St. Albans

The Roman city of St Albans is only 25 minutes by train from London, so is perfect for a day trip. This historic and prosperous place dates back to the 1st century AD. The warrior Queen Boudicca burnt down the original town, but it was quickly rebuilt and became one of Roman Britain’s most important centres.

Built on the execution site of Britain’s first martyr, St Alban is the magnificent Abbey Church, it dominates the city's skyline on every main approach and is one of the world’s largest churches, and highlights include rare, medieval painted interior pillars.

Nowadays St Albans has a great choice of up market shops and restaurants, and a lively choice of pubs and bars, they take their beer very seriously here and have the real-ale pubs and festivals to prove it.