Day out in Hertford

We've been visiting Hertford a few times a year for as long as we can remember. The town, about a third the size of St. Albans, is the county seat and has a certain charm to it.

It's got plenty of history - a wall and turret is all that remains of the original Hertford Castle, now surrounded by guardians that are open to the public. Hertford also once played host to Parliament, during the Great Plague of London in the mid-1600's, which explains why the central square of the town bears the name Parliament

Square.

Unlike central St. Albans, which was "improved" by modern street layouts and shopping centres such as the Maltings and Christopher Place, Hertford has retained much of it's medieval

layout of narrow, winding streets.

Whilst the town doesn't offer nearly as many shops, pubs or restaurants as St. Albans, it does seem that Hertford has a higher percentage of individual, locally owned shops. One thing, in particular, strikes us when we visit - nearly every shop, pub or restaurant has antique furniture or in some way makes use of original building features.

We began our visit today with a stop at what's left of Hertford Castle. At this time of year, there isn't much to see as far as the gardens are concerned, so we soon wandered up the  River Ware, which runs nearby, into the old town.

We had lunch at the All Day Cafe which adjoins, and apparently is owned by, the Hertford House Hotel. The menu is loaded with hearty, British favourites such as cod and chips, toad in the hole, and bangers and mash. I loved the big windows at the front, looking out on Parliament Square, and the decor was pleasantly kitch - comfortable, modern, yet a bit knocked about during years of use. We had the cod and chips, which was fresh, well presented and fairly tasty. Also, we ordered a quarter chicken, which, to be honest, wasn't to our liking but there wasn't anything technically wrong with it - it just wasn't particularly flavourfully. The five bean chilli was, again, nicely presented, and sounded great on the menu, but lacked anything to set it apart from, say, the similar dish offered as part of the Linda McCartney range of pre-made meals available in the grocery store. Even if the food was a bit lacklustre, the restaurant is nice and service was friendly, efficient and professional.

We then headed down the street to visit Wiggintons, where we'd bought our small pine kitchen table last year, only to find that it's closed - which is a huge shame. We walked a bit farther down the road to visit some of Hertford's antique and interiors shops, only to find that there appears to be just one remaining - Beckwith & Son. The shop, housed in a lovely Tudor building next to a church, has a great selection of antiques, primarily furniture, as well as a relatively new shop within a shop selling top of the range AGA stoves and other posh kitchen gear.

Had we not had the kids in tow, we would have almost definitely stopped into the Old Cross Tavern, not far from Beckwith & Son, which looks full of character, and probably fills with characters. Instead, we picked up a few things in Hertford's small market, then topped up our purchases with a quick stop in the small town centre Waitrose. On the way home, we drove past the County Hall - primarily because the satellite navigation decided to send us home that direction.

Hertford is a delightful, small Hertfordshire town. Located just 14 miles from St. Albans, it's only about 25-30 minutes away by car and offers many individual shops, plenty of history, and enough to see and do to keep you busy for an afternoon.