St. Albans Overview

From the Roman legion to Norman conquerors, each new ruling class has wanted either to set St. Albans on fire or to make it a capital. In the third century, the Roman soldier Alban was beheaded here, making him England’s first Christian martyr. Because of the town’s traditional architecture, it is frequented by film crews as a substitute for Westminster Abbey and Oxford University.

Transportation. St. Albans has two train stations: City Station, the main one, and Abbey Station, which runs local services. To get to the town center from City Station, turn right out of the station onto Victoria Rd., follow the road back over the train tracks, and continue uphill for 10min. Avoid the hike by riding any “Into Town” bus (75p). Trains (☎08457 484 950) leave City Station to London’s King’s Cross Thameslink (25min., 4 per hr.). Sovereign (☎01727 854 732) buses stop at City Station and along St. Peter’s St. Bus #724 leaves from St. Peter’s St. in front of the post office for London Heathrow (2hr., every hr., £7).

Orientation And Practical Information. Leaving City Station, Hatfield Road to the left and Victoria Street to the right both lead uphill to town; at the town center, they are intersected by the main drag. To get to the main attractions, turn left onto this street, which changes from Saint Peter’s Street to Chequer Street to Holywell Hill.

The Tourist Information Centre, at the intersection of Victoria and St. Peter’s St., books accommodations for £3 plus a 10% deposit. (☎01727 864 511; www.stalbans.gov.uk. Open Easter-Oct. M-Sa 10am-5pm, every other Su 10am-4pm; Nov.-Easter M-Sa 10am-4pm.) Other services include: banks at the beginning of Chequer St.; Internet at the library in The Maltings Shopping Centre, across from the TIC (☎01438 737 333; £1.25 per 30min.; open M-Th 9am-8pm, F 10am-8pm, Sa 9am-4pm, Su 1-5pm); police, on Victoria St. (☎08453 300 222); Maltings pharmacy, 6 Victoria St. (☎01727 839 335; open M-F 9am-6:30pm, Sa 9am-5pm); and the post office, 2 Beaconsfield Rd. (☎01727 860 110). Postcode: AL1 3RA.

Accommodations And Food. Reasonably priced B&Bs (£20-40) are scattered and many times unmarked. The best way to secure a room is through the TIC. Near City Station, Mrs. Murphy is a beautiful home with satellite TV in all rooms. (☎01727 846 726; www.178londonroad.co.uk. Singles £35; doubles £50; family rooms £50-80. Cash only.)

Buy produce at the market (W and Sa by the TIC) and Iceland grocery, 144 Victoria St. (☎01727 833 908. Open M-F 9am-8pm, Sa 9am-7pm, Su 11am-5pm.) For lunch, visit   Ye Olde Fighting Cocks , Abbey Mill Ln., between the cathedral and Verulamium park. Once a 16th-century public house, this octagonal building may be the oldest pub in England. Tunnels, used by monks to see cockfights and later to flee Henry VIII’s cronies, run from the cathedral to the pub. Oliver Cromwell reputedly stabled his horse at one of the bars before setting off to raid the countryside. (☎01727 865 830. Open M-Th 11am-11pm, F-Sa 11am-midnight, Su noon-11pm. Kitchen open daily noon-9:30pm. MC/V.) Ducks waddle from the River Ver near the Waffle House , 31 Market St., with spiced couscous and omelettes (£5-8) or a set lunch for £8. (☎01727 853 569. Open daily 9am-4pm and 6:30pm-11pm. MC/V.)

Sights. Dark, gloomy, and splendid in stone, the   Cathedral of Saint Alban was built around the shrine of St. Alban, the first Christian martyr in England. At 227 ft., the medieval nave is the longest in Britain. Painted while the outcome of the Wars of the Roses was uncertain, the ceiling is entwined with the white and red roses of York and Lancaster. (☎01727 860 780. Open daily 8:30am-5:45pm. Suggested donation £2.50. Guided tours £1.) From the cathedral, walk 10min. down Fishpool St., over the river, and uphill as it becomes St. Michael’s St. to visit the   Verulamium Museum. Homes of the rich and poor of Roman Britain have been recreated with mosaics, painted wall plasters, and artifacts. (☎01727 751 810. Open M-Sa 10am-5:30pm, Su 2-5:30pm. £3.30, concessions £2, families £8.) A block away, the remains of one of five Roman theaters huddle against a backdrop of English countryside. (☎01727 835 035. Open daily 10am-5pm. £2, concessions £1.50, children 50p.) Two miles south of St. Albans, the fragrant Gardens of the Rose in Chiswell Green are the “flagship gardens” of the Royal National Rose Society. Over 30,000 roses bloom in summer. (☎01727 334 344. Open June-Sept. W-Su 11am-5pm. £5.)

Daytrip From St. Albans: Hatfield House. Stately 225-room Hatfield House is best known as Queen Elizabeth I’s childhood home. Placed under house arrest here for suspected treason, Elizabeth was sitting under one of the ancestral oaks when the news arrived that her sister Mary had died and she was queen. Hatfield holds two famous portraits of Elizabeth, and, although the stockings attributed to her are fakes, the gloves are real. Keep an eye out for the queen’s 22 ft. family tree, tracing her lineage to Adam and Eve via Noah, Julius Caesar, King Arthur, and King Lear. All that remains of her original palace is the Great Hall; the rest was razed to make way for the mansion that dominates the estate today. (Buses #300 and 301 link St. Albans and Hatfield House (20min., 1-3 per hr., round-trip £4.20). The Hatfield train station, across from the main gate, makes the house easily accessible from other towns. ☎01707 287 010. House open Easter-Sept. W-Su noon-4pm. 1hr. guided tours Th. House, park, and gardens £10. Park and gardens £5.50. Park only £2.50.)