Epsom Downs, Nonsuch Park and Bourne Hall Museum cost nothing, Hobbledown is £16.50 online and racedays start at £15. Ten places, all checked this week.
Epsom’s best days out are cheap, and the expensive one is a horse race. The Downs, Nonsuch Park, Epsom Common and Horton Country Park cost nothing to walk on. The borough’s museum is free. What you actually pay for is a raceday, an adventure park and a theatre ticket.
Everything below was checked against each venue’s own website on 9 and 10 August 2026, because operators here change more often than the listings sites notice: the Rainbow Leisure Centre changed hands in October 2025 and plenty of pages still name the old one.
The free ones
Epsom Downs
The Downs are private land, owned by Epsom Downs Racecourse and managed by the Conservators under an Act of Parliament, and there is no charge to walk on them. On a clear day the view north runs to central London. Racehorses train on the gallops in the mornings, which is worth getting up for and costs nothing to watch from the public ground.
Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve
In July 2026 Epsom Common won its 20th consecutive Green Flag Award, in the scheme’s thirtieth anniversary year, one of a record 2,391 UK parks and green spaces to be recognised. It is both a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, it dates back to Saxon times, and it holds oak woods, wood pasture, remnant heathland, wetland and large ponds. Look for Purple Emperor butterflies in high summer and Corky-fruited Water-dropwort in the grassland. Free, open always.
Horton Country Park Local Nature Reserve
Fields, hedgerows, ancient woods and ponds on the western edge of Epsom, given Local Nature Reserve status in 2004. The council describes good paths and tracks that make it easy to walk all year, which in practice means it stays usable in winter when Epsom Common does not. Free.
Nonsuch Park
Nonsuch sits on the boundary between Ewell and Cheam, and has been run jointly by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council and the London Borough of Sutton since the 1930s, under a long lease granted to both in 2008. There is an extensive network of surfaced and unsurfaced paths, car parks off London Road in Ewell and Ewell Road in Cheam, and the Nonsuch Pantry café next to the Mansion House with a public toilet beside it. The Mansion’s ground floor has been refurbished but is for wedding and private hire rather than casual visits, so do not turn up expecting to look round it.
Priest Hill, Ewell
Surrey Wildlife Trust’s reserve on Reigate Road, 35 hectares built out of abandoned playing fields: more than 1,500 tons of tarmac and rubble from former tennis courts, buildings and car parks were taken out to make it. It is now lowland calcareous grassland with the rare small blue butterfly, skylarks, kidney vetch, oxeye daisy and wild thyme. Paved footpaths and large mobility kissing gates make much of it wheelchair and buggy accessible, though some paths are unmade. Nearest postcode KT17 3BZ. There is no car park, so walk in from Reigate Road or Banstead Road. Open at all times, free.
Bourne Hall Museum, Ewell
Free, open Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm, at Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell KT17 1UF. It covers the borough’s history through fine art, costume, archaeology and social history, and the objects are better than a free local museum has any business having: Prime Minister Rosebery’s hansom cab, a 19th century fire engine, extensive Derby memorabilia and significant Roman archaeology from local sites. There is a café, the Flying Saucer, and a library in the same building, and a 100-space car park with a four-hour limit.
What you pay for
Epsom Downs Racecourse
The Derby has been and gone for 2026: Christmas Day, trained by Aidan O’Brien, won it on 6 June in front of more than 28,000 racegoers including the King and Queen. The next Betfred Derby Festival is Friday 4 and Saturday 5 June 2027.
Four fixtures are left this season, and they are the cheap way to see the course.
| Date | Fixture | From |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 14 August 2026 | Summer Afternoon Racing with Ellie Sax after-party | £18 |
| Monday 31 August 2026 | Bank Holiday Family Raceday | £20 |
| Thursday 10 September 2026 | Glass Times Afternoon Racing | £15 |
| Sunday 27 September 2026 | Season Finale | Price not yet listed |
Hobbledown Epsom
The adventure park on Horton Lane, open 10am to 5.30pm through August. A day ticket is £19 per person walking up or from £16.50 booked online, with a £2.75 booking fee on the transaction. There is an indoor playbarn, high ropes and climbing towers, outdoor play, animals including capybaras and meerkats, and birds of prey. A summer season ticket giving unlimited visits from 25 June to 1 September 2026 starts at £29.50, which pays for itself on the second visit.
Epsom Playhouse
The borough council’s own theatre, on Ashley Avenue, Epsom KT18 5AL. The autumn run opens with Lionel, the Music of Lionel Richie on Friday 4 September, Copacabana Magic, the Barry Manilow Show, on Wednesday 9 September, Vox Lumiere’s Metropolis on Thursday 10 September, Paul Zerdin on Friday 11 September and the Close Up Magic Show on Saturday 12 September. Prices vary by show and are on the Playhouse’s own booking pages.
Rainbow Leisure Centre
The pool and gym on East Street changed operator on 1 October 2025. It is now run by Places Leisure, not Better or GLL, who had it for 22 years, and Places Leisure has said it will upgrade the gym studios and swimming changing rooms. Membership pages that still say Better are out of date.
Planning a day
With small children, Hobbledown for the morning and Horton Country Park next door for the afternoon, which costs £16.50 a head and a walk. Nonsuch Park with the Pantry café is the wet-weather fallback.
Without children, Bourne Hall Museum in Ewell and the Hogsmill from there, then Epsom Common. All free, all a bus or short drive apart.
If you have a car and one good day, drive up to the Downs early to watch the gallops, walk the ridge, and come back down for a raceday in the afternoon if the date lines up. That is the version of Epsom people move here for.
Getting here without a car is straightforward: Epsom station is 40 minutes from Waterloo, 44 from Victoria and 43 from London Bridge, and the details are on Epsom to London trains. Epsom Downs has its own station, though it is an hour from Victoria. If you are driving, check what is dug up first, because the A24 through the town centre is on temporary signals until the end of the year.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Epsom for free?
Six substantial things. Epsom Downs, Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve, Horton Country Park, Nonsuch Park, Priest Hill nature reserve and Bourne Hall Museum in Ewell all cost nothing.
When is the next race meeting at Epsom Downs?
Friday 14 August 2026, from £18. After that, the Bank Holiday Family Raceday on Monday 31 August from £20, Glass Times Afternoon Racing on 10 September from £15, and the season finale on 27 September.
When is the Derby in 2027?
The Betfred Derby Festival runs on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 June 2027. The 2026 Derby was won by Christmas Day on 6 June.
How much is Hobbledown Epsom?
£19 per person on the gate, or from £16.50 booked online, plus a £2.75 booking fee per transaction. Open 10am to 5.30pm through the summer.
Is Bourne Hall Museum free?
Yes. It is free and open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm, at Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell KT17 1UF.
Who runs the Rainbow Leisure Centre now?
Places Leisure, since 1 October 2025. It replaced GLL, trading as Better, which had run the centre for 22 years.
Sources
- The Jockey Club, Epsom Downs Racecourse for the remaining 2026 fixtures and prices, the 2026 Derby result and attendance, and the 2027 Derby Festival dates.
- Hobbledown Epsom day tickets and opening times for admission prices, the booking fee, the summer season ticket and opening hours.
- Bourne Hall Museum for free admission, opening hours, the collection and the address.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, countryside and parks for the Downs, the Local Nature Reserves and the Conservators.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Epsom Common wins its 20th consecutive Green Flag Award for the award, the SSSI designation and the wildlife.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Horton Country Park Local Nature Reserve for its 2004 designation and paths.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Nonsuch Park for joint management, the car parks, the Mansion House and the Nonsuch Pantry.
- Surrey Wildlife Trust, Priest Hill for the 35 hectares, the small blue butterfly, access and the lack of a car park.
- Epsom Playhouse for the September programme and the address.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, Rainbow Leisure Centre for the change of operator to Places Leisure on 1 October 2025.
Prices and fixtures change. Confirm with the venue before you set out. How to get here is on Epsom to London trains; what the town costs to live in is on Epsom house prices.
Have your say
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