About Your Area
St Albans
St Albans, Hertfordshire’s only city, has been welcoming visitors from far afield for over 2,000 years. First known as Verlamion, the Romans changed the name to Verulamium. By the early Middle Ages the city had become known as St Albans, after the first British Christian martyr, St Alban, who is reputed to be buried on the site where the Cathedral & Abbey Church now stands.
Today the city of St Albans is compact and easy to explore on foot. The magnificent Cathedral still dominates the skyline of the city and is best known for the shrine of St Alban and its medieval wall paintings. Beyond the Cathedral you can relax in the green oasis of Verulamium Park, 100 acres of tranquil parkland close to the heart of the city and the architectural heritage of St Michael's village and Fishpool Street.
Verulamium Museum
The award-winning museum of everyday life in Roman Britain. Verulamium features magnificent mosaics and recreated rooms, giving the visitor an opportunity to discover the life and times of a major Roman city. Legion XIII occupy the galleries every second week of the month describing the tactics and equipment of the Roman army. The Museum also has touch screen databases, hands-on discovery areas and hundreds of remarkable objects.
Roman Theatre
Just a short walk from Verulamium Museum is the Roman Theatre, the best preserved example in Britain.The roman theatre has fine acoustics which were perfectly suited to musical and dramatic performances. Close by are the foundations of a Roman town house, a sacred shrine and a row of Roman shops.
Harpenden
Harpenden, five miles north of St Albans, has a spacious High Street with interesting shops and a variety of pubs and restaurants. Harpenden boasts fine open spaces. Rothamsted Park hosts a variety of sporting activities and the Common features ponds, picnic areas and a nature trail. Harpenden also has an Information Point based at the Town Hall. The Harpenden Farmers’ Market takes place on the fourth Sunday of each month.
Hitchin
Hitchin dates back well over a 1000 years and is home to the beautiful St Mary's Church. Hitchin built up around the River Hiz which still is part of the attraction of the town centre, the Hiz flows north and joins several other rivers before finding the North Sea at the Wash. The river itself, starts in Charlton just a mile from the town centre and is worth dropping by for a walk.
Hitchin is surrounded by many smaller towns and villages as well as the much larger Stevenage to the east and Luton to the west. Hitchin has a vibrant social scene which accounts for the large numbers of pubs, clubs and extremely good restaurants. During the summer, Hitchin is host to the Hitchin Festival which includes the Rhythyms of the World free concert which attracts over 20,000 visitors.
