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<\/a><\/div>\nLast Wednesday <\/b>I took the day off from work to accompany son Despite St Albans<\/b> was initially known as Verlamion<\/b><\/u>, a Much of the cathedral is constructed out of bricks, many of Before stopping for a beer, we spent a bit of time exploring It looked like my sort of pub, and what\u2019s more it has two Something to eat, seemed like a good idea to us too, so after ordering a The party of diners departed shortly before us, and upon The cathedral grounds were still open, allowing access to Putting aside claims of antiquity for a It was time to move on, and after walking past the south It certainly seemed popular when we called in, with a lively With hindsight, we perhaps should have selected a fourth pub
\nMatthew<\/b> on a trip to a town that neither of us had visited before. I perhaps
\nought to say city, rather than town, because the Hertfordshire<\/b> settlement of St
\nAlbans<\/b> is a city, on account of its 11th<\/sup> century cathedral.<\/b> I\u2019m not
\nentirely sure what prompted Matthew\u2019s<\/b> suggestion of visiting St Albans<\/b>, but I
\nhave an inkling it was a desire to visit one to the other branches of the chain
\nof hardware stores he works for. \u00a0<\/span>It is a
\nsurprisingly short journey by train from Tonbridge, <\/b>which for Matthew<\/b> and I
\ninvolved a virtually seamless transfer at London Bridge,<\/b> from Southeastern <\/b>trains
\nonto a Bedford<\/b> bound Thameslink <\/b>service.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nample legroom, Thameslink <\/b>trains have hard and uncomfortable seats. The cleanliness was also way below par, particularly in the
\ntoilet area where the floors need attention. Shockingly, some delightful individual had left a soiled pair of Calvin Klein<\/b> underpants on the toilet floor, expecting the cleaning staff to
\nhandle with them. Sorry about that, but
\nstandards in certain areas of our society have seriously declined! Apart from
\nthat, the journey through Hertfordshire <\/b>countryside, which wasn\u2019t looking its
\nbest in late February<\/b>, proceeded swiftly. We arrived at our destination,
\nshortly after midday and began our exploration of the former Roman town.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n
\nsettlement of the Catuvellauni<\/b> tribe in southeastern Britain. <\/b>Around AD 50<\/b>, it
\nbecame the Roman<\/b> settlement of Verulamium<\/b>, which subsequently developed into
\nthe third largest town in Roman Britain<\/b>. After the Romans’ <\/b>departure, the
\nsettlement transitioned into the Anglo-Saxon<\/b> town of Verlamacaestir,<\/b> eventually
\nbecoming known as St Albans, <\/b>reflecting its connection with Saint Alban.<\/b> The St
\nAlbans Cathedral,<\/b> established in 1077<\/b>, is located on the site where Saint
\nAlban<\/b>, one of Britain’s<\/b> earliest Christian martyrs, was buried. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nwhich were sourced from the ruined city of Verulamium. <\/b>Unfortunately, the
\ninterior of the cathedral was inaccessible due to a graduation ceremony taking
\nplace there. More about that later, but as you didn’t come here to read about
\nancient cathedrals, let\u2019s talk about pubs instead. I had prepared a shortlist
\nof five pubs for us to visit, but in the end, we only visited only three of
\nthem. Despite this, the ones that we visited were all of high quality and
\ncertainly matched our expectations. We noted that the distance from the station
\nto the city centre was longer than anticipated, and certain areas of the city
\nwere noticeably hilly. Nevertheless, our overall impression was that of a
\nvibrant and prosperous town in Hertfordshire. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nsome of the local shops and visited the St Albans<\/b> branch of Matthew’s<\/b> employer,
\nas he was interested in seeing it. There was also an opportunity to grab a flat
\nwhite from the local Greggs,<\/b> since I didn\u2019t get a coffee at London Bridge<\/b>
\nstation. \u00a0<\/span>Then, it really was time for a
\nbeer, and where better than the Lower Red Lion<\/b>, a Grade II-listed pub located
\nin a conservation area, just a stone\u2019s throw from the city centre, and in one
\nof St Albans<\/b> most picturesque streets. Passing the cathedral area on our left,
\nwe headed downhill, and soon came to the Lower Red Lion,<\/a><\/u><\/b> in the quaintly named,
\nFishpool Street.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nbars. We entered the bar on the left to begin with, but the friendly barmaid
\nadvised that the other bar would be warmer, as the fire had been lit. Following
\nthis advice, we stepped into the right-hand bar, which not only seemed larger
\nthan the other, also had a group of 20 to 30-somethings, enjoying a spot of
\nlunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nbeer for me (Side Pocket of a Toad<\/b>), from Tring Brewery<\/b>, plus a pint of
\ninternational lager for master Matthew. <\/b>The strangely named Tring <\/b>beer, which I
\nhave previously seen on sale in several pub, was considerably better than its name,
\nbut better still was the haddock, chips and mushy peas. Priced at \u00a315, <\/b>it was good
\nvalue for the area, and good eating as well. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nsettling our bill, I asked the barmaid for directions to the Olde Fighting Cocks<\/a><\/u>,<\/b> our next destination. She informed me that the pub was nearby, although
\nwe would need to retrace our steps towards the cathedral. I expressed an
\ninterest in viewing the interior but was advised that this would not be
\npossible due to a graduation ceremony for students at the University of
\nHertfordshire.<\/b> This explained the numerous individuals we had observed wearing
\nacademic gowns and mortar boards, accompanied by what appeared to be proud
\nparents and other family members.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nthe area surrounding the church. Heading downhill towards the River Ver<\/b>, there
\nis a parkland area where the Olde Fighting Cocks<\/b> pub is located. The pub claims
\nto be the oldest in England,<\/b> dating back to the 9th Century<\/b>, although several
\nother establishments also make this claim. The building, which is octagonal in
\nshape, was originally a medieval pigeon house and was rebuilt after flooding in
\n1599<\/b>, likely caused by the nearby River Ver.<\/b> Over the years, the pub\u2019s charm
\nhas been maintained and enhanced by its custodians, landlords, and customers. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nmoment, the Fighting Cocks<\/b> comes through as a thoroughly decent pub that is definitely
\nworthy of a visit. It still retains many original features such as low
\nceilings, exposed beams, various nooks and crannies plus a bread oven next to
\none of the fireplaces. There is a large garden to the rear with an enclosed
\ngarden area for children. There is also some seating to the front of the pub by
\nthe river. Internally the pub was ticking over nicely, with a healthy mix of
\nboth diners and drinkers. An interesting range of beers was available, to tempt
\nthe latter group with brews from Adnams, Mighty Oak,<\/b> and local outfit, the 3
\nBrewers<\/b> to tempt drinkers. I opted for the Old Man & the Sea, a 4.1%<\/b> dry
\nstout from Mighty Oak Brewery<\/b>, which was perhaps a little ambitious after the
\nheavy lunch I\u2019d recently enjoyed. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nside of the cathedral, we arrived back in the city centre. We opted for the Boot
\nInn,<\/b> anther Grade II-listed<\/b>, pub dating back to 1422,<\/b> with low ceilings, an open
\nfire, although disappointingly the former dividing walls have been removed. With
\nthe historic Clock Tower<\/b> just outside the front door, and the Abbey <\/b>and
\nVerulamium Park<\/b>, close by, the Boot <\/b>seems an obvious choice for visitors to St
\nAlbans. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nand quite mixed crowd of punters. All were enjoying that late afternoon, early
\nevening beer vibe that, whilst hard to describe, is something most seasoned pub
\ngoers will instantly recognise. Amongst others, there were beers from Tring,
\nTitanic (Plum Porter, <\/b>no less), plus Brew York <\/b>on sale. I chose Duality, <\/b>a
\ntwin-hopped pale ale from the latter outfit, a beer that was full of citrus favours, from
\nthe Mosaic<\/b> and Citra <\/b>hops used. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nto finish up in, and if we had, that pub ought to have been the Farrier\u2019s Arms.
\n<\/b>The latter is a classic back-street local, that was tied to McMullen’s<\/b> of
\nHertford<\/b> for many years, before becoming a free house in 2013<\/b>.\u00a0<\/p>\n