Glyn on 1 May 2004  •  Link

The county town of Surrey has been appreciated for many years as one of the finest towns in the Home Counties. It stands where a ford crossed the river Wey in ancient times and was an important stop on the Pilgrim's Way. During the Middle Ages the town became a centre of dyeing and finishing cloth. Guildford's prosperity continued when the Wey, one of the earliest canalised rivers in England, was opened to navigation in 1653 and connected Guildford to London and the Thames.

Cumgranissalis on 9 May 2005  •  Link

On 22 Aug '53 Evelyn J. did mention the famous Inn the Red Lion and the Hospital, & Monument of Geo: Abbot the Late A: Bish: of Canterbury.

Terry Foreman on 2 Oct 2011  •  Link

Guildford is the county town of Surrey, England...It is situated 27 miles (43 km) southwest of London...It is believed that Guildford was founded by Saxon settlers shortly after Roman authority had been removed from Britain (c.410AD). The site was likely chosen because the Harrow Way (an ancient trackway that continues along Hog's Back) crosses the River Wey at this point, via a ford....In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Guildford is identified with Astolat of Arthurian renown...From 978 Guildford was the location of the Royal Mint.

Guildford Castle may date back to Saxon times, if not much earlier.[citation needed] Its situation overlooks the pass through the hills taken by the Pilgrims' Way, and also, presumably, once overlooked the ancient ford across the Wey, thus giving a key point of military control of this important East-West route way across the country; just as Windsor Castle and the Tower of London once guarded the Thames. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guil…