St. Albans, England

Actual date of this event: 15 November

Luke and I have only taken a handful of day trips out of London. We have a list of places we'd like to visit, but sleeping usually takes priority on our weekends we don't travel. Back in November, we decided to head to St. Albans located north of London on a nice Saturday. Looking at these pictures reminds me how much I love cooler weather! (not that it's hot in London right now)

We had heard wonderful things about the town and heard it had some great pubs, so rather than driving, we decided to take the train. After purchasing our tickets at St. Pancras and making the short journey, we arrived to St Albans City. The train station isn't exactly central to the town, so it was a 15 minute walk to the main stuff. We stopped for lunch before exploring. There isn't a whole lot to see, but it is a quaint little town with a bell tower, a Cathedral, and ..... pubs. It was strange how quiet and empty the town was though! Perhaps everyone decided to go else to enjoy the nice day?

{Cathedral and Abbey Church of Saint Alban}

Then we started making our way through the pubs. The first pub we went to is considered the oldest pub in England - Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. It had a beautiful beer garden out back, but as it was November, no one wanted to sit out there but us.

We took a walk thru the Verulamium Park. The sky turned really pretty as the sun was going down. 

After walking through the park, we landed right in the residential area of towns where the local and unique pubs live. The next pub was the Rose & Crown, which was actually two pubs in one. The Rose side was super small with a low ceiling. The Crown side was larger with dining options.

We made our way back thru town and stopped in one last pub, the Boot Inn. (Note: This picture was taken earlier in the day.)

As we walked back to the train station, we noticed how much busier the town had gotten. There were many more people out, and they were very loud. I guess Saturday night's in St. Albans can get pretty rowdy! We headed back to London for dinner, but we really enjoyed our day in St Ablans. Perfect spot for a day trip!

RANDOM FACT:
Stephen Hawking attended St. Albans School.