Robin Hamman
Freelance journalist, consultant, and university lecturer
What’s in it for you
Historical and cultural attractions: St Albans offers a rich blend of history, from its 1,100-year-old cathedral to Roman ruins, local museums, and a bustling market
Art and leisure: The city boasts a vibrant art scene with galleries, street art, and interactive art activities for all ages, plus sports and wellness options like Verulamium Spa and Westminster Lodge
Pub culture and accessibility: Known for its numerous pubs, including the historic Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, St Albans is easily accessible from London by train, making it a perfect day trip destination
History and culture
St Albans, a city rich in history and culture, offers a great day out for the whole family and is easily within reach with frequent fast trains from London whisking you there in around 20 minutes. St. Albans is a walkable city with loads to explore including a bustling market, soaring cathedral, museums and galleries, extensive Roman ruins, as well as a range of independent shops and restaurants.
I first visited St Albans over 20 years ago, on my own day out from London. As fate would have it, I wandered into a pub, was invited to play darts, and was later treated to a guided tour, impromptu pub crawl, and a lock-in where I ended up behind the bar helping pull pints. I’ve called St Albans home ever since and in this article you’ll find this local’s top tips for a day trip to St Albans.
St Albans Cathedral
The jewel in St Albans crown, St Albans Cathedral which is sometimes locally referred to as “the Abbey”, towers over the city. In fact, if you sit on the left side of the train on the short journey from London, you’ll see the cathedral’s tower from miles away.
St Albans Cathedral is one of the most magnificent and important cathedrals in all of England, being a continuous site of worship for well over 1100 years. Founded in the 8th century, most of the architecture seen today is Norman, dating to the 11th century when townspeople used bricks salvaged from the ruined Roman city of Verulamium to build the soaring tower that stands proudly today.
Inside, you’ll find breathtaking mediaeval wall paintings, intricate stained glass windows, and the shrine of St. Alban, said to contain bones of Britain’s first saint who was martyred close to this site. Each June, the Alban Pilgrimage and Festival, an annual highlight of the local calendar, sees a procession re-enacting the arrest, trial, and martyrdom of Alban parades through the streets of the city.
St Albans Cathedral is open to visitors everyday but please note that parts or all of the cathedral may be closed during times of worship or for special events, so check the website for details.
Top Tip: In recent years, a pair of magnificent peregrine falcons have nested on the cathedral’s roof, with fledglings making their first flights in July.
St Albans Market
St Albans is renowned for its bustling market, held every Wednesday and Saturday. This vibrant street market, offering produce, artisanal food, handmade crafts and more was recently named Best Large Outdoor Market by the National Association of British Market Authorities. The market can be found in the streets running between the historic clock tower and St. Peter’s church. The weekly market is open from 9am to 4.30pm and a special vintage market can be found on the second Sunday of every month, closing at around 2pm.
Top Tip: Locals in the know visit the weekly market towards the end of the day, when fresh fruit and vegetables can often be had at a steep discount.
St Albans Museums
St Alban’s Museum + Gallery, housed in the old town hall in the heart of the city centre, offers a fascinating introduction to the history and culture of the city. Here you’ll learn about the Battle of St Albans, with street to street fighting in the very streets around the museum, as well as the more recent history of St Albans which includes being an important centre of straw hat making, nylon tights manufacturing, mail order seed selling, and even the early film industry. There are also special exhibitions which, at time of writing, had recently explored the Home Life of the Windrush Generation and the “Wonderful World of Ladybird Artists”. You’ll also find work by local artists on display, often curated around a cultural theme. Entry is free.
Top Tip: On your visit, make sure you check out the old courtroom and the basement cells where criminals were once held before trial. Public toilets can also be found in the museum.
The Verulamium Museum
The Verulamium Museum is located at what locals refer to as the “bottom end of Verulamium Park”. The museum boasts artefacts, including beautiful mosaic floors, excavated from the ruins of Verulamium, the third most important in Britain, which once stood on the site. Entry is £10 per adult, with discounted rates for children and local residents. Within about five minutes walk of the museum and within the park you’ll find the free-to-visit covered excavations of a Roman villa, it’s floor preserved in situ, complete with underground heating system. Outside the boundaries of the park (staff will be happy to point you in the right direction) you can also visit, for a small fee, Verulamium’s ruined Roman theatre which is unique in Britain.
Top Tip: If you walk away from the park from Verulamium Museum and turn right, there are several traditional pubs as well as The Waffle House, a St Albans institution.
The Clock Tower
Back in the city centre, the Clock tower, constructed between 1403 and 1412, is the only remaining medieval town belfry in England. Standing 64ft high, the roof, accessible via a 93 step spiral staircase, offers unique views over the market, city, cathedral and surrounding countryside. The clock tower is open 10:30-5pm on weekends and bank holidays between Good Friday and the end of September.
Top Tip: One of the most photographed locations in St Albans, a door with signage that states “Cause No Nuisance”, is located on the side of the tower opposite the entrance in French Row. A new bar in nearby George Street now bears the signage as its name.
Art and Culture
St Albans is well served when it comes to art and culture with numerous commercial galleries, commissioned street art, and a variety of businesses offering the chance to get hands on and learn new artistic skills.
Commercial art galleries, where visitors are free to browse and purchase art include:
The Collective Gallery and Art Project Space: Rotating exhibitions showcasing the work of local artists, located on Holywell Hill. If you want to get a feel for the local art scene, this is the place to visit as not only can you view and purchase art here but you can also often meet the artists.
Clarendon Fine Art: Located in St Albans upscale Christopher Place outdoor shopping centre, this gallery sells original artwork and numbered prints from a range of collectable artists. If your pockets are deep enough they’ll even source you a Banksy.
Vache Blue Gallery: This gallery aims to bring contemporary art to the high street and is located in the Maltings outdoor shopping centre. There are numerous commercial galleries, my favourite being The Collective on Holywell Hill as it exclusively exhibits and sells the work of local artists. Others include Clarendon Fine Art in Christopher Place, Gallery Rouge on Chequer Street, Vache Blue Gallery in The Maltings, and Graphics Plus opposite the Clock Tower.
David Rutter Photography: Not a gallery, as such, this local photographer exhibits and sells his fine art prints from a stall at St Albans market as well as online.
Other galleries and stores selling artwork in St Albans include Marks & Tilt on London Road, Graphics Plus (adjacent to the Clock Tower), Gallery 105 in Victoria Street, and Raindrops and Roses (across the road from the Clock Tower).
Top Tip: Brad and Dills coffee shop, housed in the former Swift coin laundry on London Road, not only serves some of the best coffee in town but also exhibits and sells a range of locally produced artwork and ceramics. It also has a hidden garden at the back.
For street art, there are interesting commissioned murals behind the Museum, within the Christopher Street shopping centre, and on Drover’s Way running parallel to, and behind the shops on, St Peter’s Street.
For families looking for an artistic activity, I highly recommend Pots of Art on Holywell Hill. Housed in a historic Tudor building, which contains what is thought to be the only contemporary mural depicting the work of Shakespeare, people of all ages can choose and hand paint their own ceramic creations. Pre-booking is recommended although walk-ins can sometimes be accommodated. The newly opened Jefferson Eco, a community enterprise, also offers craft making workshops.
Sports of yesteryear and today
St Albans is notable for its sporting history. In the 1890’s, local businessman Samuel Ryder began selling packets of seeds, by mail order, from his home in St. Albans due to its good railway connections. Ryder grew the business to employ around 100 staff and two of the company’s buildings, an art deco seed hall and an attractive office building adorned with horticulture themed frescos next door, can still be seen on Holywell Hill in the city centre. Ryder, along with other members of a local golf club, founded the Ryder’s Cup, the prestigious biennial golf competition between European and American professionals.
Today, sporting amenities including beach volleyball courts created with sand used in the London olympics, tennis and basketball courts, as well as a children’s playground and splash park can all be found in Verulamium Park. Adjacent to the park is Westminster Lodge which boasts an outdoor running oval, 50m indoor swimming pool, gym, and various indoor sports courts.
Top Tip: There’s no better place in St Albans to unwind than Verulamium Spa, located within Westminster Lodge, which offers a variety of treatments as well as saunas and heated pools. Bookings and gift cards can be purchased in advance online.
Pubs
St Albans was once said to contain the most pubs per capita of any city in Europe and it’s therefore no surprise that the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is headquartered in St. Albans, where it was founded. The city centre boasts dozens of great pubs, each drawing a host of regulars and visitors alike. This is a pub sort of town, but you’ll also find stylish bars serving the latest cocktails, venues with live music, and wine bars too. Of particular note is Ye Olde Fighting Cocks which has a strong claim to being the oldest pub in Britain. You’ll find it on your walk at the bottom of the hill between the Cathedral and Verulamium Park.
Top Tip: At the end of many residential streets in the central conservation area, small traditional puts continue to serve as the “local” hub of the community, often serving drinks and food. If, like me, you find yourself moving to St. Albans after your visit, you’ll soon discover what I mean!
Getting to St Albans
St Albans is served by Thameslink, offering regular services from London, Brighton in the south, Bedford in the north, and stations in between. Fast trains run from London St. Pancras with a journey time of 23 minutes.
After arriving at St. Albans City by train, you’ll want to take the exit from platform four and walk up Victoria Street into the historic centre. The walk shouldn’t take more than 8-10 minutes and there are several cafes and pubs en-route.
Alternatively, there are frequent buses into the city centre from the main exit at platform one. St. Albans City has accessible lifts to all platforms and is fully staffed during main operational hours.
About the Author
Robin Hamman is a former BBC Journalist who has lived in, photographed and written about St. Albans for over 20 years, commuting into London daily for work much of that time. He once created a popular blog about what to see and do in the city and was later editor of a local news and events website created by a major national news group. His locals are the Beehive and the White Hart Tap.
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