Camberley

St Michael's, Camberley

Camberley is a town in Surrey. Camberley is an up-and-coming and expanding town, which is known for being close to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. The main part of the town is north of the M3 with the older villages of Frimley, Frimley Green, Deepcut and Mytchett that have merged into the town south of the Motorway.

Understand

The settlement which grew up adjacent to the Staff College, was first named Cambridge Town after a local hotel, but this name proved unfortunate for officials of the Royal Mail. They were concerned that much of the Cambridge Town's post might end up in an ancient university city on the edge of the Fens in eastern England. Thus, the name of the Victorian upstart was quickly changed to Camberley, to match older local place names such as Frimley, Hawley and Yateley.

Get in

Camberley is 30 miles (50 km) away from central London and quite convenient to reach the M3/M25 corridor and Heathrow airport.

By bus

Camberley is served by many bus routes from Aldershot, Ascot, Bracknell, Farnborough, Guildford, Heathrow, Sandhurst, Staines and Woking.

By plane

Camberley is well served by London's collection of airports. For travellers coming directly to Camberley, the most convenient are:

• Heathrow Airport is about 25 minutes' drive along the M25 and M3 motorways. Bus route 730 links Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 5 to Knoll Road in the town centre.
• Gatwick Airport is about an hour's drive away via the M23, M25 and M3 motorways. Great Western Railway operates trains from Gatwick to Blackwater, a station about 2 mi (3.2 km) west of Camberley town centre and connected to the town by bus route 3

By train

1 Camberley station is on a local branch line between Ascot and Aldershot, with trains every 30 min. Services from London Waterloo to Reading call at Ascot; change here to get to Camberley in around 1 hr 15 min from Waterloo.

2 Farnborough Main station, 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Camberley, receives three trains an hour direct from Waterloo, with journey times of 35-50 min. It also gets regular trains from Woking, Basingstoke, Winchester and Portsmouth. Bus route 1 links this station to Camberley

3 Blackwater station, 2 mi (3.2 km) west of the town centre heading along London Road, receives two trains per hour from Reading, Wokingham, Guildford and Gatwick Airport. Bus route 3 links this station to Camberley

By car

Travelling from central London, Heathrow or Gatwick airports, Camberley can be reached via the M25 at Junction 12 heading on the M3 in the direction of Southampton and the South West. Leave the motorway at Junction 4.

Camberley's White Elephant

Travelling by car is by far the best option for getting around Camberley and the surrounding area. Richmond, Hammersmith and Chiswick and most other parts of West London can be easily accessed via the M3 and the journey will take 30 - 45 mins. Camberley is also very convenient for reaching Southampton and the south west coast, with journey times of 45 minutes very achievable.

If entering Camberley from the west on the A30, look out for the concrete elephant on your right, which has guarded the entrance to Surrey from Hampshire and Berkshire since 1963.

Get around

All parts of Camberley town centre are easily reached on foot, and taking taxis or buses is unnecessary in the centre.

The outlying suburbs of Camberley such as Frimley, Heatherside and Mytchett may need to be reached by bus.

Buses departing and arriving to all major routes outside of Camberley town centre depart from either side of the road which runs Parallel to the main train station. Buses cover all the major routes to and from Farnborough, Aldershot, Guildford and London.

Frimley Green is in close walking distance to Farnborough.

By taxi

Camberley has hackney carriages (black cabs), which can be hailed on the street or booked in advance, and minicabs, which must be pre-booked. Hackney carriages in Camberley use regulated fares set by Surrey Heath, with a base fare of £3.60 day and night. The daytime rate is £1.43 per kilometre, while the nighttime rate (11PM-7AM) increases to £2.05 per kilometer (Sep 2024). Waiting charges are approximately £18 per hour. Minicabs have unregulated fares, so prices vary and should be agreed upon when booking.

• Camberley Taxi Cab, ☏ +44 1276 671 199. Runs a fleet of black cabs within the town, offering online and app-based booking options. (Fixed Fares) (updated Sep 2024)

See

• 1 The Royal Logistics Corps Museum (in Deepcut).  
• 2 Frimley Lodge Park, Sturt Road (close to the Frimley Green suburb of Camberley). Free car parking, woodland and lots of open space, picnic areas, two children's playgrounds, a trim trail, miniature railway and meadows. There is also football, rugby, cricket a pitch and putt course.  
• 3 Basingstoke Canal, Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett (can be accessed via Frimley Lodge Park).  
• There are several old buildings to be seen around the village of Frimley Green including an old thatched barn dating back to 1500, featured on the village sign.

St Tarcisius Church

• 4 St Tarcisius Church, 227 London Road. open for prayer most days, mass Tu Th Su 9:30AM. Roman Catholic church built in 1923. (updated Apr 2018)

Do

Camberley Theatre

• 1 The Camberley Theatre, Knoll Road, ☏ +44 1276 707600. Offers a varied program of events to suit all tastes with drama, music, stand-up comedy, children's shows, film screenings and workshops. 
• 2 The Arena Leisure Centre, Grand Avenue, ☏ +44 1276 417111. Features a 25-m swimming pool, teen gym and a 50-and-over members club. 
• Basingstoke Canal Cruises, ☏ +44 1252 837165. Various operators run canal cruises along the Basingstoke canal that runs through the Frimley Green part of Camberley. Most will run traditionally styled narrowboats and include charters, summer party cruises and cream tea cruises to name a few. Contact John Cale Canal Cruises. 
• Camberley Rotaract. A well established local social club aimed at 18- to 30-year-olds, also attracting numerous members who are new to the country or simply passing through. The club has a very varied calendar, including volunteering and fund-raising opportunities alongside more conventional events such as cinema trips, paint-balling and meals out. 

Golf courses

Golf courses are in abundance in the Camberley area due to the vast open spaces compared with central London.

• 3 Camberley Heath Golf Club, Golf Drive, ☏ +44 1276 23258. 
• 4 Windlesham Golf Club, Grove End, Bagshot, GU19 5HY, ☏ +44 1276 452220. 
• 5 Pine Ridge Golf Centre, Old Bisley Road, Frimley, ☏ +44 1276 675444. 

Events

• WDF World Darts Championship: 1–9 January 2022. Lakeside Country Club, Wharf Road, Frimley Green, GU16 6PT. This is the first of a new championship, organised by the World Darts Federation and intended to recur yearly. Lakeside hosted the previous annual WDC from 1986 until 2019, but the original governing body collapsed in 2020. (date needs updating)

Buy

High Street

Camberley has most of the normal high street chains popular in most towns and cities throughout the UK.

• 1 The Atrium, Park St, ☏ +44 1276 63732. Shopping and leisure complex on the south side of the town. Facilities include, restaurants, bars, multiplex cinema, bowling alley and arcade. 
• 2 The Mall, High Street. Shopping mall. Stores such as House of Fraser. 
• 3 The Fish Shop, 110a Frimley Road, GU15 2QN, ☏ +44 1276 66618. Tu-F 7:30AM-5:30PM, Sa 7:30AM-4PM. A truly excellent fishmonger with a very wide range of products mostly sourced from the South Coast and Cornwall. Arrive early for the best choice. If you're staying in the area without access to a proper kitchen, try the homemade fish cakes or fish pie, which microwave, or really push the boat out with a cold seafood platter. (updated Oct 2018)

Eat

• 1 El Pic Tapas Bar, 177 London Road, ☏ +44 1276 670670. 
• 2 Old Thai House, 125 London Road, ☏ +44 1276 21212. Traditional inexpensive Thai food. 
• 3 So Asia, 69 High St, ☏ +44 1276 29078. Eat as much as you like buffet style restaurant with an excellent choice of Chinese, Thai and Indian foods. 
• Chiquito Restaurant and Bar, The Atrium, Park Street. Mexican food. 
• Nando's, The Atrium, Park Street. Portuguese food. 
• Frankie & Benny's, The Atrium, Park Street. Italian-American-style food. 
• 4 Zizzi, 50 Park Street, ☏ +44 1276 61660. Italian food. 
• 5 Cinnamon, 224 Frimley Green Road, ☏ +44 1252 834500. Indian restaurant. 
• 6 The Kings Head, Guildford Road, Frimley Green, ☏ +44 1252 835431. This is a Harvester Restaurant serving reasonably priced meals every day. 

Drink

• 1 Carpenters Arms, 59 Park Street, ☏ +44 1276 63676. Non-pretentious drinking pub! 
• 2 The Claude Du Vall, 77-81 High St, ☏ +44 1276 672910. A JD Wetherspoon pub. 
• 3 The Duke of York, 88 High Street, ☏ +44 1276 683703. 
• 4 The Square Bar, 23 Park Street, ☏ +44 1276 698920. 
• 5 The Wheatsheaf, 205 Frimley Green Road, ☏ +44 1252 835074. 
• 6 The Rose and Thistle, 1 Sturt Road, Frimley Green, ☏ +44 1252 834942. 

Nightclubs

• 7 Tru, 52 High Street, ☏ +44 1276 676565. Camberley's main event club. 
• 8 The Agincourt, 487 London Road, ☏ +44 1276 22225. Hard rock, Heavy Metal night club which also has live band performances, which has included some big names in the past. 
• Coach Trips to Ministry of Sound and Pacha London London Coach run night coaches to the top London night clubs which depart from Camberley town centre every month or so.

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Tekels Park Guest House, Tekels Avenue, ☏ +44 1276 23159. From £39. 

Mid-range

• 2 Travelodge Camberley, 537 London Road, ☏ +44 871 984 6315. 
• 3 Travelodge Lodge, 114 Portsmouth Road, Frimley, ☏ +44 871 559 1810. 

Splurge

• 4 Frimley Hall Hotel and Spa, Lime Avenue (off Portsmouth Road), ☏ +44 844 879 9110. 
• 5 Lakeside International Hotel, Wharf Road, Frimley Green, ☏ +44 1252 838000. 

Connect

The dialing code for Camberley is 01276 in the centre and 01252 in some of the outlying areas. Reduced cellphone coverage can be experienced in some of the more rural areas outside the centre of Camberley.

Free Wi-Fi is available at many of the cafes and pubs in the town.

Go next

• London is 31 miles away and Heathrow airport is approximately 19 miles away.
• Windsor is very close to Camberley, about 15 minutes drive away. Once here you can visit the towns many attractions including the castle.
• Guildford is also very close about 20 minutes drive away. Once here there are many attractions on offer to the visitor.
• Reading is about 30 minutes drive away and about 20 minutes by train from Blackwater Train Station which is south of the main centre. Reading offers the visitor a very rich mix of shopping and nightlife.
• Sandhurst
• Farnborough
• Woking

Theme parks

There are three very good theme parks all within 30–45 minutes drive of Camberley:

• Chessington World of Adventures Just off M25, Junction 10 Great theme park and zoo that is aimed at kids and younger teenagers. Tickets: £29 adults, £19.50 kids, although there are many 1/2 price offers going on around the year.
• Legoland Windsor near Windsor, Good theme park, aimed at younger children, with fewer rides, although it has many lego towns. Tickets: £30 adults, £23 kids.
• Thorpe Park Just off M25, Junction 12, The big theme park in the South! Thorpe Park is aimed squarely at adrenaline junkies (although there are plenty of rides to suit others!) and is well worth a visit. Be sure to go on all the rides, especially Colossus (world's first 10-loop roller coaster), Nemesis Inferno (fast and fun!), Stealth (0 - 80 mph in 2 seconds!) Tickets: £28.50 adults, £20 kids.

Routes through Camberley

Basingstoke ←	SW  NE	→ Sunningdale → London
Bracknell/Reading ← Sandhurst ←	N  S	→ → Farnborough → Farnham