Secret Surrey

Explore fascinating stories from Surrey. To share ideas or stories with the team, email secretsurrey@bbc.co.uk. Series Producer: Simon Furber

Radio Surrey,76 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

The Woking Experiment
Look closely and you’ll still find traces of Britain’s first women’s prison.
6 mins
Just who was Yvonne Arnaud?
Everyone knows the name, but very few know the woman.
5 mins
Secrets from the cockpit
Glamour, speed and the hidden stories behind the world’s most iconic aircraft.
4 mins
Hidden in plain sight
Reigate Hill offers sweeping views – but its real secrets lie underground.
6 mins
The Ghost of Brooklands
The haunting story of Percy Lambert - the man who never truly left the racetrack.
5 mins
The Chapel above Guildford
Where a lonely ruin keeps its secrets on the hill.
5 mins
The Surrey folk tune that became a cherished carol
How a simple Surrey melody became one of the world’s most-loved Christmas carols.
5 mins
The world’s first Christmas card
How the festive tradition was born in a Surrey village.
7 mins
The forgotten Pet Cemetery of Chobham
The hidden woodland where dogs, cats – and even a champion horse – lie in silence.
4 mins
The silent eyes above
The Surrey satellites you’ve never heard of but can’t live without.
4 mins
The street that stopped time
The two-minute silence in a Surrey street that became a global tradition.
09 Nov 2025,5 mins
The hotel where nobody stayed
They kept phone lines open, took booking enquiries and even smiled at the gate.
6 mins
The Witch’s Cauldron of Frensham
Inside the village church where a legend still casts a spell over Surrey.
5 mins
Woking’s Secret Invasion
It was a loud and thunderous landing on Horsell Common – but very few people know where.
6 mins
Operation Tendril: The Hidden Web
Sometimes there’s nowhere to hide, even on the dark web.
4 mins
The Poor Murdered Woman
The Leatherhead mystery that simply won’t die.
6 mins
Wotton’s Hidden Eden
England’s first Italian garden hides grottoes, kangaroos and secrets carved in stone.
6 mins
Honey Wagons at Dawn
From wardrobe trucks to A-list luxury - Surrey’s got it all when Hollywood comes calling.
7 mins
The secrets of Great Tangley Manor
Armada timbers, a medieval moat, Royal signatures and ghostly whispers from the nursery.
7 mins
Britain’s First Robot: A Man of Metal and Mystery
He moved, he spoke, and then he vanished - the mystery of Eric the Robot.
10 mins
The secret inside Reigate Heath Windmill
It has sails, timber, and a hilltop view – but it hides something very unexpected.
5 mins
The man who tested parachutes
Before soldiers could jump, Charles Agate had to prove they could survive the drop.
6 mins
Lurking in the Surrey shadows
Hundreds of sightings, eerie growls, and a growing belief that big cats are roaming here.
6 mins
Shere's most unlikely team
They gave us Pooh, Mowgli & Sherlock but couldn’t hit a cricket ball to save their lives.
6 mins
Deepdene’s subterranean Icehouse
The hidden Grade II listed brick-lined larder, buried deep into the hillside.
5 mins
Bombed for Hitler’s birthday
The church at Merstham that was destroyed to celebrate the Führer’s birthday.
5 mins
When bombs rained down on Surrey
The map that shows how close your house came to being bombed during WW2.
6 mins
Waiting beneath Limpsfield Common
The makeshift school classroom that held 50 children.
4 mins
Surrey’s emerald invaders
Parakeets are everywhere until you try to spot one.
6 mins
Ripley’s wonder drug
The pharmacy in Ripley that kept an extraordinary secret before being found out.
4 mins