Thursday 16 April 2026 | Reigate, Surrey
On 16 April we arrived in Reigate, ready for our next house sit. Our first night was spent at the Prince of Wales pub. We had a quick walk around the area, then went back to unpack. There were a lot of steps up to our rooms, and the manager and a very kind patron carried our bags up for us, which I was very grateful for. We finished the day with dinner downstairs in the pub.
A little bit of history: Reigate Tunnel runs under the old castle grounds. It was built in 1823 to link the High Street with London Road, cutting about a quarter of a mile off the journey, and these days it’s for pedestrians only.
A tip about stairs and suitcases
We’d booked the Prince of Wales without thinking to check whether there was a lift, and there wasn’t. We were lucky ladies to find such lovely men to help us, because at our first hotel in London the staff told us they couldn’t help or leave the front desk, so we’d had to haul our bags up four flights ourselves. Simply no way, that was hard work.
So it really pays to check whether there’s a lift before you book, or send a quick message to ask. A lot of older places in the UK have plenty of stairs and no lift at all. (You can read how I got my 23 kg suitcase back down those four flights in my first-day-in-London post.)
It was a good first look at the town that would be our base for the next house sit.