Virginia Water

Virginia Water is a commuter town or village in northern Surrey, home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The place occupies a large minority of the Borough of Runnymede. Its name is shared with the lake on its western boundary with Windsor Great Park. Virginia Water is close to the M25, M4 and M3 motorways. Heathrow Airport is seven miles to the north-east.

For the lake, see Virginia Water Lake.

Virginia Water

Aerial view of Virginia Water
Virginia Water
Location within Surrey
Population5,940 (2011, Ward)[1]
OS grid referenceSU982679
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townVIRGINIA WATER
Postcode districtGU25
Dialling code01344
PoliceSurrey
FireSurrey
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

A report from October 2015 listed Virginia Water as the most expensive town (excepting individual London boroughs) for property in the UK, having an average house price exceeding £1m.[2] The 2011 Census showed the population of Virginia Water to be 5,940. Many of the homes are situated on the Wentworth Estate, the home of the Wentworth Club which has four golf courses.[3] The Ryder Cup was first played there. It is also home to the headquarters of the PGA European Tour, the professional golf tour. The estate reached the headlines in 1998 when General Augusto Pinochet was kept under house arrest in one of its houses prior to his extradition.[4]

The town has a junction railway station within the estate. Frequent South Western Railway trains run to London Waterloo, Weybridge, Twickenham, Richmond, Staines, Feltham, Clapham Junction, Vauxhall and Reading.

Notable people

Elton John - English singer, owned a house in Virginia Water until 2000.

Bryan Forbes - English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist until his death in 2013.

Sir Bruce Forsyth - Television presenter, resided in Virginia Water until his death in 2017.

Kirsty Gallacher - Television presenter

Cliff Richard - British singer

Chris Squire - Bassist

Bernie Taupin - Lyricist

Diana Dors - Actress, who lived there until her death in 1984.

Sir Nick Faldo - Professional golfer

Kevin Pietersen - Former English cricketer

Prince Naseem Hamed - Former British boxer

Ron Dennis - British businessman.[5]

References
  1. "Runnymede Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  2. Olivia Blair (26 October 2015). "The UK's first 'million pound towns' outside of London". The Independent.
  3. "Virginia Water community website - your source for local information".
  4. "Pinochet retreats to luxury estate". BBC News. 2 December 1998.
  5. "Virginia Water: the village where houses cost £1m and up". The Week.

Media related to Virginia Water at Wikimedia Commons

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