EDITOR'S NOTE
The busiest week of Guildford's summer, and it's not close. Loseley Park runs three consecutive nights of open-air music from Friday, the Yvonne Arnaud has something on almost every day of the school holidays, and the Boileroom has Buzzcocks in on Wednesday. If you were going to pick one week not to leave town, this is it.
FEATURED THIS WEEK
Live at Loseley — three nights, Fri 7 to Sun 9 August, gates 5.30pm
Friday is 80s v 90s Live, neon and denim with a firework finale. Saturday is Musicals Under the Stars, with Kerry Ellis, Ben Forster and a West End cast — already 70–80% sold across every ticket type. Sunday winds it down with Country at Loseley and line dancing into the early evening. Book at liveatloseley.com →
BEST FOR KIDS
Family Circus Workshop, Yvonne Arnaud Main House, Mon 3 August. Circus Brighton bring the stilts and hoops for a proper hands-on session. If you miss it, the theatre's Summer Family Fun Day lands on Wed 5 August.
NEW IN TOWN
Emma — The Sleep Company has opened at 69–71 North Street. It's an independently run franchise rather than a corporate branch, with a showroom range you can't test online and stock held on site for same-day collection.
HEADS UP
Three nights at Loseley means three evenings of heavy traffic on the lanes around Compton, Littleton and the B3000 from about 5pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Allow extra time if you're heading that way — and note you can't bring alcohol in from outside.
👨👩👧 Things To Do
Kids & Family
Family Circus Workshop — Yvonne Arnaud, Mon 3 August. See Best for Kids above.
Teen Screen Acting, 13–18yrs — Yvonne Arnaud River Room, three days from Tue 4 August. Limited places left.
Summer Family Fun Day — Yvonne Arnaud, Wed 5 August. Craft and activities in the theatre foyer.
K-Pop Icons — Yvonne Arnaud Main House, Wed 5 August. Tribute show, aimed squarely at teenagers.
Video Game Design, 8–11yrs — Yvonne Arnaud River Room, Fri 7 August. Limited places.
Bandstand concert — Castle Grounds, Sun 9 August, 2–4pm. Almac Bisley Brass. Free, bring a rug.
Adults · Date Night
It's Not a Game — Yvonne Arnaud, Tue 4 August. Award-winning illusionists Jay & Joss.
Buzzcocks — The Boileroom, Wed 5 August. Tickets →
Motown: The Candlelight Concert — Yvonne Arnaud, Thu 6 August. Selling fast.
The Marriage of Figaro — Wild Arts, Yvonne Arnaud, Fri 7 August. Mozart's comedy of intrigue, and the last few seats are going.
An Evening with Arthur Smith & Caroline Quentin — Yvonne Arnaud, Sat 8 August. The two of them talking about An Evening with Gary Lineker, which is exactly as odd and as funny as it sounds.
Weekend Events
80s v 90s Live — Loseley Park, Fri 7 August, gates 5.30pm. Tickets →
Utah Saints — The Boileroom, Fri 7 August. Tickets →
Musicals Under the Stars — Loseley Park, Sat 8 August, gates 5.30pm. Tickets →
Dub Pistols: Barry Ashworth DJ set — The Boileroom, Sat 8 August. Tickets →
Country at Loseley — Loseley Park, Sun 9 August. Line dancing, classic and modern country, then a country DJ.
Looking ahead: the Yvonne Arnaud's main house turns over to Our Man in Havana (11–15 Aug); Guildford Fringe's Big Free Fringe Weekend fills the High Street with free family entertainment on Sat 15 August, with the Barricade Boys playing the Guildhall at 6.30pm; and Guildford Area u3a holds its annual enrolment day on Tue 11 August, 2–3.30pm.
🏙️ What's New in Guildford
Emma Sleep has opened on North Street. The mattress brand's new store at 69–71 North Street is run as an independent franchise by a local operator, with a showroom range you can't test online and stock held on site. Open Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pm.
Two new shopfronts are working their way through planning. Listed building consent has been sought for a new shopfront, hanging sign and internal alterations at 132–134 High Street, and separately for fascia and projecting signs at 84–86 High Street. Neither application names the incoming tenant yet — but on a street that lost Hugo Boss at 128 earlier this year, two sets of signage drawings landing in the same week is worth watching.
🚧 Useful Guildford Updates
Roads — no new A3 closure posted. National Highways' most recent scheme update covered July's weekend closures only, and nothing has been posted for the coming week. The standing 24/7 lane closure on the west side of Dennis Roundabout stays put, along with the pedestrian diversion via Woodenbridge footbridge, until December while the bridge repairs and resurfacing finish. Check the scheme page before travelling →
Trains — a clear week, then a big one. Nothing is scheduled on Guildford's lines during the coming week. Book ahead though: on Sat 15 and Sun 16 August all lines close between Guildford and both Surbiton and Leatherhead, with buses replacing trains on both routes. Official notice →
Planning — quiet again. Around 50 applications validated and 56 decided, and the overwhelming majority were householder extensions, tree work and discharge of conditions. Nothing decided reaches this page. The two High Street shopfront applications above are the most interesting items; further out, prior approval has been sought to convert Connaught House on the Portsmouth Road in Send from offices to homes, and there's a permission-in-principle application for three or four houses at Brick Kiln Farm, Ockham.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Mon 3 Aug: Family Circus Workshop, Yvonne Arnaud
Tue 4 Aug: It's Not a Game (Jay & Joss), Yvonne Arnaud · Teen Screen Acting begins
Wed 5 Aug: Summer Family Fun Day & K-Pop Icons, Yvonne Arnaud · Buzzcocks, The Boileroom
Thu 6 Aug: Free guided walk, Tunsgate Arch, 2pm · Motown: The Candlelight Concert, Yvonne Arnaud
Fri 7 Aug: 80s v 90s Live, Loseley Park · The Marriage of Figaro, Yvonne Arnaud · Utah Saints, The Boileroom
Sat 8 Aug: Musicals Under the Stars, Loseley Park · Arthur Smith & Caroline Quentin, Yvonne Arnaud · Dub Pistols DJ set, The Boileroom
Sun 9 Aug: Country at Loseley · Bandstand concert, Castle Grounds, 2–4pm
HIDDEN GEM OF THE WEEK
Racks Close. A wooded hollow tucked between South Hill and Castle Street, three minutes' walk from the top of the High Street and missed by almost everyone who isn't local. It started life as a medieval chalk quarry — you can still see the cut faces through the trees — and takes its name from the tenter racks where cloth was stretched to dry during Guildford's wool trade. Today it's a cool, shaded pocket of green with benches and a set of steps that pops you out by the Castle Grounds. Ideal on a hot afternoon when the High Street is unbearable.
Racks Close, Guildford © guildford.daiyanyingyu.uk
WEATHER THIS WEEK
Monday is the hot one — around 31°C, the peak of the week — easing to 27°C on Tuesday and the mid-20s by Thursday. There's a chance of a thundery shower Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday morning looks like the wettest spell before it brightens up. Nights stay muggy at 14–17°C. The Loseley weekend sits beyond reliable forecast range at the time of writing, so check again on Thursday before you pack the picnic rug.
👀 WORTH KNOWING
A free guided walk on Thursday. Guildford's town guides are running 3 Queens & 1 Castle on Thu 6 August at 2pm, meeting at Tunsgate Arch. It's free, it's about an hour, and it's the easiest way to find out why the castle ended up where it did — one of several free walks running through the summer.
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