Clocktower Cars runs licensed taxis, minicabs and cabs in Gomshall and across Shere parish, booked through our Guildford office on 01483 301 000, twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year.
Gomshall is a village in the borough of Guildford, on the A25 roughly halfway between Guildford and Dorking, with the River Tillingbourne running through it and the North Downs Way passing just to the north. Postcode district GU5. Fewer than a thousand people live in the village itself; the wider Shere civil parish, which Gomshall sits inside, counted 3,359 at the 2001 census. If you would rather not ring, the online booking form takes the same details and comes back with a quoted price before you travel.
Gomshall is in Shere civil parish, and the two villages are a few minutes apart on the A25. People who live in one routinely say they live in the other, so to be completely clear: we cover Shere, Gomshall and Abinger Hammer on the same number, 01483 301 000.
Shere is the prettier and better-known of the pair, which means film crews, coach parties and a car park that fills by eleven on a summer Sunday. We pick up from the village centre, the church and the lanes running up towards the Downs. Give the driver a house name and a postcode — the lanes are narrow and mostly unlit.
A mile east along the A25, named for the iron-working that once used the Tillingbourne’s water. Same coverage, same booking line. Beyond it the road runs on towards Wotton and Dorking.
Albury lies west along the same valley, and the whole run from Albury through Gomshall to Abinger Hammer is one working area for us. The Tillingbourne is the thread that connects them — it powered the corn milling, the watercress growing and the leather tanning that survived here into the twentieth century and have now gone.
Gomshall has its own station on the North Downs Line, served by Great Western Railway trains running between Reading and Redhill. It is a genuinely useful line, and it is worth being straight with you about when it beats a car.
Gomshall to Guildford is 7.4 miles and about 23 minutes by road, measured on 29 September 2026. The train does it in about 13 minutes. If you are going into Guildford in the middle of the day with no luggage, take the train — we would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.
Early mornings and late evenings, when the service thins out. Anything with cases. Anything to an airport. Anywhere the North Downs Line does not go, which is most places. And getting to the station itself from the outlying lanes — the station is convenient if you live beside it and awkward if you do not.
Book the return leg when you book the outward. Gomshall has no rank and nothing cruising for fares; a delayed evening train arriving here is the worst possible moment to start looking for a cab.
| Airport | Route | Distance | Drive | Average speed | By public transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatwick | B2126 | 20.7 miles | ~43 min | ~29 mph | ~52 min |
| Gatwick | B2126 and A29 | 20.9 miles | ~43 min | ~29 mph | — |
| Heathrow | M25 | 25.8 miles | ~53 min | ~29 mph | ~1 hr 23 min |
| Heathrow | A25 and M25 | 26.3 miles | ~59 min | ~27 mph | — |
Gatwick is about 43 minutes down the B2126 — see our Gatwick transfer service. The train gets there in 52 minutes, which is closer than most places we serve, but it means changing with your luggage at an hour when you would rather not.
Heathrow is about 53 minutes via the M25. Note that the A25 route is half a mile longer and six minutes slower — the A25 through these villages is not a fast road, whatever the map suggests. Our airport transfer service covers every terminal, and Luton and Stansted are both long runs best booked the night before.
Coming home, our meet and greet service puts a driver inside the terminal with your name on a board, and we watch the flight so a delay moves the pickup rather than costing you the car. Landing at Gatwick at midnight with a forty-three-minute drive into a village with no taxi rank is exactly the situation this exists for.
A hackney carriage — the black cab — can be hailed in the street or taken from a rank. A private hire vehicle, which is what a minicab is, must be booked in advance through a licensed operator. Gomshall has no rank and nothing cruising, so every car you get here is pre-booked private hire whichever word you use. Same driver, same licensed vehicle, same number. There is a fuller explanation on our minicab versus black cab page.
Tell us passengers and bags when you book. Four adults with four large cases will not go in a saloon, and these lanes are not the place to discover that at five in the morning.
We quote the job rather than publishing a rate per mile, and the figures above show why.
Ring 01483 301 000 or use the booking form, give us the postcode, the time and the number of bags, and you will have a price before you travel. No meter, no argument at the far end.
Gomshall Mill, now a public house, was the village corn mill: it dates from the seventeenth century and worked as a watermill until 1953. The Compasses Inn has a garden running down to the Tillingbourne. Both are straightforward evening pickups, and both are a great deal easier to find in the dark if you tell us which one you actually mean.
The North Downs Way passes just to the north of the village, which brings walkers down into Gomshall all year — and, reliably, later than they planned in the winter. We collect from the village and from the lanes up towards the ridge. Give us a pub name or a postcode and a rough time rather than a grid reference.
Halfway between Guildford and Dorking, which sounds convenient and is, until something closes and everything diverts through the village. It is the reason we check the traffic before choosing a route to the motorway rather than assuming the obvious one.
Village school journeys here mostly run out to Guildford or Dorking along the A25, which is a slow road at half past eight. Our school run service uses the same named drivers on a standing account, so the child is collected by someone they recognise rather than a different face each week. Child seats fitted to order — tell us the age.
Our wheelchair accessible vehicles load by ramp, so the passenger stays in their own chair and is properly secured, with drivers trained on the restraints. In a village where the alternative is a rural station and an unlit lane, booking ahead matters — there are fewer accessible vehicles than saloons.
Dogs travel in our pet friendly cars. Say so when you book, because it means a specific vehicle and a driver expecting it rather than a favour asked at the door. An estate takes a crate comfortably — which, given where the North Downs Way comes out, is usually what is wanted.
Our medical transport service books the outward and the return together and the driver waits rather than leaving you to find a car afterwards. Royal Surrey County Hospital is on the far side of Guildford, and the North Downs Line does not go there — so for an appointment, a car is not really a choice between options.
A corporate account replaces expense claims with one monthly invoice and a booking line that already knows your address and your usual car. For clients and anything where the arrival matters, executive travel in Surrey puts a suited driver in a quiet car. And our same day courier service moves documents, samples and keys across Surrey and into London the same day with the same licensed drivers.
Our offices are listed on the branch locator, with addresses and numbers on the find us page.
01483 301 000 — our Guildford office, which takes Gomshall and Shere bookings twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. You can also use the online booking form.
Yes. Gomshall sits inside Shere civil parish and the two villages are minutes apart on the A25. Same number, same drivers, same coverage — village centre, church, and the lanes up towards the Downs. Abinger Hammer too.
Usually, yes — about 13 minutes by train against roughly 23 by road for 7.4 miles. We would rather tell you that than not. The car wins for luggage, early mornings, late evenings, anywhere off the North Downs Line, and the hospital.
20.7 miles and about 43 minutes via the B2126, measured 29 September 2026. The train takes about 52 minutes but involves a change with your bags.
About 53 minutes for 25.8 miles via the M25. The A25 route is half a mile longer and about six minutes slower, so we take the motorway when it is moving. Allow extra at rush hour.
The North Downs Line, with Great Western Railway trains running between Reading and Redhill. It is useful for Guildford, Dorking and Redhill and not much help for anywhere else, which is why so much of our work here is station-to-elsewhere.
Not in practice. A black cab can be hailed; a minicab — a private hire vehicle — must be pre-booked. Gomshall has neither a rank nor a cruising trade, so every car here is pre-booked private hire whichever word you use.
Yes — ramp-loading vehicles where the passenger stays in their own chair, with drivers trained on the restraints. Book ahead, since there are fewer accessible vehicles than saloons and this is a rural patch to cover.
Yes, in a pet friendly vehicle. Mention it when booking so the right car and driver are sent. An estate takes a crate without difficulty.
Yes, and it is a regular job — particularly in winter when the light goes sooner than people expect. Give us a pub, a car park or a postcode and a rough time rather than a grid reference, and ring if you are running late.
Yes — twenty-four hours, every day of the year. In a village with no rank, late nights and early airport runs are worth booking ahead; Christmas and New Year fill up well in advance.
It depends on the destination, the hour, the size of car and whether there is waiting or meeting involved, which is why we quote each job rather than publish a mileage rate. On these roads mileage misleads: the A25 route to Heathrow is longer and slower than the motorway. Ring 01483 301 000 or use the booking form and you will have a price before you travel.
Licensed drivers, quoted fares, twenty-four hours a day, covering Gomshall, Shere, Abinger Hammer and the Tillingbourne valley. Call 01483 301 000 or book online.
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