Reigate
REIGATE is Redhill’s older brother, tucked under the North Downs, with rows of quiet residential streets and a shopping centre with a Morrisons supermarket. The town’s 18th-century Priory Park has undergone a £6.2m regeneration, adding football pitches, tennis courts and a skate-park. Sunday afternoon walks are taken on Reigate Heath, 130 acres of open space on the edge of the town, where there is a restored windmill that is used as a church. Education is shared with Redhill. There is a Roman Catholic/Church of England co-ed comprehensive called St Bede’s which gets good results. East Surrey College offers HNDs in art and media, and foundation degrees in business.
Reigate has a greater quantity of properties at the top end of the market than Redhill. The most exclusive areas are High Trees Road and just off Reigate Hill. A large family home on Pilgrims Way with ample gardens would cost more than £1.5m. A two-up-two-down in the town centre could be bought for rather less, at £250,000.