Farnham is well connected online and only moderately well connected by everything else. Half the working residents never commute. About a third drive. Almost nobody takes the train. For most people here, the commute is a walk across the landing.
Farnham Rail Station has direct trains to London, and nearby stations at Aldershot, Bentley, Ash, Ash Vale and North Camp spread the choice across the county line. Only 2% of working residents use the train to get to work, though, which tells you how many people have organised their lives around not having to. There are 144 bus stops in the area, and about 1% of workers commute by bus.
Among working residents, 51% work from home, 34% drive, 8% walk and 1% cycle. About 15% of households have no car, while 46% run two or more. So the town divides into home workers and drivers, and the busy two-car driveway is the more common of the two. The station exists for the occasional meeting in town, not the daily trip.
The Department for Transport's modelled journey-time statistics give area averages, not a route from any particular front door, and they show where the time goes. The nearest town centre is about 10 minutes away by car, 13 by bike, 21 by public transport and 26 on foot. A GP is about 9 minutes by car, 18 by public transport or 21 on foot. A food store is about 7 minutes by car or an 11-minute walk. The nearest employment centre is around 10 minutes by car and 21 by public transport. Hospital is the weak point: about 24 minutes by car but around an hour on public transport. The public transport figures date from 2019, and services have been cut since in plenty of places, so trust the car and walking times more.
The buses are better than the commuting figures suggest. Each stop averages about 138 scheduled departures on a weekday, around 7 an hour at peak, and 99% of stops have some service at the weekend. That's a functioning local network rather than two buses a day and a prayer. Most residents drive anyway, and the buses run half-empty as a result.
Broadband explains the working-from-home habit. Superfast broadband reaches 99% of premises, ultrafast 71% and gigabit 68%, and none fall below the universal service minimum. The remaining third without gigabit is worth checking before you set up a home office. It's still a good position for a town where the spare bedroom has become the office.
Mobile coverage is solid. All of the area has 4G or 5G from at least one operator, and 97% has it from every operator, so network choice barely matters.
Road noise is the price of a town built around busy through-routes. Over 99% of postcodes sit near or above 65 decibels of road noise, the level at which official noise mapping treats traffic as significant, and the loudest band reaches 75 decibels. Rail noise is a separate source: about 84% of postcodes are near the 65-decibel mark from trains, with the loudest band at that level. Neither figure tells you how a particular bedroom will sound, so visit at rush hour before you buy.
Electric vehicle drivers get little public help. The area has 3 public charge points with 11 connectors between them, and 3 of those are rapid chargers. With that few rapid units, most owners will need a driveway charger rather than topping up while they shop.
Farnham is middling for connections: excellent for anyone working from home or driving to nearby towns, less convincing for anyone who needs a daily train, a hospital without a car, or a public charger.