Bookham: The village has a high street, located in Great Bookham, which is, as its name suggests, the larger of the two villages. It is has two butchers, a family run fishmongers and two traditional greengrocers.

Four pubs are situated in the village, The Anchor, Royal Oak, Old Crown and Ye Olde Windsor Castle. Legend has it that King Henry VIII's hunting parties used to pass through Bookham and stop in the Windsor, hence its royal name.The village has a curry house. The Old Barn Hall is the main community centre, regularly used for staging amateur dramatics productions and hosting parties and receptions.

The Bookham football club Bookham is in the Combined Counties Premier Division with all the new teams coming into it from the Ryman League. The club was founded prior to World War I.

Effingham: Still a small village, dwarfed by its neighbours the Bookhams, however it is mostly known because of its famous resident, Natalie Lambert, glamour model for Vogue magazine, also it is mostly known for its railway station (which if said you live in Effingham many people will mention the station, though it is some way out of the actual village), large common (called the KGV playing fields), and the Howard of Effingham School (mixed comprehensive) and St Teresa's School(private girls') and nearby prep school. St Teresa's convent was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1893. About half of housing is now South of the A246 (between Bookham and East Horsley) at the top of the small High Street "The Street". The village grew as a result of spring-line development, situated like Sutton and Croydon at the foot of the North Downs. Two parallel roads, The Street and Church Street reflect this by their steep gradient. At the bottom wells exist, whereas towards the top chalk prevents reaching water.