The window seat at the White Horse is broken and it’s all Jude Law’s fault. Ever since he watched Cameron Diaz there in 2006 for a scene in the Baileys sweet rom-com The holidayfilm fans have flocked to the pub to park in their own parking space derrieres on the now destroyed leather. It’s a kind of pilgrimage, a tribute to the Christmas movie that’s back on the box.
I went with them last week and took the bus that runs once an hour from Guildford to Chocolate Box Shere, the village where the movie was filmed. The morning mist still clung to the surrounding Surrey Hills as two wool-clad women ordered G&Ts at the bar. Inspired by their pre-noon indulgence, I ordered a pint.
“We get international tourists every day,” Josh Cooper, the pub’s assistant manager, told me over the crackle of the open fire. “Many Americans, but also Australians, South Africans. People from all over the world.”
For The holiday? “A lot of them, yes. But also for the pubs and the Surrey Hills: it is so typically English here.”
He’s not kidding. I looked out the window at the old village centers, the Christmas lights in the trees, the crooked houses, the crumbling church, the rolling hills. No wonder Americans love it. This is gift shop England. Exactly what the old world should look like.
But there were no Yanks. I scoured the pub looking for some, but found none. I did arrest a few Colombians. “This village fits the idyllic image we have of England at home,” cooed Sebastian Montez, a Latin American who Last summer wine flat cap.
Montez, a writer who moved to London, was showing around some friends from the mother country. “I told them, ‘You have to see this place'”. And what were they thinking, his friends? “Very nice,” they nodded politely.
Indeed. But like the worn pub chair, patience is wearing thin in Shere with the sheer number of visitors descending on the village. At least that’s what the tabloids think. One report suggested residents were at ‘war’ with tourists.
Nonsense, claimed the locals I spoke to along the main street, which is lined with pretty tearooms, independent gift shops and Tudor houses hanging over the sidewalks.
“I love seeing tourists here, I think it’s good for our well-being to see people out and about,” said resident Caroline Goddard. “To be honest, we probably wouldn’t have these shops and tearooms if it wasn’t for them, so you won’t hear me nimby.”
Shere certainly has a mellow buzz about it, and how many villages can you say that about these days? Many of its size would struggle to maintain even one pub, but Shere has two – the White Horse and the William Bray – both open before midday.
“There’s a lot going on, it’s a real village,” Goddard said. “We have a cinema club in the village hall twice a month, pilates, yoga and stream baths in winter. All kinds of crazy things. If you want a busy village, this is the place to be.”
However, in that very English way, there is dissatisfaction about parking; the feeling that while tourists are welcome, their cars are not.
“That’s where the problem lies,” Goddard said. “Some people who don’t have a parking spot get quite angry. There is also a lot of careless parking. I’ve seen tourists park in my driveway.”
It’s not just tourists, though. A local man, a long-time resident who wished to remain nameless, pointed the finger at recent “incomers,” outsiders who had bought into the chocolate box dream and brought their his-and-hers Range Rovers along for the ride. Of course, most have never seen mud before. Not here, in Surrey.
Despite the SUVs, Shere made me feel all nostalgic. Something about the babbling brook, the cozy tearooms, the Christmas lights, the cheerful locals. Of course, it’s been featured in countless movies, especially the schmaltzy ones like The Diary of Bridget Jones And Four weddings and a funeral.
Film crews love it for the same reason as everyone else: it’s close to London, but a world away. You can live the rural dream and still commute to the city (like another of The holiday main characters – Iris, columnist for The Telegraph played by Kate Winslet – does).
Before returning to the city myself, I had a cup of tea at Hilly’s Teashop, where the tea is served loose-leaf, in china and with an hourglass timer so you know when the tea has steeped. A fitting brew.
Like Shere herself, there was something peaceful about the ritual of drinking tea in this way. A sense of occasion. Of tradition. Not for the first time that day, I found myself leaning into the cliché of it all and giving in to old English nostalgia. Well, it’s almost Christmas after all.
Essentials
How to get there
Curry ingratiates himself with locals by taking the train to neighboring Gomshall and walking to Shere, which takes about 15 minutes.
Where to stay
Rookery Nook B&B (07946756344) is housed in a 15th century low-beamed building opposite St James’s Church, where they house some of the Bridget Jones’s Diary: Edge of Reason. Doubles from £160, including breakfast.
Where to eat
The White Horse is a Greene King chain serving traditional pub food. For more freestyle modern British gastronomy, try the William Bray or Kinghams.
What must we do
Shere is located in a plain in the Surrey Hills and is a good base for walking and cycling. The hyper-local Shere Museum chronicles the history of the area. The high street has a handful of independent shops and tearooms, including Hilly’s.