Why The Martians Invaded Surrey

If you use Google today you’ll notice the current Google Doodle features a spaceship hovering over an English village – H.G. Wells was born on 21 September 1866 and the image is a reference to one of his most famous books: The War of the Worlds.

I’ve always found it mildly amusing that extraterrestrial commuters in Wells’s book chose to land in a relatively prosperous corner of leafy Surrey – Horsell Common, just outside Woking.

Were they guided by some intergalactic Kirstie Allsop? Was it, perhaps, the good schools, the quick train to London, the attractive surrounding countryside and the prospect of walks along the canal that informed their decision? Did they all plan to work in the City?

Whatever the reason, the locals, I’m guessing, probably didn’t share their enthusiasm – as the tripods started marching, there must surely have been estate agents and fretful homeowners muttering “this is really going to hammer local house prices.”

Anyway… the story, as we all know, ends with Tom Cruise saving the world and learning to be a responsible father – though if you’re ever in Woking keep in mind that this Hollywood version is a bit of a sore point and admire their nice alien tripod sculpture instead.

And here, just in case you thought there was no point at all to this post, are some houses in Horsell Common and Woking.