Everyone Likes Free Activies! Best Things To Do In Hemel Hempstead Area – For Free
Here are the 10 best things to do in Hemel Hempstead Area – All for Free!
1 Gadebridge Park
Gadebridge Park is on the northern edges of Hemel Hempstead and is Dacorum’s principal park. The park is divided into two main areas, separated by the Leighton Buzzard Road, with a total area of about 32 hectares.
With a children’s play area, a splash park, 2 bowling greens, a crazy golf course, petanque, croquet, giant chess and draughts, outdoor fitness centre, skate park, cycle paths and walks as well as natural beauty, Gadebridge Park has something for everyone!
2 Ashridge Estate
Ashridge Estate is a National Trust property. With ancient trees, rolling chalk downlands and lush meadows in an area of outstanding natural beauty, it is favourite with locals and visitors alike.
There are many ways to take in some of Ashridge’s 5000 acres. With miles of footpaths and bridleways for walkers, cyclists and horse riders: take your bike, your dog, your horse or just yourself along to Ashridge Estate – there are trails to suit everyone!
3 Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Amaravati is a Theravada Buddhist monastery situated at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills, close to Hemel Hempstead.
Amaravati Buddhist Monastery is a community of monks and nuns practising in the Theravada tradition. Lay people, Buddhist and others, are also welcome to visit or stay here as guests, and live with the monastic community.
Visitors come from all over the world. Some come for a few hours or for the day; others stay for longer. Some want to learn meditation, or to have a time of refuge from the stresses of the world. Amaravati provides the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Buddhism and of themselves, in an environment that encourages peaceful reflection.
Berkhamsted Castle
Berkhamsted Castle is an English Heritage site and its no wonder as it was one of the most important early Norman castles!
The castle has a rich history originating as an Norman motte-and- bailey castle in Berkhamsted. The castle was built to obtain control of a key route between London and the Midlands during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century.
A fascinating and picturesque place to visit for adults and children alike. There is a wide open space in the middle of the bailey which is perfect for picnics and letting the kids run around re-enacting the Norman conquest in relative safety.
Natural History Museum, Tring
Find answers to your big nature questions. Delve into stories about the Museum’s collections, scientists and research. Uncover the history of life on Earth, from the smallest insects to the largest mammals. All at the Natural History Museum, Tring.
n 1892, Sir Walter Rothschild opened this purpose built museum to the public, allowing his private collection of over 4,000 animal specimens gathered from all corners of the world to be viewed by the public for the first time. Today it retains its unique Victorian character, including its original floor-to-ceiling, glass-fronted hardwood and iron cases.
Tring Memorial Garden
Only steps away from the busy high street, the Tring Memorial garden offers an oasis of tranquility and quiet reflection for visitors to the town and for the local community.
The Memorial Garden, located at the lower east end of Tring’s High street, was formed from a small section of Lord Rothschild’s 300-acre Tring Park. In the 1950s, the land was turned into a memorial garden for those who had lost their lives in the Second World War. Plaques commemorating the fallen are mounted on the brick gate piers, which are topped with an iron arch to form a memorial gateway.
The site now provides a green area in a built-up environment and is used for informal recreation, dog walking and as an area for remembrance.
St Marys Church
St Marys Church dates back to 1140. It is not known why such a grand church was constructed in what at the time was a small hamlet.
The striking spire of St Mary’s Church is a Hemel Hempstead landmark, visible over the historic Old Town and the green fields of Gadebridge Park. It has a majestically assertive timber and lead spire, reaching almost 200′ high. It’s slender and simple, unadorned except for four roundels and the herringbone pattern of the lead. Definitely worth a visit to view the historic monument.
Piccots End Paintings
The cottages at 132 Piccotts End house wall paintings that date back to the early sixteenth century.
For years, the Pre-Reformation Catholic paintings lay hidden behind a sheet of coarse hand-woven linen and six subsequent layers of wallpaper, until they were discovered in 1953 by Arthur Lindley, who owned the cottages and ran a petrol station which operated on adjacent land. The seven medieval panels (from an original eight) include impressive scenes of the Baptism of Jesus, Christ in Majesty, St Catherine of Alexandria, a Pieta, St Clement , St Peter and St Margaret.
The paintings were featured in the BBC2 series “The face of Britain” hosted by Simon Schama.
Canalside Reservoirs, Tring
Discover Tring Reservoirs, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, managed by Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, famous for its wildlife. Explore the towpaths of the Wendover and Aylesbury Canal Arms of the Grand Union Canal and visit the pretty villages of Marsworth and Wilstone.
Take the family to run off steam, get a breath of fresh air and soak up the natural environment. And why not start up and finish off with a picnic or a pub lunch?
Two Oaks Pony Sanctuary
Two Oaks Pony Sanctuary is a refuge to animals in need, a place of safe haven where they can be feed and loved and kept warm with a band of people dedicated to helping where needed.
Unfortunately the Sanctuary is still closed at present, but when it is open it is worth a visit, particularly if you like horses or ponies.
One visitor says “Wonderful place, full of love for animals who really needed help and got it. Not just horses and ponies; there are 33 cats, too!”
There you have it!
Several activities nearly made THE list, notably Aston Clinton Park, Adeyfield Adventure Playground, Tringford Pumping Station, Chesham Museum and the Nicky Line. Perhaps you would have popped one of them in place of one of my choices?
Let me know 🙂
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