What's it like living here?

What's It Like To Live in St Albans?

St Albans is Hertfordshire?s oldest town and is the main sought-after residential area of Southern Hertfordshire, located around 22 miles north of central London. The growth of St Albans can be seen in the wide range of architecture in its streets from the Medieval heart of the City to the leafy suburbs, examples of every building style can be seen. During Roman times the town grew to become the third largest in Britain. Apart from the historic City Centre St Albans is highly suburban in character and entirely surrounded by Greenbelt countryside. St Albans Cathedral dominates the City skyline at every approach. Many families choose St Albans to benefit from the catchment areas for sought after schools which perform well in the education leagues. St Albans has easy access to the local motorways (M1, A1(M) and M25) giving fast links to London and the North. St Albans has two stations giving the commuter an excellent choice of destinations such as St Pancras, Luton Airport, Gatwick Airport, Bedford, Watford, North London, the West Coast and Brighton. In September 2007, the majority of residents and businesses took part in a daily internet vote and joined the campaign for St Albans to replace Mayfair, on a special UK Here and Now Edition Monopoly board. It was very close between St Albans and Cambridge as to who would win the coveted place and St Albans were victorious thanks to the great support of the local people and businesses.

Entertainment

There is much to see and do in St Albans, you can discover the life and times of a major Roman town at the Verulamium museum. Verulamium Park is the main open space with acres of parkland including a lake with wildlife and the River Ver. Nearby are the De Havilland Aircraft Heritage Museum and the Gardens of the Rose, the flagship gardens of the Royal Rose Society. St Albans has a thriving cultural life, with regular concerts and theatre productions held at venues including St Albans Abbey, The Maltings Arts Theatre, the Alban Arena and the Abbey Theatre. Beyond the City of St Albans there is plenty to explore. A wealth of villages offering good pubs, beautiful walks, historic churches and many modern attractions. The City is well provided with over 120 restaurants and cafes and a great number of historic pubs and inns. St Albans is one of several places that, by repute, has the most pubs per square mile in the country. It also claims to have the oldest pub in England (in which Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have stayed), named Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has its head office in Hatfield Road. The local branch holds an annual beer festival in St Albans. In recent years this has been a four day event starting on a Wednesday near the end of September.