The Saturday Market.

With time at your leisure, there is something for you in Berkhamsted.
There are many activities to participate in throughout the town ranging from healthy, bracing walks through our fabulous countryside to relaxing with a pint or a glass of fine wine at one of our attractive canal-side pubs. With a thriving nightlife and lively markets.

Berkhamsted truly offers a glimpse at an historic town in a modern setting.
A Shoppers Delight Berkhamsted plays host to an eclectic mix of contemporary shops, designer boutiques, antique shops, an award-winning butcher, a bustling Saturday street market and a Friday bric-a-brac market. There is also a regular farmers’ market providing the very best in locally produced merchandise and from time to time a French market for all your Gallic based delights! With other high-profile retail stores in the town centre, Berkhamsted’s shopping experience looks set to continue to prosper.

Flourishing Night Life The buzz of Berkhamsted lasts well into the evening, with a wide range of cafés, restaurants and pubs specialising in fine food and drink from across the world, attracting visitors from afar. There is a venue to suit every palate and pocket from traditional inns to award-winning international cuisine, so whether you want a full evening meal or lunch on the run whilst out shopping, you are sure to find whatever you want in town.

Castle Street and Berkhamsted Collegiate School buildings.

Cultural Treats Berkhamsted boasts a huge range of artistic entertainment with something to suit the cultural taste of just about everybody. Throughout the course of the year you can find concerts covering many musical styles. Few towns of its size can rival Berkhamsted for its presentations of classical music (it has its own symphony orchestra); and frequent jazz, choral, operatic, flamenco folk and Irish events. There are also local bands displaying a varied mix of modern music.

If film and theatre are more your idea of a good night out, then Berkhamsted has something for you as well. Berkhamsted Film Society presents regular screenings of new and classic films during the year. The Rex Cinema in the High Street recently reopened and shows an eclectic range of films. Its listed art deco interior has been beautifully restored and sumptuously furnished. The Rex has proved very popular, not only with film lovers but also with Radio 4 which has broadcast several shows from there. In theatre you can discover occasional performances by high quality amateur companies and youth theatre groups.

Exhibitions are held regularly featuring local artists and photographers.

Berkhamsted Sports Centre.

A Sporting Town Berkhamsted can truly be said to be a sporting town in all respects. Whether a spectator or participator, you will find plenty of activities available here. Berkhamsted Town Football Club, The Lilywhites, has been in existence since 1895 and plays in the Ryman Division One North (in 2002 it reached the final of the FA Vase), and the Ladies Club is also well known.

However, if your skill level is not quite up to that standard then there are plenty of local Saturday and Sunday League teams and a thriving junior soccer scene. In the summer Berkhamsted Cricket Club competes in the Saracens Hertfordshire Cricket league division 1 and its ground on the outskirts of the town is a beautiful place to play or watch.

Archery is another sport well catered for and the Berkhamsted Bowmen are the oldest archery club in England. You can also find excellent facilities for hockey, tennis, squash, bowls, gymnastics and swimming.

If you just want somewhere to keep fit and exercise then the Berkhamsted Sports Centre is open seven days a week with a superb range of sport and fitness equipment and swimming pool. Other similar facilities exist in the Town. There are also a number of attractive golf courses and a golf driving range close to the Town.

Bluebells. Copyright: G. Cannon.

Around Berkhamsted If you take a short trip outside Berkhamsted you will find a whole host of extra delights to enjoy. With plenty of shops and activities in the adjoining towns of Hemel Hempstead and Tring and some absolutely breathtaking country to explore in the surrounding area. There is a plethora of glorious small villages set in idyllic countryside locations that can take a bit of finding but are well worth the effort! And with Berkhamsted’s superb travel links you really can get to anywhere in the country without too much trouble!

Literary Berkhamsted Berkhamsted over the centuries has been an exceptionally productive place for writers. Most notable was perhaps the poet and writer of hymns and letters William Cowper, who was born in Berkhamsted rectory in 1731. Although he moved away when still a boy he retained affectionate memories of the place, and there are frequent references to the town in his poems and letters. In Victorian times Cowper became a cult figure, and Berkhamsted was a place of pilgrimage for his devotees.

In the 20th century one of the giants among English novelists, Graham Greene, was born and educated at Berkhamsted School in what could be described as a hotbed of literati. Contemporaries of Greene’s at Berkhamsted School were Claude Cockburn, Peter Quennell, Humphrey Trevelyan, Cecil Parrott and J. Keith Winter. And the literary tradition continues: now in the 21st century not a year goes by without at least one new book by a Berkhamsted author being published.

Berkhamsted’s Festival of Light On a Friday evening before Christmas every year Berkhamsted High Street is closed to traffic and the people of the town turn out in force to party. The Christmas lights on the tree and along the central part of the town are ceremoniously switched on, a silver cup and certificates are awarded by the Citizens Association for the best decorated shop windows, and there is music, dancing and lots of stalls. This has grown into a really popular annual event, organised jointly by the Berkhamsted Branch of the Council for Voluntary Service and Berkhamsted Town Council.

Coat of Arms

Berkhamsted’s Coat of Arms A coat of arms was granted to the bailiff and capital burgesses of Berkhamsted over 350 years ago. The design was chosen ‘upon deliberate consideration that the glory of that place hath proceeded from the ancient castle there … in a shield, or, a triple tow’red castle azure, within a border of Cornewall, viz., sable besanted.’

The use of the word Cornewall is a reference to the fact that Berkhamsted Castle has for centuries been a part of the Duchy of Cornwall, which by tradition belongs to the eldest son of the king or queen. So the castle, although managed by English Heritage, is presently owned by Prince Charles.