Welcome to my home town: Returning to my roots in Hemel Hempstead

During lockdown, many of us made the pilgrimage back to our family homes – and rediscovered them through fresh eyes. Part guide, part love letter, “Home towns” is a new series in which we celebrate where we’re from. After all, it could be a while before we can go anywhere else…

I can’t be alone in hating my home town.  

When I was young, I couldn’t wait to escape the shackles of bland suburbia. I imagined all the beautiful places I could have grown up – historic market towns, pulsating cities, coastal retreats or countryside havens – and looked at my surroundings with typically teenage disdain. Could there be anywhere worse, I mused, anywhere more boring, more unattractive, more utterly uninspiring, than… Hemel Hempstead?

Looking back, it’s not all the fault of this Hertfordshire commuter town, plonked north of Watford and south of Luton. Yes, it was largely redeveloped in the 1940s and 1950s as a designated “new town” following the Second World War, which does lend it a certain natural ugliness, architecturally speaking. But in fairness, as an adolescent, my frame of reference was pretty much limited to: home; school; the Marlowes Shopping Centre; and Leisure World, a sprawling complex off the dual carriageway that boasted an ice rink, waterpark, bowling alley, multiplex cinema, pool hall, arcade and, most excitingly, Pizza Hut. (Our worlds are terribly small when we’re young, though we’re seldom aware of it).

Even when I could finally leave, I rarely looked back with anything even vaguely approaching nostalgia. What was there to be nostalgic about? The country’s second biggest magic roundabout? The brutal outline of the Kodak building, a hulking tower block now converted into luxury flats? “Baby Visage”, a club night aimed at 14-year-olds?

Over the years, I didn’t even think about the place; it was just the too-familiar-to-really-notice backdrop during visits home to see my mum. But then came lockdown, and I finally opened my eyes and really looked. I wasn’t one of those people who went and stayed for a full five months at home – there might have been a massacre had I gone down that route – but I spent a week at my mother and her husband’s new downsized pad, working remotely from their swish, freshly installed office.

Every evening, I would draw a line under the working day by going for a stroll, a sit and a read and, contrary to what I’d always thought about the place, I kept finding glorious pockets of nature in which to revive my soul. The high point was when, one balmy evening, I set out and came across a hidden meadow of wild flowers just 10 minutes from the house. It was like stumbling through the back of the wardrobe and into a reverse Narnia: an unexpected world of permanent summer. And I’d never even known it existed.

With my new non-condescending-tinted glasses, I started to appreciate my surroundings more and more: from the moorland winding between Hemel and Bovingdon to the Grand Junction Canal that leads onto Berkhamsted; from the variety of green open spaces to the surprising number of historic buildings. Although it was redeveloped in the 20th century, the earliest mention of Hemel at its present location is found in the 1086 Domesday Book, listed as Hamelhamstede, and it officially received its town charter from Henry VIII in 1539. Not bad for a “new” town.

So, if you do ever find yourself in Hemel Hempstead, or indeed Hamelhamstede, here are a few suggestions – from someone who’s finally been bitten by the nostalgia bug.

England is under national lockdown from 5 November until 2 December. During that time all non-essential travel, both domestic and international, is banned, while all non-essential shops will have to close. Pubs, cafes and restaurants will also be shut except for takeaway food. For more details on the rules around travel, see our lockdown guide. 

While the town centre itself remains ugly as sin, Hemel is actually surrounded by green space – one of the key reasons for my family moving there in the 1980s, my mum tells me. The Chilterns, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, are a stone’s throw away. Head up to the National Trust-owned Ashridge Estate for a splendid stomp through trees, chalk downlands and meadows and a look at the famed Bridgewater Monument. It’s particularly fetching in spring, when the woods are carpeted in bluebells. OK, OK, it’s technically Berkhamsted – the much prettier neighbouring town – but it still counts.  

But fine, if you think that’s cheating, closer to home is the Boxmoor Trust land, with freely grazing animals, that runs east and west of the train station; Felden, which boasts rolling green hills that feel quiet and untouched; and Shrub Hill Common, the setting of my unexpected Narnia moment.

The canal is one of the prettiest settings for a drink in Hemel. Convenient for the station but still offering an attractive position on the water, the Fishery Inn is a cosy gastro-pub with indoor and outdoor seating.  

For a bit more of a historical bent, amble west along the canal to Winkwell, where you’ll find The Three Horseshoes, a traditional boozer whose earliest bits date back to 1535. It offers real ales, a large waterside terrace and, in less pandemic-y times, entertainment including comedy nights and live ukulele bands.

And you can swap your pint glass for something more refined at Frithsden Vineyard, a boutique English winery set in the foothills of the Chilterns and originally planted in 1971. Growing Solaris, Rondo and Phoenix varieties, the vineyard presses and bottles its Chiltern White, Chiltern Flint and Chiltern Rose wines on site, and all are available to purchase from the shop. A terrace café runs from March to November, and tours and tastings are available from June to August.

For a “light bite” as they say in the ’burbs, or a decent coffee and cake, the Fishery Wharf Café is a fairly recent alfresco addition to Hemel’s culinary scene, serving up home-made goods next to the canal on a selection of quaintly mismatched furniture and crockery.  

The Alford Arms in Frithsden on the outskirts of town, meanwhile, is an award-winning pub with a focus on local produce, including free range chickens from Potash Farm in Tring and goats' cheese from Wobbly Bottom Farm near Hitchin.

The town may not be known for its fine dining options, but Boxmoor Foodies, a local pop-up restaurant and supper club, has an unprecedented 100 per cent “Excellent” rating on Tripadvisor. Sadly they’ve paused operations post-lockdown, but hopefully they’ll soon find ways of adapting to the “new normal”. In the meantime, the Pizza Hut at Leisure World is still going strong (and there’s a Nando’s too, I hear).  

To see more of what Hemel was like before it became a new town, head to the Old Town, where cobbled streets and Victorian, Georgian and Tudor architecture await. Apparently described as “the prettiest street in Hertfordshire” (though it’s not clear by who), the High Street has antique, homeware and fine art shops to browse, the Old Town Hall to take in a show (although it’s closed during the pandemic) and a few decent pubs. And, if you need a more glamorously niche reason to visit, the Old Town was used as a filming location for Nineties TV series Pie in the Sky, starring Richard Griffiths.

Hemel is blessed with its very own real-snow ski slope, an impressive feat for a town this size. The Snow Centre is an ideal place to learn how to ski or to refresh your skills on a 160m slope. All equipment is provided and rates range from £29 for a one-hour adult lift pass to £139 for a five-hour beginner’s ski day lesson, including lunch and drinks.

While Hemel is hardly awash in chic boutiques, there are a couple of decent places to stay. The Olde Kings Arms is pub with rooms housed in a 16th-century listed building in the Old Town. Despite the historical location, rooms are modern and comfortable, with clean decor and large ensuite showers. Doubles from £70.

For more extensive grounds, head to Shendish Manor. Set in 160 acres of parkland and formal gardens, this 70-room hotel also boasts an 18-hole golf course and a restaurant, bar and terrace. Doubles from £65.