Not far outside London is Sandhurst, the British Army’s military training centre for officers, and the grand buildings hidden behind high walls can be visited on special tours.
The tours are a mix of learning about the military heritage, looking around several grand and impressive buildings, and seeing the grounds that are usually off-limits to the public.
I visited in 2023 – review here.
Tours take place at 10am on select dates, need to be booked in advance, and once a date is agreed, then you arrange to pay them.
Dates have been updated for 2024 and are:
- Tuesday 27th February 2024
- Thursday 14th March 2024
- Wednesday 15th May 2024
- Wednesday 19th June 2024
- Friday 19th July 2024
The tours cost £25 per person, which is for a 2½ hour tour, which is pretty good value for money. The tours are conducted by the Sandhurst Trust, the Academy’s official charity and a guidebook is also handed out at the end. There’s also a small gift shop.
For booking details go here — public tour details are at the bottom of the page — and you book your tour by emailing them.
Photos are allowed, so long as you don’t include any of the Sandhurst cadets or staff, and there is a reasonably smart attire dress code. You will also need a photographic ID to show at the main gate when arriving.
Getting to Sandhurst
If you are driving, you can park at RMA Sandhurst, or if you are coming by train, the main entrance on London Road is about a 10-minute walk from Camberley railway station, and then it’s another 20-minute walk through the country estate to the building for the tour.
Camberley is about 75 minutes by train from Waterloo station via Woking or Ascot. Both routes have the same duration and cost the same, although going via Woking involves changing twice.
I found it easier to buy an Anytime Day Return ticket, which allows any reasonable route to be used. When leaving Sandhurst, I checked online which train from Camberley would get back to London first and head home via either Ascot or Woking (changing at Ash Vale).
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