Ready to explore the best things to do in Wimbledon? Of course you are…
The soft whack of endless rallies, the aroma of strawberries and cream, and an atmosphere crackling with excitement — Wimbledon’s Tennis Championship is an event like no other. This epic event was established on 9 July 1877, making it the oldest and most recognisable grass tennis tournament globally. Year after year, visitors flock to Wimbledon to glimpse the beautiful game. From the general public to high-ranking elites, Wimbledon brings individuals from all walks of life together.
Most people think they know Wimbledon. They know the tennis, the strawberries, the queues snaking around the All England Club every June. What they tend to miss is that Wimbledon is actually two places: the town that grew up around the railway station in 1838, and the village on the hill that predates it by about a thousand years. The village end is where it gets interesting. Wide streets, independent shops, a common that stretches further than you expect and contains an actual windmill, and a quieter, more characterful version of south-west London that most people never find because they get off at the wrong end of the high street.
The common itself is extraordinary: 1,100 acres of ancient woodland, gorse and grassland that feels genuinely wild in places. It was nearly lost in the 1860s when the 5th Earl Spencer tried to enclose it. Local opposition stopped him, and London has been grateful ever since.
There’s also a Thai Buddhist temple, a hawk named Rufus whose full-time job is keeping pigeons off the tennis courts, and the fact that before tennis arrived in 1877, Wimbledon’s sport of choice was croquet. The Wombles, naturally, are based here too.
Village charm meets world-famous sporting legacy
Tram: Wimbledon is the western terminus of the Croydon Tramlink.
Buses: 57, 93, 131, 200, 219.
