From Wikitravel

Hitchin is a town with 30,000 inhabitants 35 miles north of London in the county of Hertfordshire. Hitchin is an old market town first mentioned 1,000 years ago.

[edit] Understand

Hitchin is a small historic market town in the north of Hertfordshire. It is twinned with the German town Bingen and the French town Nuits St Georges. Hitchin has its own character and several historic buildings can be found around the town centre, historic market place, Bancroft, Bucklersbury and Sun Street. Although this part of Hertfordshire is fairly heavily populated there is still plenty of scenery with rolling hills, lots of small villages and single track lanes to be found.

Girton College (Cambridge) was briefly sited in Hitchin before the University authorities decided female students could perhaps be permitted to reside within 30 miles of the older colleges. The building still stands, near the summit of Benslow Lane, but is of little distinction.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By Car

• A1 Stevenage -> 3 miles to Hitchin on A602
• M1 Luton -> 10 miles to Hitchin on A505

[edit] By Train

Frequent, generally fast, trains run to and from London, Stevenage, Cambridge and Peterborough. Station 15 mins walk from town centre. Service often disrupted in late evening/at weekends lately with bus substitution - check carefully if planning to travel with a bike.

[edit] By Plane

The nearest main airport is Luton Airport about 15 minutes drive from Hitchin. Heathrow Airport is a 1 hour drive otherwise about 1.5 hours by train via London and the Heathrow Express. Coach 777 (Birmingham - Luton - Stansted airports) stops at Hitchin, as does coach 787 (Heathrow - Luton - Cambridge). Bus 700 runs to/from Stansted and 100 to/from Luton.

[edit] Get around

On foot, or nearby villages within easy reach by bike. Pleasant rides (with pubs at the far end) to Willian, Shillington, Charlton, Gosmore, Great/Little Wymondley, Ickleford, Pirton etc. Beyond Charlton the Red Lion at Preston (communally owned by the villagers) is worth visiting, but does not keep extended hours.

[edit][add listing] See

• Market Place The key node of the town centre. No longer used for 'proper' markets, which were moved to a nearby site at the end of the dismal Churchgate passage many years ago. Mostly pedestrianised now, setting off the fine variety of Victorian and older buildings around most of the square. Farmers' and other specialised markets held from time to time. Delightful wooden cabmen's shelter resited here from the railway station, after decades in a private garden.
• Sun Street Slightly marred by the '60s Churchgate development but otherwise an architectural gem.
• Bancroft Historically the main approach to the centre from the North. Unusually broad due to its original usage as a cattle market as well as thoroughfare. Still well-lined with old buildings as well as some, mostly lamentable, modern ones.
• Bucklersbury Historic street, interesting back yards of former coaching inns
• St Mary's Church Worth seeing in its own right as well as for the small shops along the paths surrounding the churchyard
• Biggin Almshouses Next to open market. Mediaeval buildings with courtyard, still in use
• British Schools museum, Queen St. Remarkable Victorian survival [1]
• Fine Victorian stepped terrace of houses Queen St
• 18th century and earlier houses Bridge St/Tilehouse St. Also mysterious fragments of much older building incorporated in the Coopers Arms pub.
• Local museum Next to library. Complete historic pharmacy preserved (closed Sun)

Also in the area is Knebworth (historic house and grounds) and Whipsnade zoo

[edit][add listing] Do

Walk to top of Windmill Hill (end of Hermitage Road) for view over town. Lie down at top and roll down again, à la Samuel Johnson, or sledge if snowy. Walk out to Charlton (½ hour), have a drink or two at the Windmill, and find a different way back across the fields or via Gosmore. Very scenic wooded walk beside the river to Oughton Head (turn West from Bedford Road beyond West Mill estate). Various routes back, B655 not recommended due to narrowness and lack of footways.

• Rhythms of the World festival Used to take over the entire town centre for a weekend each year, but from 2008 (July 12th & 13th) will be in the grounds of the Priory nearby. Amazing! [2]
• Vaisakhi Parade Spectacular procession through town by the local Sikh community (annually, Saturday 19th April in 2008[3])
• Market Theatre Unbelievably small theatre off Sun St. Varied (professional) repertoire, see local posters or [4]
• Queen Mother Theatre More conventional, modern building in car park off Walsworth Rd near town centre. Home to local amateur group as well as professional productions. [5]
• Broadway Cinema OK, it's in Letchworth, but it's the nearest available and currently excellent value at £3.75 weekdays (except Friday evening). 3 screens in extremely nicely converted Art Deco building. [6]
• Outdoor swimming pool (open summer months only) Rare survivor of the 'Lido' style, Butts Close (Bedford Road)
• Travelling fairs On Butts Close for a few days at a time, 2 or 3 times a year.
• Squash. Courts in North Herts College on Cambridge Rd (£4.40 for 45 mins, booking required) and in Ickleford (members only). edit

[edit][add listing] Buy

• Brookers Well-stocked ironmongers/hardware shop, Bucklersbury (trade counters now in industrial estate beyond railway, close 5pm Saturdays)
• Clement Joscelyne expensive furniture and china, Bancroft
• Colanders nice and expensive kitchenware, Churchgate
• Early Learning Centre toys, Bancroft
• Hawkins of Hitchin clothes for everybody and toys for kids, Bucklersbury
• Millets outdoor activities, Market Place
• Oxfam nice charity shop in front of St. Mary's church
• Picture framer the obvious thing, Sun street
• Sainsburys groceries, off Bancroft (11-5 Sundays)
• Waitrose groceries, top of Brand Street
• Allinghams traditional butcher. Excellent sausages, game, etc. Market Square
• Quotidian Bakery Good quality craft baker. Sun St/Tilehouse St corner.
• Wilkinsons large, extremely cheap hardware store, Bancroft
• Machine Head Music large range of guitars etc, Bucklersbury
• Open market Churchgate. General stalls Tues & Sat, bric-a-brac Friday
• Hedley Wright Wine Merchants Regular wine tastings. Over 1,000 delicious wines, The Wyevale Centre, Cambridge Road
• Merryfields Very well-stocked newsagent, lots of obscure mags, also travel guides. Sun Street
• John Myatt Specialist music/musical instrument sales and repairs, Nightingale Road.
• The Arcade Slightly quaint, small-scale covered way with a dozen or so shops and cafés, off Market Square.

[edit][add listing] Eat

There is a good selection of mid-range places to eat in Hitchin including pubs, cafes and the usual range of cuisines such as Italian, Indian, Chinese and Thai. Anyone looking for Japanese food should look further south to St Albans:

• Just 32 Expensive English restaurant Sun Street, £20-30 person
• Bar Meze 35 Bucklersbury, Greek restaurant, £15-20 person
• Regent Cottage 11C High Street, good quality Chinese restaurant on the first floor. The only 'eat-in' Chinese in town.
• Pizza Express 12 Market place, £10-15 person, beside the fact that this restaurant belongs to chain it is well managed and serves good food round the clock. Currently with live music on Tuesday evenings. Always popular and with a nice buzzing atmosphere, although service can be slow.
• Zizzi Sun street, very good pizzeria with a large wood fired pizza oven, £10-20 person
• No12 Bridge street, very nice english restaurant with friendly staff, a selection of very nice wines, and novel english cuisine, £30+ person for a 3 course menu. Among the best restaurants in town.
• The Well, 181 Stevenage Rd (On the A505, south east side of Hitchin when heading to Stevenage, past the Orange Tree and M&S Simply Food garage), ☎ 01462 458738, [7]. New management and a facelift in 2005/2006 turned this into a gastro pub / restaurant on the fringe of town. Good food, reasonably priced. £15 per person. edit

• Sirichai Bancroft, nice Thai restaurant £20+ person for a 3 course menu. Thai wine is OK.
• Sun Spice (formerly Dhaka) Sun Street. Old-established, reliably good value Bangladeshi cuisine. £10+ per person.
• Khushma Cottage Walsworth Road. Tiny Bangladeshi restaurant, some unusual dishes, less overwhelming servings than the Dhaka. £10+ per person. Service has rather gone downhill recently.
• Town Fryer Hermitage Road. Best local chippy imho though some favour Murphys (Queen St)
• Prezzo Bancroft. Stylish Italian-style chain restaurant. Worthy competitor for Pizza Express, but a little more pricey.
• McDonalds Nightingale Road, near railway station. What you'd expect. Closes 10pm.
• Sukawatee Hermitage Road. Serves Thai/Malaysian/Japanese food, but lack the focus to do any of these to outstanding quality. Nicely presented food. £15+ per person.
• Strada Sun Street. Stylish and minimalist retro-Italian restaurant, with friendly service. Excellent food with a good choice. £15+ per peson. Complimentary bottles of water were a welcome surprise.
• "Takeaway City" Nightingale Road/Verulam Road junction. Parade of takeaway joints - kebabs/chips, pizzas, Chinese, Indian all represented. Area sometimes rather rowdy late at night. Hitchin Chop Suey Bar very long-established, above-average quality (closed Tues)

[edit][add listing] Drink

• BOM BORA Aussie bar, 107a/b Bancroft, large drinks, food.
• IVORY Brand Street, bar with music in former town hall building.
• QUE PASA Market Square, in the old Corn Exchange building; barn-like but interesting interior. Promising-looking tapas menu since recent makeover, has anyone tried it?
• HALF MOON Pleasant, real-ale oriented free house at end of Queen Street. Food, stays open late. Eccentric cat.
• COOPERS ARMS Tilehouse Street, near library. McMullen's pub, interesting old building, nice outdoor yard at rear.
• SUNRUNNER Bancroft. Rambling free house, large choice of ales incl. local brews
• MOLLY MALONE'S (formerly Gloucester Arms) Nightingale Road. Notably friendly Irish-run pub, Greene King IPA, rather a lot of TV screens.
• THE COCK Small, friendly pub on High Street, with generous lunchtime food of a high standard.
• THE MILLSTREAM A few hundred yards the other side of the station (Cambridge Road). Large pub serving good quality but expensive food £15+ per person. Pints are expensive, coffees are lovingly prepared.
• Numerous other pubs mostly unremarkable, some very youth-oriented esp. in town centre.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

There are a number of acceptable small hotels and bed & breakfast type places to stay in and around Hitchin.

• Sun Hotel Sun Street. Moderately expensive rooms in very old (16th century) building in the heart of town.
• Lord Lister Hotel Queen Street (next to Half Moon pub). No restaurant but many nearby.
• Firs Hotel Bedford Road. Restaurant lacklustre when tried recently, but easy walking distance to town centre.
• Thistle Hotel Little Wymondley (2 miles South of Hitchin). Modern buildings in woods on edge of village.

[edit] Get out

• Cambridge, 30 miles from Hitchin is one of England's most famous academic cities. Approx 2 trains/hour.
• London is 32 miles south of Hitchin and can be reached via the motorway A1 or by train. Approx 4 trains/hour, 30-40 mins journey.
• Luton is ten miles west of Hitchin and is an airtravel hub. Buses to town centre from Brand Street: Arriva route 100 runs via airport, 101/102 don't.
• Stevenage is 3 miles south of Hitchin, 5 mins by train.
• Bedford about 15 miles north. Direct bus M1 from Bancroft, 55 mins. Goes through Shefford, with glorious brewery tap in main street, and passes the gigantic "R101" airship hangars at Cardington.
• Letchworth is 3 miles north-east of Hitchin on the Cambridge railway line. Of minor interest (apart from the Broadway Cinema) unless you are a student of the Garden City movement: it was the first such in England.

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