Clocktower Cars runs licensed taxis, minicabs and private hire cars in Shalford and across GU4. Our Guildford office is at Station Approach, London Road — 2.8 miles and about eleven minutes up the A281. Call 01483 301 000 or book online.
01483 301 000 — written out because people search for the digits rather than the words. It reaches a person at our Guildford office, eleven minutes up the road, at any hour.
Worth putting near the top, because the two names are one letter apart and the villages are a hundred miles apart.
Shalford — spelled with an A — is a village and civil parish in the Guildford district, in Surrey, England, on the A281, immediately south of Guildford. Postcode district GU4. The 2011 census recorded a population of 4,142 across 6.51 square kilometres.
Shelford — spelled with an E — refers to Great and Little Shelford, near Cambridge. We do not operate there, or in Rochford in Essex, which turns up in the same searches. If you want a car on the Horsham road south of Guildford, you are in the right place.
Four words, one service. In law a taxi, or hackney carriage, can be hailed in the street or taken from a rank; a minicab or private hire car must be booked through a licensed operator first. There is no rank in Shalford, so every journey from the village is a booking — a named driver, a known car and a price agreed before you travel. More in our guide to minicabs versus black cabs.
Most taxi firms would skip this. We would rather be useful.
Shalford railway station sits between Guildford and Dorking on the Reading to Gatwick Airport line. That gives this village something almost no other village we cover has: a direct train to an airport. And the numbers bear it out. On the day we measured, Shalford to Gatwick came out at about 51 minutes by car and about 53 minutes by train.
Two minutes apart. If you are travelling light, at a civilised hour, on your own, and the service is running — take the train to Gatwick. We are not going to pretend otherwise.
Here the comparison is not close. Shalford to Heathrow is about 47 minutes by car. The public transport options on the same day came out at about 1 hour 40 minutes — a bus and then a RailAir coach.
Nearly an hour of difference, with a change in the middle. For Heathrow, from this village, a booked car is not a luxury.
And of course, the train still starts with getting to the platform. Shalford station, or Guildford at 2.8 miles for the faster and more frequent services — both are ordinary bookings here, and both work better as a standing arrangement than as a phone call every morning. Ring 01483 301 000 and describe the week.
| From Shalford to | Route | Distance | Typical drive | By public transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | A3 and M25 | 27.5 miles | about 47 minutes | about 1 hr 40 min |
| Heathrow | M3 | 35.3 miles | about 52 minutes | — |
| Gatwick | M25 | 38.7 miles | about 51 minutes | about 53 minutes |
| Guildford (our office) | A281 | 2.8 miles | about 11 minutes | — |
| Guildford | A3100 | 3.6 miles | about 13 minutes | — |
That last column is the point of the table, and it is why this page says what it says above: for Gatwick the train matches the car; for Heathrow the car saves the best part of an hour.
Up the A3 and round the M25 it is 27.5 miles and about 47 minutes. Out via the M3 it is 35.3 miles and about 52 — nearly eight miles further for five more minutes. Both are viable on the right morning, which is exactly why we ask for the flight time rather than a route.
Long runs from GU4, and ones where public transport has no sensible answer at all from a village this far south-west. Luton and Stansted transfers are booked the same way; our airport transfers page covers the rest, and Gatwick airport transfers has the detail on the nearer one.
Be met inside the terminal with a name board rather than hunting a pick-up bay — our meet and greet chauffeur service. Give us the flight number on the return and we move the pick-up with the inbound, so an hour on the tarmac is not an hour of waiting charges. On a late Heathrow landing this is the difference between going home and waiting for a coach.
Tell the office where, when, how many and how much luggage. You get a price for that job, and it does not change while you are in the car.
The River Tillingbourne joins the River Wey at Shalford, adjacent to the parish church. St Mary’s was built in 1846, with a lychgate and stained glass. Weddings and funerals here bring the usual village booking: several cars, one timing, guests who have never driven the A281.
Shalford Mill is a Grade II* listed building, built in the 18th century and now owned by the National Trust. Visitor arrangements at Trust properties change with the season, so check before travelling — what we can tell you is that the lane to it is narrow and the parking is limited, which is exactly when a set-down at the entrance earns its keep.
The common, the towpaths and the Wey and Arun Canal, whose terminus is at Cranleigh Waters, are all walking country with no postal addresses in them. Give us a car park, a gate, a bridge or a road junction and a time, and we will be there. If you are coming off the common with a dog, say so and we will send a driver who takes them.
The Great Fair of Shalford was chartered by King John and reportedly covered 140 acres (57 ha) — a reminder that the A281 through this village has been a route worth travelling for eight centuries. It is still the road everything here measures from, and it is still the thing that decides how long your journey takes at half past eight in the morning.
Ramp-equipped wheelchair accessible vehicles across GU4, with drivers trained to secure a chair properly rather than improvise. There are fewer accessible cars than saloons, so give as much notice as you can — a day for a local run or a hospital appointment in Guildford, longer for an airport transfer at a busy hour. Say on the phone whether the chair is manual or powered; the ramp and the anchor points differ. See our certified and trained wheelchair accessible minicab service.
Worth adding here: where the train is a genuine alternative for most passengers, it often is not for a wheelchair user travelling alone, and a booked accessible car door to door removes every step of that problem.
Two rivers, a common and a canal towpath make this thoroughly dog country, and not every private hire driver will take one. We keep drivers who will and match them to the booking rather than leaving it to chance. Vet runs, kennel drop-offs and lifts home from a muddy walk are all routine. Tell us the size of the animal and whether it travels in a carrier — see pet friendly taxis.
Most secondary journeys from Shalford go into Guildford or out along the A281, on a road that carries a great deal of through traffic at exactly the hour they travel. A regular run is set up once, with a named set of drivers, an agreed pick-up point and a monthly invoice, rather than booked every morning. Every driver on school work is licensed and DBS checked. See our school run chauffeur service.
Eleven minutes from Guildford station and under an hour from both airports: Shalford is a practical base for business travel, and an account takes the admin out of it.
Hospital journeys from Shalford run into Guildford, eleven minutes away. They share a shape: a fixed arrival time at the front and an unknown finish at the back. We book both halves — an outward leg to the appointment and a return that waits for your call rather than a guessed time. Drivers will help to the door where that is needed, and a course of appointments can be set up in one call. More on reliable transport for medical appointments, or ring 01483 301 000.
The same cars carry documents and packages when they are not carrying people — a same-day run into Guildford or London, a legal pack against a deadline, something breakable that should not go through a depot. See same day courier in Surrey.
01483 301 000 rings our Guildford office at Station Approach, London Road. Use the phone for anything out of the ordinary: an accessible vehicle, an early airport run, a group, a pet, a chauffeur car, an account, or a standing weekly booking.
The booking form takes the whole job at once, day or night — the easier route for a straightforward airport transfer booked a week ahead.
Every office we run is listed on find us and the branch locator.
01483 301 000, which rings our Guildford office at Station Approach, London Road — 2.8 miles and about eleven minutes away, answered around the clock. You can also book online.
Surrey — Shalford with an A, on the A281 immediately south of Guildford, postcode district GU4. Shelford with an E is near Cambridge, and we do not operate there.
Honestly? For one person travelling light at a reasonable hour, take the train — Shalford station is on the Reading to Gatwick Airport line, and on the day we measured it the two came out about 51 minutes by car against about 53 by rail. A car wins when you have luggage, a group, an early or late flight, or when the line is disrupted.
About 47 minutes for 27.5 miles via the A3 and M25. Here the car is decisively better: the public transport options on the same day came out at about 1 hour 40 minutes, with a change.
Shalford station, between Guildford and Dorking on the Reading to Gatwick Airport line. Guildford, 2.8 miles away, has the faster and more frequent services for most other journeys.
In everyday use, yes. In law a taxi or hackney carriage can be hailed in the street, while a minicab or private hire car must be booked with a licensed operator first. There is no rank here, so every journey is booked — which is what gives you a named driver and an agreed price.
Yes. Neither has a useful postal address, so give us a car park, a gate, a bridge or a road junction plus a time. The lane to the mill is narrow with limited parking, which is exactly when a set-down at the entrance is worth having.
Yes, ramp-equipped vehicles with trained drivers, booked in advance. Give as much notice as you can and say whether the chair is manual or powered. Where the train is a reasonable alternative for most passengers it often is not for a wheelchair user travelling alone, and a door-to-door car removes every step of that.
Yes, with a pet friendly taxi booked in advance. Tell us the size of the animal and whether it travels in a carrier; muddy is expected off the common.
It depends on the journey, the hour, the size of car and whether there is waiting or meeting involved, which is why we quote the job rather than publish a mileage rate. On these roads a mileage rate misleads: the 35-mile way to Heathrow takes five minutes longer than the 27-mile way. Ring 01483 301 000 or use the booking form and you will have a price before you travel.
Licensed drivers, a Guildford office eleven minutes away, honest advice about when the train is the better answer, and a price agreed before you get in. Call 01483 301 000 or book your Shalford taxi online.
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