitcase along the path) to The White Horse pub, where Amanda and Graham meet for a drink. Each time I watch the movie I call out “I’ve sat at that table” or “I’ve been to that pub!” when the scene comes on, driving my entire family crazy – “Yes, we know!” they cry in response.

Navigating the narrow, windy roads into Shere we pass medieval timber buildings with doorways opening immediately on to the road. Our first visit and walk, to build up our appetite for lunch, is to explore St James Church. St James is mentioned in the Domesday Book and was where the anchoress (a type of religious recluse) Christine Carpenter lived. The outline of her monastic cell remains visible on the outside of the church wall and from the inside, there remains the ‘arrow’ slit for her only view was to the altar.

I always find walking around a church graveyard a calming and peaceful experience. There’s something about seeing the graves and the dedications having lasted centuries that I find inspiring and puts me in touch with those that were there such a long time before me. The moss, dark and moist, is slowly covering the headstones with the names and dates of those lying below becoming obscured. Some headstones are cracked and falling to the side while others remain upright but for how long? These are the things that connect me today to centuries ago and to the people who like I, walked the village streets and drank at the pub.

shere lunch

shere food

shere food 2

What else to order than the roast of the day replete with huge Yorkshire pudding? Nothing! The White Horse serves a large, warming, tasty meal. My daughter could not resist the Sticky Toffee pudding for dessert and for me, a glass of bubbly and Christmas Eve day was a success. The low ceilings with dark beams on display, the locals leaning against the bar greeting other locals as they enter, and around the corner that very table where Graham and Amanda started their story; the White Horse pub is highly recommended.