The best things to do in Woking, checked August 2026: the Martian sandpit on Horsell Common, The Lightbox, waves and flumes at Pool in the Park, and Wisley.

Woking’s best day out is the spot where the Martians landed. H G Wells wrote The War of the Worlds while living in the town and put the first cylinder down in the sandpit on Horsell Common, which you can walk into for free any day of the year. Around that anchor, the borough offers a proper contemporary gallery, a major touring theatre, a leisure-pool complex with waves and flumes, the UK’s largest cemetery, and one of the world’s great gardens on its doorstep. This guide covers what is genuinely worth your time, with prices and opening details checked this August. Two changes worth knowing up front: the New Victoria Theatre has been renamed Woking Theatre, and the borough’s pools and leisure centre have changed operator from Freedom Leisure to Everyone Active, so old booking links may mislead you.

Decision helper in four boxes: on a fine day for free, the Horsell Common sandpit, Brookwood Cemetery and the borough's parks; a fine day paying, RHS Garden Wisley or a Mizens Railway Sunday; a wet day, The Lightbox, Woking Theatre, Superbowl or Pool in the Park; with small children, the leisure lagoon at Pool in the Park, soft play at Woking Leisure Centre, laser quest and the miniature railway

Horsell Common: the Martian landing site

Start here. The sandpits at the centre of Horsell Common are “the landing place of the Martians in H G Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’”, as Surrey County Council’s walking guide puts it, and they are genuinely atmospheric: steep sandy banks, exposed tree roots and heathland silence ten minutes from the town centre. The circular walk from the Shores Road car park is “wide and generally level with no steep gradients, suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs”, with blue badge parking off Shores Road, though no toilets (Surrey County Council). The common is open access and free, managed by the Horsell Common Preservation Society. It is the closest thing Surrey has to a literary pilgrimage you can do in wellies.

The Lightbox: the gallery worth the ticket

On Chobham Road beside the canal, The Lightbox is the town’s award-winning gallery and museum. Through to 1 November 2026 the headline show is Philip Colbert: The Lost Gardens of Lobsteropolis. The ground floor, including Woking’s Story museum, café and shop, is free; the two upper gallery floors take a Day Pass at £14.50, with under 18s free, and every Wednesday 10.30am to 12.30pm is “pay what you wish” for all gallery spaces. Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays (The Lightbox).

Woking Theatre: the renamed New Victoria

The 1992-built touring house in the town centre, ATG’s first acquired venue, was known as the New Victoria Theatre until April 2026, when it relaunched as Woking Theatre with a new identity (Woking News & Mail). The autumn 2026 programme is big-tour standard: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (22 to 26 September), Paranormal Activity (6 to 10 October), Six the musical (20 to 24 October) and Burlesque The Musical (3 to 7 November), with the smaller Rhoda McGaw Theatre and Nova Cinema alongside (Woking Theatre listings).

Pool in the Park and the leisure centre

Woking Park holds the borough’s two big indoor venues, both run by Everyone Active since the 2026 operator change (Freedom Leisure’s handover notice):

  • Pool in the Park has a 25-metre six-lane main pool, a teaching pool and a leisure lagoon with waves, water features and flumes, plus a poolside sauna. Open from 6am weekdays; note the rolling changing-room repairs (Everyone Active).
  • Woking Leisure Centre next door carries a 120-station gym, a ten-court sports hall, five squash courts, 3G pitches, and for children a soft play area and the Air-X inflatable obstacle course. Open 6am to 10pm weekdays (Everyone Active).

Superbowl at Victoria Place: the wet-day banker

In the town centre, Woking Superbowl at 1 Henry Plaza fills the wet-day slot: bowling from £6 a game, a laser quest arena (summer offer £7.50 a game, two for £12), arcade and air hockey, open from midday on weekdays and 10am at weekends and in the school holidays. A Summer Holiday Special runs to 20 September 2026: two games and a drink for £14.95 adults, £12.95 juniors (Woking Superbowl). It is five minutes’ walk from the station, with the 24-hour Victoria Place Red car park beside it.

Brookwood Cemetery: the strangest great day out in Surrey

West of town, Brookwood Cemetery is “the largest cemetery in the UK”, established in 1852 by the London Necropolis Company, which once ran funeral trains here from its own station at Waterloo. It is a Grade I listed park, open daily for visitors to explore, with military sections including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission plots and the American military cemetery (Brookwood Cemetery). Treat it as a landscape and history walk rather than a picnic spot; dogs are not admitted.

Mizens Railway: Sundays behind a miniature steam engine

At Barrs Lane in Knaphill, the Woking Miniature Railway Society runs Mizens Railway, a volunteer 7¼-inch gauge line through 10 acres of parkland. In 2026 it runs Sundays 2pm to 5pm until the end of September, plus school-holiday Thursdays on 13, 20 and 27 August, 1pm to 4pm, with an autumn gala and Santa specials later in the year (Steam Heritage listing; Visit Surrey). The society’s own website was unreachable when we checked, so confirm the day’s running before a special journey.

RHS Garden Wisley: the world-class garden next door

The Royal Horticultural Society’s flagship garden carries a Woking address, ten minutes from town via the A245 or a bus from the station. Open daily except Christmas Day, 10am to 6pm weekdays and from 9am at weekends; adults from £17.20 booked off-peak online (£20.50 on the day), children 5 to 16 £6, under 5s free, RHS members free. The Wisley Flower Show runs 1 to 6 September 2026 (RHS). Note the M25 junction 10 works beside it still bring overnight closures on the A3 this August.

The quick table

Days out in and around Woking: opening and prices checked August 2026
PlaceCostWhen
Horsell Common sandpitFreeOpen access, daily
The LightboxGround floor free; galleries £14.50, under 18s freeWed to Sun; pay-what-you-wish Wed mornings
Woking TheatrePer showAutumn season from September
Pool in the Park (Everyone Active)Per swimDaily, from 6am weekdays
Woking Leisure Centre (Everyone Active)Per activityMon to Fri 6am to 10pm, weekends to 8pm
Woking Superbowl, Victoria PlaceBowling from £6 a gameDaily; from 10am weekends and holidays
Brookwood CemeteryFreeOpen daily; no dogs
Mizens Railway, KnaphillRide tickets on the daySundays 2 to 5pm to end Sep; Thu 13, 20, 27 Aug
RHS Garden WisleyAdults from £17.20 onlineDaily except Christmas Day

Getting there and making a day of it

Most of the list works without a car: The Lightbox, Woking Theatre and Superbowl are minutes from the station, Brookwood Cemetery has its own station one stop away, and Horsell Common is a walk across the canal from the town centre. Coming from London, the fastest trains take 24 minutes; times, fares and the stations are in our Woking trains guide. Drivers should check roadworks and travel first while the A320 works and M25 junction 10 closures run, and compare the town’s car parks in parking in Woking.

Frequently asked questions

What can you do in Woking for free?

The Horsell Common sandpit and its heathland walks, Brookwood Cemetery’s landscape and military history, The Lightbox’s ground-floor museum, and the borough’s parks. The Lightbox’s paid galleries also run pay-what-you-wish on Wednesday mornings.

Where did the Martians land in The War of the Worlds?

In the sandpit on Horsell Common, north of Woking town centre. H G Wells lived in Maybury and set the novel’s opening there; the circular walk from Shores Road car park reaches it on a level, pushchair-friendly path (Surrey County Council).

Is the New Victoria Theatre still called that?

No. It was renamed Woking Theatre in April 2026 as part of ATG’s relaunch of the town’s venues; same building and stage, new name (Woking News & Mail).

Does Woking have a swimming pool with flumes?

Yes: Pool in the Park in Woking Park has a leisure lagoon with waves and flumes alongside its 25-metre pool, now run by Everyone Active (Everyone Active).

Is RHS Wisley in Woking?

Its address is Woking (GU23 6QB) and it sits just east of the borough by M25 junction 10. Booked off-peak adult entry starts at £17.20 and children aged 5 to 16 pay £6 (RHS).

What is there for toddlers in Woking?

The teaching pool and lagoon at Pool in the Park, soft play and the Air-X course at Woking Leisure Centre, a Mizens Railway Sunday afternoon, and the pushchair-friendly sandpit walk on Horsell Common.

Sources

Opening times and prices change, and operators change more often than you would think. Check the venue’s own site before a special journey. Checked against the sources above on 7 August 2026.