Travel England Exploring Oxford and Around About Practicalities in St Albans
Trains on the Bedford to London
King's Cross line call at St Albans station, from where it's a
ten-minute walk west up the hill along Victoria street to the centre -
and the Clock Tower. Trains from Watford Junction (for London Euston
and the North) serve the small St Albans Abbey Station, a similar
distance from the centre, but this time to the south at the bottom of
Holywell Hill. Most buses terminate at St Albans station, but
virtually all services stop along the main commercial drag, St Peter's
Street, too. St Peter's Street extends north from the Market Place. The
tourist office is in the Town Hall, on the Market Place (Easter-Oct Mon-Sat 9.30am-5.30pm; Nov-Easter Mon-Sat 10am-4pm; tel 01727/864511, ).
St Albans has a good supply of B&Bs with several clustered near St Albans station, including the first-rate
Wren Lodge (tel 01727/855540; no credit cards; £40-50), a well-maintained
Edwardian house with four comfortable and attractively furnished
bedrooms - two en suite. Fishpool Street is, however, a much prettier
spot to head for and it's here you'll find the pleasant Black Lion Inn , at no. 198 (tel 01727/851786,
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
; £60-70), an ancient pub with sixteen agreeable rooms, fourteen en suite.
When it comes to food , St Albans' restaurant scene is a tad humdrum, but the pubs serve up some interesting fare. The
Goat , on Sopwell Lane off Holywell Hill (tel 01727/833934), serves some of the best food and beer in town, while the
Blue Anchor , on Fishpool Street, is a more solidly local pub with an open fire in winter and garden seating in summer. The antique
Fighting Cocks
, on Abbey Mill Lane, has been chopped around a bit and does get
mightily crowded on sunny summer days, but still has lots of enjoyable
nooks and crannies in which to nurse a pint.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides.
All rights reserved.The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.