Watford - town in Hertfordshire, England

Watford is one of the larger towns in Hertfordshire, England, and has approximately 97,000 residents (2017). Many people visit for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

Get in

By road

Watford, like Hounslow & Waltham Cross, rose to prominence as a coaching town (a kind of 18th-century motorway services) because many roads pass through the area.

Watford, as a coaching town, has many roads passing through it, but the fastest one is the A41, a 'green' (semi-motorway) A-road. Exit at M1J5 (A4008) or Hunton Bridge roundabout (A411).

M1

Watford Herts is not near the Watford Gap: that is named after Watford Northants. Watford Herts is served by Junction (1|5) Watford, the 1st universal-access junction (unless you count Junction (1|3) Scratchwood, which requires prior arrangement). Leave at (1|5) Watford & take the A4008.

M25

Take Junction (25|19) Hunton Bridge or (25|21A) Bricket Wood East.

By rail

• Watford Junction station, 51.6635°, -0.3958°. Watford Junction is a large station that offers many connections. 2019-05-28

  • Avanti West Coast run express services on the West Coast Mainline & branches, some of them stopping at Watford Junction. The service has a buffet, Wi-Fi & at-seat electricity sockets. They are more expensive than regular trains & do not sell tickets solely between London & Watford Junction, but are useful if travelling from further north.
  • London Midland: This regional rail provider serves Watford Junction with most trains. Most of these go non-stop into London Euston, but the line has dedicated platforms at Bushey, Harrow & Wealdstone, Wembley Central & Queens Park. A non-stop train will generally take 12 minutes. They accept general tickets & Oyster cards.
  • London Overground: The Watford DC line of the London Overground runs local services to Watford every 10 minutes. It serves Watford Junction & Watford High St. These trains take a long time, but serve Willesden Junction, which is useful as an interchange to Clapham Junction, Richmond and Stratford, as well as the London Underground Bakerloo line. Watford High St. is closer to the town centre than Watford Junction & cheaper, as the boundary of zones 8 & 9A runs between the two stations.

• Watford tube station, 51.6575°, -0.4175°. The London Underground's Metropolitan line runs from Watford station, which is 0.8 miles away from the High St. in Cassiobury Park. Direct trains run every 10 minutes to Baker St. (Although an extension of the line through Watford High St. to Watford Junction has been proposed, no firm date for construction or opening has been announced.).

By coach or canal

Frequent coaches serve Watford town centre from Heathrow Airport (Bus 724, 45 min) and Luton Airport (Bus 321, 1.5 hours).

The Grand Junction Canal also passes to the West of Watford, bordering Cassiobury Park.

Get around

Most attractions in Watford are within walking distance of each other and do not require buses or trains.

All Hertfordshire buses offer an 'Explorer' ticket which permits a maximum of 2 adults, 2 adults and 2 children or 1 adult with 3 children to unlimited travel for £7. It is often worth doing as it can save money even if you are on your own.

See

• Warner Bros. Studio Tour, 51.69094°, -0.41797°, 08450 840 900 (high cost number). Take a tour around the studios where Harry Potter was filmed and visit the large gift shop. Buses to the studio can be taken from Watford Junction. (must be purchased in advance, 2019 prices) adult: £45, child (5-15 years old): £37, infant (0-4 years): free
• Watford Palace Theatre, 51.6572°, -0.3972°, +44 1923 225671.
• Watford Museum, 51.652079°, -0.391025°, +44 1923 232297.

Do

There are plenty of things to do in Watford. For example, visit the Warner Bros Studios in north Watford, shop in the town centre, stroll through Cassiobury Park, play golf at Watford TopGolf or even visit Woodside Leisure Park, home of Vue cinema, indoor play areas and some restaurants. Watford is also home to many leisure centres, for sporting activities, including a running and athletics track in Garston. Watford Colosseum hosts many comedy shows and live music concerts, check out their website for upcoming shows.

• Watford FC, Vicarage Rd WD18 0ER, 51.6498°, -0.4013°. They were relegated in 2022 and now play soccer in the Championship, the second tier. Their stadium (capacity 22,000) is at Vicarage Road, half a mile west of town centre. The women's team were also relegated in 2022 to play in the National League South, their third tier, with home games at Gaywood Park in King's Langley. 2022-05-23
• Watford Colosseum, Rickmansworth Rd, WD17 3JN, 51.6591°, -0.4035°, +44 1923 571102. 2020-01-02
• Watford Topgolf, Bushey Mill Ln, WD24 7AB, 51.6717382°, -0.3794561°, +44 1923 222045. M-Th Su 9AM-11PM, F Sa 9AM-1AM. A high-tech golf driving range. Much like a modern bowling alley it has sensors and screens which track your shots. 2020-01-02

Buy

• Atria Watford (formerly intu Watford), 201 The Harlequin, Watford, WD17 2UB, 51.6553°, -0.394167°, +44 1923 250292. M-W 9AM-6PM, Th 9AM-9PM, F 9AM-6PM, Sa 9AM-7PM, Su 11AM-5PM. This is the main shopping mall with John Lewis, Jane Norman, French Connection Outlet, Monsoon and separate Accesorize in addition to Acessorize in the Monsoon, River Island, Anne Summers, La Senza, Zara, WHSmith (post office at the back), Pineapple, Lush, GAME and many other shops. There are also New Look, Topshop (inc Topman), Computer Exchange, The End and Next to Choice (a Next outlet) on the High Street.

Eat

There are many choices.

For Restaurants, there is Middletons Steakhouse and Grill, Flower Drum (Chinese), Flame (Chinese buffet), various Pizza restaurants (Pizza et pizza, Zinco, Ask, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express), Caribbean, Japanese (Hanko)...

Fast food - Two McDonald's (With an extra 2 in the north of the town), Five Guys, two Subways, various pizza takeaway places (Dominos, Pizza hut, Pizza express and various kebab shops. Roosters Peri Peri Chicken is halal and serves very inexpensive but absolutely delicious chicken meals, including wraps, burgers, etc. and even apple pies and ice cream in the summer. Try the chicken burger meal. Yum. For a sit down, go to Pepe's, opposite the indoor market (behind Poundland) which serves Greek Cypriot fare as well as burgers, steaks, sandwiches, and puddings.

Vegetarian - GoKula Vegetarian Cafe, a vegetarian and vegan fast food restaurant with links to the nearby Hari Krishna Temple. A breakfast & brunch restaurant but not evenings . At 65 Market Street.

Halal - Roosters (burgers, chicken wings, chips...), various kebab shops.

Cafés - Presence coffee shop with paninis, muffins, with a spa upstairs and a gift shop out front. TJ Hughes has a restaurant/café. For the more traditional fry up, head to Aroma at the bottom of the high street for relatively healthy and delicious breakfasts, chips, burgers etc. Toast, next to Roosters and almost opposite the Palace Theatre, serves sandwiches, juice etc. Try Go Kula cafe on Market Place for vegetarian food but it is a bit hit and miss. Best to go there for a chat, read a few books and meet the local mums and toddlers. The YMCA serves good food - it is behind Poundland/next to the indoor market.

Coffee Starbucks and Costa in the Harlequin, Caffe Nero by St. Mary's Church on the High Street, Presence in the north end of the High Street, McDonald's on either end of the High Street. Plenty of places with plenty of choice.

Drink

Watford Town Centre comes alive at night particularly on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. The bars and clubs are practically all positioned next to each other up the High Street. As a general rule the music is louder, the drinks are more expensive and the atmosphere is more lively the further up the High Street you go, though there are exceptions.

A flyover divides the strip into the 'High Street' and 'The Parade'. Starting from the High Street and walking up:

• Que Pasa, 58 High Street, WD17 2BS, +44 1923 233080, quepasa.watford@marstons.co.uk.
• The Moon Under Water, 44 High Street, WD17 2BS, +44 1923 223559. M-F 7AM-midnight, Sa 9AM-midnight, Su 9AM-10PM.
• Chicago Rock Cafe, The Parade.
• O'Neills, The Parade.
• Reflex, 66-68 The Parade, WD17 1AH, +44 1923 244307, molloysreflex.watford@stonegatepubs.com.
• The Columbia Press (Formerly 'Lloyds No. 1 Bar'), 72-74 The Parade, WD17 1AW, +44 1923 811540. M 8AM-12:30AM, Tu W 8AM-midnight, Th 8AM-12:30AM, F Sa 8AM-1AM, Su 8AM-11PM.
• Walkabout, 76 The Parade, WD17 1AW, +44 1923 240688, walkabout.watford@walkaboutbars.com.
• Kandi Klub.
• Bar Me.
• Oceana. M Th-Sa 10AM-3AM. Watford's biggest nightclub.
• Bar Nazdrovya.
• Bodega, 151 The Parade, WD17 1NA, +44 1923 229651, info@barbodega.co.uk. M-W 5-11PM, Th-Sa 5PM-midnight, 5-11PM.

Sleep

• The Orchard House Guest House, 24 Garston Ln,, +44 1923 672376. 2018-08-22
• Ricky Road Guesthouse, 73 Rickmansworth Road. 2018-08-22
• Berrygrove Lodge B&B, 2 Berry Grove Ln, +44 1923 218015. 2018-08-22
• Premier Inn. 2018-08-22
• Hilton. 2018-08-22
• Travelstop. 2018-08-22
• The Grove, Chandler's Cross, WD3 4TG. tres expensive but tres beautiful from £225 2018-08-22

Connect

As of May 2022, Watford has 5G from all UK carriers.

Go next

By rail

• Fast trains to London Euston are regular at Watford Junction station, a ten minute walk from the high street.
• "Overground" operated trains on which accept Oyster cards are accepted that take longer, with stops in Bushey, Harrow, Wembley, and the northwest suburbas of London, are also an option.
• Heading north Trains run to: St Albans (a definite must visit for the market, the cathedral, the park and the canal), Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Bletchley, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard.

Take the Metropolitan line from a secluded tube station after a walk through Cassiobury Park to Baker Street, Harrow, Wembley... And change at Baker Street for various other London lines and of course to visit Sherlock Holmes's offices. Change at Moor Park to go to Rickmansworth, Chesham, Amersham, and Aylesbury.

By bus

• Rickmansworth - Get the No. 6 bus to a lovely small town with a church, canal...
• Abbots Langley Get the 8/318 bus to enjoy the small cafés, the large park and woods.