St. Albans Blog

Days Out in St. Albans Roman Amphitheatre

The ruins are open to the public - more information

Skateboarding in St. Albans: Pioneer Skate Park & Conspiracy Skate Store

  Girls Skate Jam 2007 252 
  Originally uploaded by breakbeat

We discovered Pioneer Skate Park a couple years ago when our nephew, then 13, came to visit us for part of the summer. He'd just started skating so was very much a beginner when we took him the binary.com demo account first time. After signing the mandatory waiver forms, he was introduced to one of the skate guards who promptly introduced him to a few of the more expert skaters there that day. Before long, our nephew was getting what basically amounted to a free beginner's lesson. For the next few weeks, we dropped him off at the Pioneer, knowing that he'd have a good time and that the skate guards would ensure he came back in one piece.

By and large, the kids, teenagers and parents we met at the Pioneer were friendly, welcoming and - as far as we could tell - the skatepark was entirely free from drug or alcohol problems.

Here's what some local skaters thought of the Pioneer.

Pioneer Skate Park is located about 10 minutes walk from the north end of St. Peter Street, on Heathlands Drive, St Albans, Hertfordshire Tel: 01727 850741.

If you want to find out more about the local skating scene, Conspiracy Skate and Snowboard Store on London Road (near Domino's Pizza) would be a good starting point. You'll find them at 17 London Road, St Albans. Tel: 0870 752 8880 Email: mail@conspiracyclothing.co.uk

buy a domain and point it at your myspace, facebook or blog

Half Marathon and Farmers Market

St. Albans Farmers Market: Sunday 10 June 2007

This Sunday, 10 June 2007, sees the return of the popular St. Albans Farmers Market where you'll find local produce, baked goods, cheeses, seasonal binary .com demo fruit and vegetables, meat and game, etc.

St Albans Farmers' Market is held on the 2nd Sunday each month, from 8.00am to 2.00pm.

St. Albans International Organ Festival: 12-21 July 2007

The International Organ Festival at St Albans has run for over 44 years and has established a unique place in the history of music for the traditional pipe-organ both in this country and throughout the world.

Highlights of the 2007 Festival, taking place between 12 - 21 July, will include a concert by John Dankworth and Cleo Laine; a gospel choir Black Voices; the renowned Hilliard Ensemble singing music from their recent programme: Arkhangelos; the renowned singer and broadcaster on Radio3 of the Early Music Show, Catherine Bott, singing music from the Spanish renaissance in a late evening concert; a celebrity piano recital by John Lill; and a performance of Elgar's The Kingdom.

For aficionados of the English Cathedral choral tradition the Three Choirs Concert will feature the choirs of St Albans Cathedral, St John's College, Cambridge (director, David Hill), and forex trading St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York City (director, John Scott).

The St. Albans Organ Festival will also include a series of high profile concerts featuring wonderful musicians performing jazz, gospel music, early music and other contemporary styles, featuring the voice and instruments other than the organ.

Online booking for events is available.

Countryside Walk Near St. Albans: Redbournbury Mill

Redbournbury Mill, Sunday 2:42 pm 3/6/07

In between St. Albans and Redbourn, on the A5183 Redbourn Road, you'll find Redbournbury Mill, a working 18th century watermill that continues to produce fresh baked bread made using traditional techniques. The mill's cafe is as good a place as any to stop on a sunny day for a bite to eat and a cup of tea. You can also take your food from the cafe to the picnic tables outside the front of the building.

It costs £2 per person to enter the mill but, if you've not been in a working flour mill like this before, it is worth the visit. There are lots of stairs, some resembling ladders, so those with mobility problems might not want to venture further than the front entrance (where you can see quite a lot anyway).

The River Ver, which powers the mill, can be seen just next to the mill itself. There's also a small pond and views out over countryside. You can pick up the River Ver walking trail from here.

In 2007, Redbournbury Mill will be open every Sunday afternoon from 15th April to 7th October 2pm - 5.30pm. The Mill is also open on some holidays - check here for details.

Fun for Kids: Big Space in Harpenden

Big Space, Sunday 1:03 pm 3/6/07

Big Space is Hertfordshire's largest indoor play area for kids. They have two main areas, one for toddlers and another for kids up to twelve years old. Expect lots of space to run around, climb and slide. Big Space also hosts kids parties. Entrance for parents is free with a paying kid.

1-2 year olds: £2
2-4 year olds: £4
3-4 year olds: £5
5-12 year olds: £6

Big Space is located at Unit 3, Southdown Industrial Estate, Harpenden, AL5 1PW. [View Map]

Archibishop Desmond Tutu at St. Albans Festival

Desmond Tutu will be at the Abbey
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Archibishop Desmond Tutu will address followers at the Albantide Festival Pilgrimage. The event, held at the St. Albans Abbey Cathedral, will take place on Saturday 23 June 2007.

To register yourself or parish group, please contact Mrs. M Dean on 01727 890 202 or deansec@stalbanscathedral.org.uk

More details here.

St. Albans Markets: French Market This Weekend (17-19 May 2007)

St. Albans will play host to a Continental Market from the 17th to 19th May 2007. Known locally as "the French market", visitors can expect to find baklava, French style sweets including Turkish delight, bread, olives, bunches of French garlic and more.

We've got more information on the various markets in St. Albans and their dates of operation here.

St. Albans Farmers Market - This Sunday

The Farmers Market returns to St. Albans this Sunday, May 13th 2007. The market gives you the chance to purchase locally sourced food and product direct from the farmers and small scale manufacturers. We highly recommend the stall selling relish and salsas as well as the one with fresh, handmade falafels (see photo). Yummmmm...

We've got more information on the various markets in St. Albans and their dates of operation here.

St. Albans Election Results

Local elections were held in St. Albans on Thursday 03 May 2007 - results here...

Information About St. Albans Blog

StAlbansBlog is written by a couple in their early 30's who have a toddler and live in central St. Albans. We arrived in the city about 4 years ago so we're still new enough to notice stuff that people born and raised in the city probably miss yet we've been here long enough to know some of St. Alban's secrets too, like the ghost that turns the gas off at the Verulam Arms and the hidden Wildlife Preserve located just moments from the the city centre.

Whenever our family goes out in or around St. Albans, we try to document the places we visit, restaurants we eat in and things we see. We've never been paid to write a review, nor have we been offered any freebies or special treatment of any kind. When it comes to pubs, restaurants, food and shopping we tend to take our custom to local retailers whenever possible - which explains why you will see reviews of shops like Grapeland, a specialist independent wine retailer, but not Threshers or Majestic which share the same road.

Whilst setting up this blog was, and continues to be, primarily for fun, we've also seen it's audience quickly grow in the two months we've been blogging here. We're delighted that so many people are visiting - below are the statistics thus far (click graph to enlarge):

We do have access to detailed statistics on how people find the site although the database only stores details of the last 100 visits. The following estimates should provide a pretty good indication of how people are finding this page:

50% of visitors find this blog after using google to search for specific restaurants and pubs in St. Albans.

20% of visitors make general queries about St. Albans, such as the opening hours of the Maltings shopping centre, the location of car parking, the cost of train tickets to St. Albans from London, and the dates of St. Albans markets.

20% of visitors tend to be searching for property, estate agents in St. Albans, information on specific streets or areas, or about local schools and nurseries.

10% either type the URL into their browsers or click on a link sent to them via email, or come after making searches for information not included in the above (eg. a one off search for "tree surgeon st albans" or "st. albans council tax rates 2007" would be included here)

We're currently working on an advertising policy that will enable us to continue to write unbiased reviews whilst enabling local businesses, or those providing services locally, to advertise to this audience. More coming soon...

Busy day at the market

With the sun shining bright, Saturday was a busy day at the market. We've got more information on the various markets in St. Albans and their dates of operation here.

Mexican Fiesta Weekend at Barneys (04 to 07 May)

Mexican Fiesta Weekend

There's no shortage of Italian, Indian, Chinese or Thai restaurants in St. Albans. There's also at least two Greek restaurants, a Lebanese, a new Moroccan and a few other specialty restaurants and cafes I'm bound to have missed.

But there isn't a single Mexican (or Vegetarian, for that matter) in the whole city or, as far as I can tell, anywhere closer than London.

Barney's, reviewed here, is set to change that for this weekend only with their Mexican Fiesta Weekend (Friday 04 to Monday 07 May 2007). Mexican food afectionados and live Latin music fans shouldn't miss this rare opportunity to stave off those Mexicali blues.

Pizza in St. Albans: Pizza Express

Sunday 6:43 pm 4/22/07

There really aren't that many proper local restaurants with good pizza in St. Albans. In fact, the only one I can think of is La Cosa Nostra which we've already raved about here.

Luckily, Pizza Express fills that gap in the market through a typical offering of the nationwide chain - good pizza, interesting combinations of toppings and modern decor that makes you feel you're dining somewhere a bit more upmarket than you are.

It gets busy in the evenings, particularly from Wednesday until Sunday, so it's best to book in advance if you can.

You'll find Pizza Express at 11-13 Verulam Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4DA [map] Tel: 01727 853020. Alternatively, there is also a Pizza Express on the High Street in nearby Harpenden [map] Tel: 01582 765714

Gastro Pubs in St. Albans: The King Harry Pub

King Harry Pub, St. Albans

The King Harry pub in St. Albans looks traditional from the outside and, whilst retaining lots of it's old time charm, has that laid back, comfortable, gasto pub vibe. The wooden floored interior mixes leather sofas that you quite literally sink down into with antique tables and a few 70's bits and pieces. Look around a bit and you'll find that the King Harry also has stacks of games, magazines and newspapers to keep you entertained.

The King Harry has a great selection of traditional beers and ales as well as some foreign delights on draft such as Fruli, a Belgian beer infused with Strawberry - our family favourite.

This place practically screams "perfect gastro pub for a Sunday afternoon" but, sadly, our experience of eating at the King Harry was simply ok rather than really good or the great we'd expected. A lot of people do seem to take the Sunday Roast there so maybe we just caught them on an off day - we'll probably have to try it again before coming to any concrete conclusions.

True, it's located just off a busy double round about, but once in the lovely beergarden or inside, that's completely forgotten. We enjoy arriving at the King Harry after a stroll through the park. From the Fighting Cock's Pub you go along the left side of the lake then up the hill that takes you alongside the Roman wall. At the top of the hill, when you reach the road, turn left and it's a 5 minute walk. There is also a beergarden where children are tolerated if not openly welcomed.

The King Harry is located at 2 King Harry Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4BL [map] There is ample car parking. Phone ahead for Sunday lunch: 01727 846 904

Days Out Near St. Albans: Hatfield House (Country House & Park)

Hatfield House

Hatfield House is a large stately home surrounded by an enormous park that includes mature sculpted gardens, areas perfect for walks and picnicking, a cafe and more.

According to wikipedia, "the present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil family ever since. It is currently the home of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury."

The house itself, which with entrance to the park costs £9 for each adult, is worth a visit. We particularly enjoyed the gardens which are included in the price of the ticket to view the house.

We visited on Easter Monday, the first weekend that the house and park are open to the public. The estate and surrounding park are so big that, even on what must be one of it's busiest days, we found ample quiet space to explore and relax.

The restaurant has decent, but not spectacular, food but doesn't appear to serve anything that's actually grown or raised on the estate.

Hatfield House is located just 15 minutes drive from St. Albans. It's also located immediately across the road from Hatfield railway station which is served by First Capital Connect (but not directly from St. Albans). Take the train to avoid the queues at the entrance on busy weekends.

St. Albans Property of the Week: Historical George Street

This week's highlighted St. Albans property, listed by Palmer Mandley and Sparrow, is a three bedroom split-level maisonette with wood beams, exposed brick fireplaces and views of the Abbey.

Located on historic George Street, the property, which is accessed at street level, is in the heart of the conservation area and dates back to the 16th century with a second floor extension having been added approximately 100 years later.

Offers in the region of £400,000. The details aren't linkable so you'll have to visit the website of the agent for further details.

St. Albans Bar and Restaurant: Barneys

Saturday 12:18 pm 4/7/07
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Barney's, located on London Road just a minute's walk from St. Albans main shopping area, is the perfect place to unwind with a few drinks and nibbles.

The menu, which could come straight from an American bar and grill, offers plenty of opportunities to share with mates including potato skins loaded with cheese and bacon, and nachos with a 7 or 9 layer dip.

There's also a wide variety of sandwiches (which can be served with soup) including the Philly Cheese Steak and, one of our family favourites, The Reuben. They also do hotdogs and burgers, which includes a scrummy veggie burger as an option, better than anywhere in St. Albans.

The pints of Amstel are - we swear - the coldest and freshest in town (better than Lloyds!) which is good because service can, even when the place is empty, be rather slow although it is usually friendly. At night, particularly at the weekends, expect Barney's to be noisy and smoky. There is sometimes free wifi but it's often not working so don't check that you can get online before ordering if the wifi is what you're really there for.

Kids welcome in the restaurant during lunch and the mid-afternoon although smoke can waft in from other areas of the bar.

Barney's is located at 28-30 London Road, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 1NG [map]

Farmers market - open Easter

Cameraphone Post: The St. Albans Farmer's Market is open today - Easter Sunday.

St. Albans Trains to Luton, Gatwick, London and Brighton

Train at St. Albans

First Capital Connect runs direct train services from St. Albans City station. Locals still refer to the line and station as "the Thameslink", the name of the former train franchise operator which was replaced by FCC in 2006.

The line runs from Bedford in the North, through stops including Luton and Luton Airport Parkway to St. Albans, then towards London Kings Cross Thameslink before passing through the City and heading to either Wimbledon or Brighton.

Typical journey times for trains from St. Albans are:

St. Albans to Luton Airport Parkway: 11 minutes (you must transfer to a bus to get to the airport)

St. Albans to Bedford: 41 minutes

St. Albans to London Kings Cross (Thameslink): 21 minutes fast / 34 minutes all stations

St. Albans to Gatwick Airport: 1 hour 7 minutes

St. Albans to Brighton: 1 hour 36 minutes to 1 hour 46 minutes

Trains heading north from St. Albans leave from platforms 2 and 4, with southbound trains leaving from platforms 1 and 3. There are stairs leading to and from the two central platforms meaning wheelchair users and those with heavy luggage may wish to investigate the feasibility of making their journey prior to setting off.

You can check for scheduled services on the First Capital Connect website.

Once arriving in St. Albans, the City Centre is a 10 to 15 minute walk. A taxi rank is also available outside the East side of the station (by platform one and the main ticketing area).

St. Albans Markets: A Day Out in St. Albans

French Market 24/03/07

St. Albans was a market town as far back as 900 AD - over a thousand years ago - and was granted it's Royal Charter in 1553. St. Albans currently plays host to four different markets.

St. Albans Market: The main market is held on Wednesday and Saturday each week all year. Stalls are generally open from around 9am to 5pm with vendors packing up a bit sooner if the weather is bad or a bit later if trade is good.

According to the St. Albans council website, over 60% of stalls at the market have been trading for 20 or more years - a great, and possibly unique, achievement these days.

St. Albans Farmers Market: Open the second Sunday of each Month from 8am to 2pm, this popular market provides the opportunity to buy high quality locally grown plants and flowers, organic local produce, and handmade products including soaps, cheeses and baked goods. Our family favourite is the falafel in a pita bread served - yummy! Currently scheduled (check here for Apr 8th, May 13th, June 10th, July 8th, Aug 12th, Sept 9th, Oct 14th, Nov 11th, Dec 9th.

Continental "French" Market: Known locally as the French market, vendors offer fruit conserves, baklava, cheese, olives, sausages and many more delicacies. Currently scheduled (check here) to run May 17th, 18th, 19th. and Sept 20th, 21st, 22nd.

Italian Market: Similar to the Continental Market but with an Italian flair. Currently scheduled (check here) for July 20th, 21st. Oct 18th, 19th 20th.

You may also be interested in visiting a local specialist food and wine retailer, enjoying a meal at a St. Albans restaurant, or finishing your day out with a pint in a pub in St. Albans.

Italian and Polish Grocery in St. Albans: Buongiorno Italia

"Tony's" Deli

Buongiorno Italia is a small, authentic, neighbourhood Italian Deli in St. Albans. Located on Lattimore Road at the Victoria Street end, locals refer to the deli simply as "Tony's", the name of it's owner.

Buongirono Italia was, like the nearby Italian restaurant La Cosa Nostra, started as a family business by Tony's father. Whilst the restaurant passed into other hands, the deli has remained in the family and retains a loyal following of ages old Italian customers who chat happily with Tony, adding an air of real Italian authenticity.

Also authentic are the products which range from packaged pasta and sauces to handmade vegetarian risotti (our family favourite!), Italian sausages, cheeses and fresh baked Italian breads (several days per week). Tony also does a range of Italian wines and stocks quite a few varieties of Italian olive oil. As you can see in the photo here, Buongiorno Italia also sells fresh vegetables and fruits.

Seasonal treats include Italian chocolate eggs at Easter and, at Christmas, pannetone cake.

Due to the recent influx of Polish people to St. Albans, Tony has been experimenting with the sale of Polish groceries including Kubus (popular brand of carrot juice), Polish bread (kleb), cheese, butter and sausage. He also has the cheapest Polish beer - Zwiec, Lech and Warka - in St. Albans.

Tony and his assistant Max tend to get rushed off their feet on Saturday mornings (they're closed Sundays) but any other time they're usually happy to provide advice on any of their products and ideas how to best use them.

HMS St. Albans

HMS St. Alban's
Originally uploaded by squib_pig.

Launched in May 2006, the type 23 Duke class frigate HMS St. Albans is the sixth naval vessel to carry the city's name.

The nearest the ship has ever been to St. Albans, which is about as landlocked as any location in Britain, is London (shown here).

St. Albans Property of the Week: Pretty Victorian Cottage

This week's St. Albans property of the week is a recently renovated and immaculately presented two bedroom Victorian cottage located between St. Albans City Station and St. Albans City Centre.

The property, listed with Ashtons, includes a recently fitted kitchen with chunky granite work tops, Fired Earth glass tile splashbacks, heated tile flooring two nearly full height french doors opening onto a large, newly completed, raised wooden deck with railing - adding significantly to the living space of the home during the warmer months.

The living room and dining room have been knocked through to create one large living space and the exposed brickwork of the fireplace adds a feature to the room.

Timber sash style windows, with double glazing, have been recently fitted through out the property.

Upstairs is are two good sized double bedrooms, one with feature Victorian cast iron fireplace.

The property also benefits from a recently fitted, highly efficient condensor combi central heating boiler. See full details or arrange a booking through Ashtons.

St. Albans Blogs About Cycling

Autumn's here..
Originally uploaded by mike1727.

Mike, who lives in St. Albans, uses the Alban Way to cycle to work in Hatfield each day.

He documents his many miles, and even more numerous punctures, on his blog planetmike and posts photos from his mobile (we hope not whilst riding!) his flickr photostream.

Mike is also involved in the St. Albans Cycle Campaign (STACC).

Day Trips to London from St. Albans

By train, St. Albans is located approximately 20 minutes south of Luton Airport and 22 minutes north of London Kings Cross [check times], making it perfect for a stop over on the way to or from London from the airport.

London (Eyewitness Travel Guides) St. Albans' location also means that London makes an easy day out from St. Albans. Most local people will have heard of, and probably visited, many of the top ten sights in London: Westminster, shopping on Regent Street and Oxford Street, St. Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, etc.

If, however, you want to dig a bit beneath the surface - either by finding out more about the sights you already know or finding new places to visit that aren't on the usual Bus Tour routes - a good travel guide to London can come in handy. We prefer Dorling Kindersley's London Eyewitness Travel Guide because it not only contains information about a wide range of tourist sights, historical places, restaurants, etc in London, but also has many photos and illustrations to help you decide what's worth visiting.

It's also a great resource to have available in the guest room for when visiting friends and relatives are looking for something to do and you can't figure out what they might want to do on a day trip to London. All they have to do is look through and point at what they want to see!

Shopping in St. Albans: Bread Shop

The Bread Shop

The 'Bread Shop' has recently arrived in The Maltings, St. Albans. They serve specialist bread products, cakes, rolls, and pastries - all made from, according to their website, "specially selected wheat, flour and other key ingredients to ensure and maintain a superior standard and taste."

St. Albans joins some fine company - Bread Shop's other stores can be found in Harrods, Selfridges London, St. Johns Wood and Chiswick.

Specialities include the four seed roll, made with pumpkinseeds, sunflower seeds, linseed and millet seeds kneaded together with potato flakes and sourdough and left to mature for sixteen hours for maximum flavour.

Our family - mom, dad and 13 month old kid - particularly enjoy the fresh large Pretzels on offer. We're also tempted by their Pumpkin Loaf, Quark Danish and Cinnamon Swirl. You can see some of the Bread Shop's range on their website.

The Bread Shop, St. Albans is located in The Maltings [map].

Walks with St. Albans Tour Guides

The City of St. Albans Tour Guides have, since 1964, provided a wide range of interesting and insightful walks in and around the city. Listed on their website are over a dozen different routes, each with a specific theme, including:

Historic Walk: Covering 1200 years in about 90 minutes, this excellent walk gives an overview of the most important people, buildings and events in St.Albans from the Monastic to the modern.

Pubs & Chapels: St.Albans was a centre for the brewing of ale and beer, having a truly remarkable number of inns and alehouses catering for the medieval visitor and trader. Following the Reformation the town became a centre for religious dissent. This walk combines the sacred and the profane in a tour of both existing and former sites.

The War of the Roses: Although two battles were fought in St.Albans in this dynastic struggle between the houses of Lancaster and York, this walk concentrates on the first one,which took place in and around the market place. Hear about the reasons why, the personalities involved and the outcome. There's even a Shakespearean connection! Come and join the battle - no armour needed!

Ghostly Goings-On: An extremely popular and atmospheric walk that introduces some of the ghosts of St.Albans and relates their sad stories. We can’t guarantee whom you might see – only where you might find them, for they do exist! This walk is not suitable for very young children.

City Walks start outside the Old Town Hall in Market Place and take from an hour to an hour and a half. Ticketscan be obtained in advance from the Tourist Information Centre inside the Old Town Hall or from the Guide on duty. No specific advanced booking is required for individual walks EXCEPT the Halloween Ghost Walks which are by prebooked ticket only.

More information can be obtained online or by phoning the Tourist Information Centre on 01727 86451

St. Albans Council Tax Rates 2007-2008

Thinking of buying or renting a home in St. Albans? The 2007-2008 St. Albans Council Tax charges have been published and are as follows:

Band A: £896.01
Band B: £1,045,33
Band C: £1,194.68
Band D: £1,344.01
Band E: £1,642.69
Band F: £1,941.34
Band G: £2,240.02
Band H: £2,688.02

St. Albans District Council's website provides information on benefits you may be entitled to if you are a single person household, are a student or student nurse, have a low income, etc. You can also phone the St. Albans Benefits section on 01727 819 460. See also: Entitled To's Benefits and Entitlements Calculator

Parks and Recreation in St. Albans: Watercress Wildlife Conservation Area

watercress

The Watercress Wildlife Conservation Area was created and is maintained volunteer members of the community. It's a quiet nature refuge located a little more than half a mile from the city centre, behind Riverside Road and adjacent to part of the Alban Way Cycle Network [map].

The site was the formerly an orchard and watercress business started by the Pinnock family in the 1920's/30's. Four of the original apple trees remain and new apple and pear trees were planted by the Watercress Wildlife Association, which looks after the site, in 2001.

The four acre site contains not just an orchard, but a large pond, grassy areas, a bird hide, shaded woodland, and small section of the River LeaVer (thanks for the correction Sam!). A wide range of birds and animals can also be spotted in the park and many of these have been catalogued on the WWA's sightings blog. My wife and daughter were even startled by a mature female deer as they turned a corner on the path that winds through the preserve.

You can help support the continued conservation of the area by joining the Watercress Wildlife Association (£10 for a household annual membership) or volunteering to work on the site. Further details on their website.

Grapeland: Specialist Independent Wine Shop in St. Albans

Selection of Wines from Grapeland

Grapeland is everything you ever wanted in a specialist, independent neighbourhood wine shop:

a great, hand picked ranged of wines

knowledgeable and friendly staff who know their customers and go out of their way to suggest a great bottle of wine according to an individual's tastes or requirements

Graham and the rest of the staff at Grapeland will, of course, let you linger over your decision for as long as you want but if, like us, you sometimes want a bit of steering they'll do their best to present several options for you to choose from. The result is, more often than not, the perfect bottle of wine for the ocassion.

Wines range in price from approximately £4 (and for that you'll get WAY more than you'll get out of a £6 or £7 bottle from the garage or supermarket) to £100+ but the focus is very much at the more reasonable end with plenty to choose from between £8 and £22.

Grapeland is located approximately midway between St. Albans City Railway Station and St. Albans City Centre, at 109 Victoria Street. [map] and opening hours are 10.30 to 8.30 Monday to Saturday (closed Sunday).

Italian Restaurant in St. Albans: La Cosa Nostra

Pizza at La Cosa Nostra

La Cosa Nostra is, without a doubt, the best Italian restaraunt in St. Albans. Specialities include pasta dishes, calzone and pizza (see Pizza Fiorentina in photo) that they make right before your eyes.

Located in a residential area, La Cosa Nostra prides itself on knowing it's many customers from the neighbourhood and further afield. The restaurant might have little in the way of decor and does tend to get crowded and noisy during peak times, but the food and friendly welcome more than makes up for these shortcomings. [Harden's also thinks highly of La Cosa Nostra.]

Our personal favourites are the Mozarella Corozza, which is a fried breaded mozarella served with salad and "the world's best dressing", the spicy Penne Arrabiata and Pizza Fiorentina which comes with mozarella, spinach, pine nuts, mushrooms and an egg on top.

All that and two bottles of Nastro Azzuro can be had for around £25. Not bad at all. Wine and dessert are also available.

Children are welcome, at least outside of peak times. Best to book in the evenings, particularly towards the weekend. Additional seating can be found outside the front of the restaurant in summer months. La Cosa Nostra is closed Sundays.

La Cosa Nostra is located at 62 Lattimore Road, St Albans AL1 3XR [map]
Phone: 01727 832658

St. Albans Cathedral ("St. Albans Abbey")

stalbanscathedral

St. Albans Cathedral (wikipedia / official site), known locally by it's former name of St. Albans Abbey, is a magnificant thousand year old church.

It takes it's name from Alban, a citizen of the important Roman city of Verulamium, as St. Albans was known during Roman times, who offered his own life in exchange for that of a local Christian priest who had been captured by the Romans. A shrine to Alban, who was made England's first patron Saint, can be found within St. Albans Cathedral and is purported to contain Alban's bones.

The Cathedral stands106 metres (348 feet) tall and has the longest naive of any cathedral in England. It's also the second longest cathedral in England.

The Cathedral has had sections rebuilt and added to over the years, as can be evidenced by the different types of stone and brick used, ranging from Roman bricks and stone taken from the ruined city of Verulamium, red and yellow carved stones, and even the odd Victorian clay brick.

A real gem within the Cathedral itself is a small statue of a Roman soldier, found within the foundations of the cathedral during excavation work. This can be found in the southwest corner of the Cathedral.

The Cathedral contains it's own cafe and gift shop.

Adjacent to St. Albans is an original gate entrance to the city which was later used as a prison and is now part of St. Albans School. Beneath the Cathedral is sloping parkland that gently rolls towards the River Ver and the lakes of the city park.

Other photos of St. Albans Cathedral: Winter & Night

Larger Hotels in Central St. Albans

If you are looking for a hotel in St. Albans and want to stay within walking distance of the city centre, your options are fairly limited.

Within the city centre itself, on Holywell Hill just moments walk from the St. Albans Abbey Cathedral and the many bars and restaurants, is Comfort Hotel St. Albans. There's no pool, but rooms are equipped with everything the business traveller or tourist would require including internet access, kettle for tea and coffee making, satellite TV, etc. There's also parking available for residents - a real bonus in the city centre of St. Albans, where parking is often difficult to find. The aclaimed (apparently) and expensive 6 degrees restaurant can be found in the downstairs of the hotel although many residents are likely to want to take advantage of the location of this hotel right in the centre of St. Albans by exploring the other restaraunts and bars offered by the city. Telephone: +44 (0) 1727 848 849

Moments walk from St. Albans City Station, with fast trains to London's Kings Cross (22 minutes) on the Bedford-Luton-St.Albans-London-Gatwick-Brighton line, you'll find the privately owned Ardmore House Hotel. The Ardmore House Hotel is a converted Edwardian Residence with Victorian annex situated in a pleasant residential area of St Albans. Ardmore house offers single, twin, double and family rooms. They also have four poster beds for special ocassions. Ardmore House is located at 54 Lemsford Road, moments from the railway station and approximately 6 tenths of a mile (1km) from the town centre. Telephone: +44 (0) 1727 859313

The Quality Hotel St. Albans is located approximately 1 mile from the centre (1km from the railway station) on London Road. Faclities include car parking, restaurant, pool, sauna, satellite TV and other amenities you'd expect from a mid-range hotel chain. Telephone: +44 (0) 1727 857 858