Godalming to Gatwick Taxi

The route: A281 through Bramley, Cranleigh and Horsham

The default line is north on the A3100 to Shalford, then south-east on the A281 Horsham Road through Bramley, Grafham, Alfold and Bucks Green, on through Broadbridge Heath and round Horsham. From the Roffey side the A264 runs east past Faygate to the M23 at Pease Pottage, then it is a couple of junctions north to junction 9 and the Gatwick spur.

Shortest in miles, and a lovely drive, but single carriageway nearly all the way. Shalford and Bramley are the pinch points — the A281 squeezes through both villages and queues badly at school-run time and again from late afternoon.

When it is sitting still we leave on the B2130 instead, out past Winkworth Arboretum and through Hascombe to Cranleigh, rejoining the A281 near Alfold. It skips Shalford and Bramley altogether. Narrow in places, so not always faster, but knowing when to use it is the difference between a calm run and a scramble.

The motorway way round: A3, M25, M23

The alternative goes the long way: A3 north to the Wisley interchange at M25 junction 10, clockwise to Merstham at junction 7, then south on the M23 to junction 9. More miles, but dual carriageway and motorway throughout.

We take it for very early flights, when the M25 is quiet and the villages have not woken up, and whenever the A281 is blocked — one accident between Bramley and Shalford shuts that road for hours with no quick way round. In the morning peak the sums flip, and we would rather trickle through Cranleigh than sit still on the M25. We check the traffic before setting off and choose on the day.

North Terminal or South Terminal

The terminals are a couple of miles apart and you cannot walk between them, so it matters. Both come off the junction 9 spur: South is signposted from the airport roundabout, North has its own access road off it.

Broadly, easyJet and much of the long-haul traffic use North; British Airways, TUI and Vueling use South. Airlines do move, so trust the terminal on your boarding pass rather than last time's memory. Tell us when you book and we will drop you at the right door.

When to leave for your flight

Gatwick asks you to arrive two hours before a European flight, three before long-haul, and check-in closes 45 minutes before short-haul departures and 60 before long-haul. Work backwards from that, not from take-off.

Rough guidance only, because traffic decides this and not us:

• Before 8am: roads as good as they get. Allow about an hour door to terminal on top of your check-in window.
• Mid-morning to mid-afternoon: the quiet window, an hour to an hour and a quarter.
• Weekday peaks, roughly 7 to 9.30am and 4 to 7pm: add a good half hour, often more. Shalford, Bramley and the M25 all bite at once.
• Fridays and the start of the school holidays: treat every estimate as optimistic.

We will not promise a journey time, because nobody honestly can. We build the margin in and turn up early.

Coming home, and what it costs

Give us your flight number and terminal and we will sort out where to meet you. Landing at 1am is fine; we run 24 hours.

We do not publish prices, because a Gatwick fare depends on your address, the terminal, the time and how many are travelling. Ring or WhatsApp with those details and we will agree a fixed fare before you travel, so the price we quote is the price you pay. The car is a red Toyota Corolla saloon with a large boot. We are a small team of friendly local drivers based in Chiddingfold.

More from Chiddingfold Taxis

• Godalming taxis
• Airport transfers
• Godalming to Heathrow
• Haslemere taxis
• Chiddingfold, Godalming & Haslemere taxis — main page