Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a county in eastern England, north of London. The area is quite suburban in character as many of its residents commute to London for work. Undeveloped land not used for residential purposes in the county is mainly agricultural, with much of it protected by green-belt policies.

Towns and villages

Towns

St Albans – city with a magnificent cathedral
Hertford 📍 – the county town, containing a castle
Baldock 📍
Berkhamsted 📍 – historic town with the ruins of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle
Bishop's Stortford 📍
Borehamwood 📍
Buntingford 📍
Cheshunt 📍
Harpenden 📍
Hatfield 📍 – home of Hatfield House, childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I
Hemel Hempstead 📍
Hitchin 📍
Letchworth Garden City 📍
Potters Bar 📍
Rickmansworth 📍
Royston 📍 – Wimpole hall and Farm
Stevenage 📍
Tring 📍 – and the Natural History Museum
Ware 📍
Watford 📍
Welwyn Garden City 📍

Villages

Other destinations

<nowiki/>Understand

The county is situated just north of London. It has the third highest population density for a non-metropolitan county after Surrey and Berkshire which are similarly suburban in nature. The Hertfordshire district of Hertsmere has the highest percentage of Jewish residents (11% but much larger in certain towns such as Radlett) of any English district outside London.

Get in

By train

Hertfordshire is to the north of London and is easily accessible by train. The train lines running north to south Hertfordshire. The main train lines serving Hertfordshire are:

London Northwestern - from London Euston to Birmingham, the North West and Bedford (with stops in Hertfordshire including Watford Junction, Hemel Hempstead and Tring)
Avanti West Coast - from London Euston to the North West (with stop at Watford Junction)
Thameslink - from Brighton, Sutton and Rainham via London St Pancras to Bedford (with stops in Hertfordshire including Elstree and Borehamwood, Radlett, St Albans City Station and Harpenden) Serves London Luton Airport (Luton Airport Parkway)
East Midlands Trains - runs through Hertfordshire from St Pancras Station but does not stop in Hertfordshire
LNER - runs from Kings Cross to Yorkshire and Scotland (with stop at Stevenage)
Great Northern - runs from Kings Cross to Peterborough & Kings Lynn (with stops including Hatfield, Stevenage, Hertford North and Hitchin)
Greater Anglia - runs from Liverpool Street to Cambridge (with stops in Hertfordshire including Cheshunt, Broxbourne and Hertford East) Serves Stansted Airport
London Overground from London Euston to Watford Junction and from London Euston to Cheshunt (with stops in Hertfordshire including Bushey, Watford Junction and Cheshunt)
London Underground / Metropolitan Line (with stops in Hertfordshire at Croxley and Watford)

By car

Any of the major roads heading north out of London will pass through Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire is served by three motorways M1, A1M and M25.

Hertfordshire is served by Greenline and National Express coaches. The main coach station is Hemel Hempstead. The coach services provide good links to airports and major cities.

370 (National Express) Southend to Liverpool calls at Bishops Stortford in Hertfortshire (also serves Stansted & Manchester Airport)
707 (National Express) Gatwick Airport to Northampton service calls at Hemel Hempstead (also serves Heathrow & Luton Airports)
737 (National Express) Oxford to Stansted Airport service calls at Hemel Hempstead & Hatfield in Hertfordshire (also serves Luton Airport)
758 (Greenline) Central London to Hemel Hempstead
757 (Greenline) Central London to Luton calls at Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire (also serves Luton Airport).
758 (Greenline) Central London to Hemel Hempstead
777 (National Express) Stansted Airport to Birmingham calls at Standon, Stevenage & Hitchin in Hertfordshire (also serves Luton & Birmingham Airports)
787 (National Express) Heathrow Airport to Cambridge service calls at Hemel Hempstead, Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock & Royston in Hertfordshire (also serves Luton Airport)

By plane

Hertfordshire is served by two main airports on its borders. London Stansted just over the border in Essex and London Luton Airport just over the border in Bedfordshire. Good connections to Hertfordshire are available from London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports.

London Stansted Airport 📍 (IATA: STN) is London's third airport, and is dominated by the two low-cost airlines EasyJet and Ryanair, connects to many international destinations and to the train services offering connections to London or Cambridge.
London Luton Airport 📍 (IATA: LTN) is London's fourth airport. It's a major hub for easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air and TUI. The vast majority of routes served are within Europe, although there are some charter and scheduled routes to destinations in Northern Africa and Asia.

Located in Hertfordshire is London Elstree Aerodrome (ICAO: EGTR) which is a general aviation aerodrome located in Elstree, and is situated 2.6 nautical miles (4.8 km; 3.0 mi) east of Watford. Elstree Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence number P486 which allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

Get around

Rail links, as mentioned, run north-south but there are no services running east-west across the county so the alternative is bus/coach travel or car.

Intalink website has information about public transport.

HertsLynx is an on-demand bus service serving villages in North and East Herts and providing transport links to Key Hub Towns: Stevenage, Letchworth, Hitchin, Baldock, Royston and Bishop’s Stortford.

See

The Henry Moore Studios and Gardens in Much Hadham, near Bishop’s Stortford is the former home and studios of the great British sculptor. Includes the artist's restored home, and its flower garden, his studios, and over 70 acres of less formal gardens and fields containing many of his monumental sculptures. The grounds also feature the Sheep Field Barn gallery with changing exhibititions, and the medieval Aisled Barn with a display of nine large colourful tapestries based on his drawings.

Do

Walk

Hertfordshire has a pretty good network of public footpaths and other rights of way, allowing for plentiful walking around the county.

The Hertfordshire Way, hertfordshireway@gmail.com. A 195-mile waymarked, circular, long-distance footpath that passes primarily through Hertfordshire's countryside. It is broken up into 14 legs, mostly running between towns and villages, which can be walked individually. To view the route on the map, hover over the layers icon, select hiking and look for "HW". 2022-08-09

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Hertfordshire is the second safest county in the UK. The chances of you being attacked/robbed at night are slim, and in the daytime basically none. The only crime you may encounter is at closing time in the larger urban areas (Watford, St. Albans, Hatfield and Stevenage) around clubs/pubs. Theft or interference with cars may occur, but only if left in the more unpleasant areas overnight.

Usual instructions apply, if a crime/emergency is in progress call 999 or 112 and ask for Police/Fire/Ambulance as needed. There are three main police stations (Open M Th 8AM-11PM, F Sa 8AM-midnight and Su 10AM-8PM) in Watford, Hatfield and Stevenage. A police counter service is available at Abbots Langley and Rickmansworth police stations.

Hospitals

Stevenage (Lister Hospital) with 24-hr A&E
Watford (Watford General) with 24-hr A&E
St Albans (St Albans City Hospital) with a Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) open every day of the week from 9AM-8PM. No A&E
Bishop's Stortford (Herts and Essex Hospital) with Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) open M-F 9AM-4:30PM. No A&E
Cheshunt (Cheshunt Community Hospital) with a Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) open every day of the week from 8AM-8PM. No A&E
Hemel Hempstead (Hemel Hempstead Hospital) with Urgent Care Centre open 8AM-10PM. No A&E
Northwood (Mount Vernon Cancer Centre) with Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) open every day 9AM-8PM (except Christmas Day). No A&E
Welwyn Garden City (QEII) with 24-hr Urgent Care Centre. No A&E

Go next

London to the South
Whipsnade Zoo, just outside Dunstable.

Hertfordshire - non-metropolitan county in England