This time took my road warrior skills to go again to jolly England with the Le Shuttle train service (see post), and my Ford ; a trip of 2043 km or aprox 1269 miles, towing along my good boys and wonderful Rex! It was a very nice trip going into the countryside and seeing several towns of wonderul architecture and history, This one was our home base with a rental apartment/flat and was very spacious and an even better location, we enjoyed it fully, Therefore, let me tell you about this is Hemel Hempstead, England !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The City of Hemel Hempstead is located in the Dacorum district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located 45 km (28 miles) from London, nearby towns and cities include Watford at 13 km (8 mi),St Albans at 12 km ( 7 mi),and Berkhamsted at 9 km ,We,also visited the first two towns ! This was our base City and rental place, we came from the eurotunnel le shuttle train along the M20 ,then M25, then A4146 road into the City, In the 1990s, the A41 dual carriageway was built with a link to the town across the upland chalk plateau. Hemel Hempstead is linked to the M1 motorway to the east and the M25 to the south.
In this town we rented at Abodebed Oval View Apartment which was great and a wonderful owner who came to meet us with great local advise, The apartment or flat was spacious modern clean with big double beds two bathrooms and a great view of the oval view which was the old cricket field, Really a great on and off location right across from the shopping and plough roundabout,
While in town we did some groceries in our favorite supermarket in UK, Tesco Extra at Jarman Way road ,excellent choices as usual, We came to put diesel/gazole gas/petrol here too, the cheapest in the area and even lower than in France, Also, put gas/petrol at MFG Shell Centre a few pences more but still cheaper than France ! I would like to show that we went briefly to Saintbury’s supermarket at London Rd briefly but did not go in as Tesco Extra has been our favorite ever since coming to England for several years now.
We,also, came back late so we ate at Five Guys burgers place, finally try it not a big deal very expensive four burgers menu for 111 euros ! At 9, Jarman Leisure Park,
The above complex Jarman Square is adjacent to Tesco Extra ,McDonalds drive thru, Nandos’s, Subway,Five Guys burgers, Greene King’s Hungry Horse, a 17 screen Cineworld cinema, Planet Ice Skating Rink, the Gym Extending, and XC Extreme Sports Park.
We were right next to Riverside shopping which was great for Starbucks ,and we did shop and ate at Marlowe’s shopping center at Starburgers with friendly folks a big bacon burger with cheese fries and fanta as no alcohol was serve, And we had our dessert with muffins next door at Muffin Break delicious!!
The official Riverside Shopping in Hemel Hempstead: https://www.riversidehemel.com/store-directory/
The official Marlowes’s shopping in Hemel Hempstead: https://www.themarlowes.co.uk/shop/store-a-z
A bit of history I like tell us that the first recorded mention of the town is the grant of land at Hamaele by Offa, King of Essex, to the Saxon Bishop of London in 705 AD. Hemel Hempstead on its present site is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a village, After the Norman Conquest (France), Robert , Count of Mortain, the elder half-brother of William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquerant), was granted lands associated with Berkhamstead castle which included Hemel Hempstead. The estates passed through several hands over the next few centuries including Thomas Becket in 1162 The town remained part of the monastery’s estates until the Reformation, and break up of Ashridge in 1539. In the same year, the town was granted a royal charter by Henry VIII to become a bailiwick with the right to hold a Thursday market and a fair on Corpus Christi Day In the 18-19C, Hemel Hempstead was an agricultural market town. During WWII, ninety high explosive bombs were dropped on the town by the Luffwaffe (nazis airforce). The most notorious incident was on 10 May 1942 when a stick of bombs demolished houses at Nash Mills killing eight people. The nearby John Dickinson & Co factories which were used to produce munitions, were the target It has expanded and developed in recent decades after being designated as a New Town after the end of WWII.Queen Elizabeth II paid a visit shortly after her accession in 1952 and laid a foundation stone for a new church in Adeyfield; this was one of her first public engagements as Queen. By 1962, the redevelopment of the new town as originally envisaged was largely complete, though further expansion plans were then put forward. The nearby USA air force base of Bovington, which had served as the town’s ‘de facto’ airport, reverted to UK Royal Air Force use at this time; it continued as an active military airfield until 1971.
The plans for a revolutionary double roundabout at Moor End were first put forward, but in fact it was not until 1973 that the roundabout was opened as it was originally designed. It was quickly christened “The Magic Roundabout” by locals,officially called the Plough Roundabout. An indoor shopping mall was developed adjacent to the south end of the Marlowes retail area in 1990. In 2005, the Riverside development, was opened, effectively extending the main shopping precinct towards the Plough Roundabout. The new centre includes several outlets for national retailers, including Starbucks and Waterstones, Hemel claims to have the first purpose-built, free-standing multi story car park in Great Britain.
The district Council on Hemel Hempstead history : https://thinkhemel.com/discovering-hemel/history/
The Herfordshire area tourist office on Dacorum (Hemel): https://www.visitherts.co.uk/see-and-do/destinations/dacorum/
There you go folks , do dare drive in jolly England, it’s an adventure of a lifetime, and you will be back !!! as we have lol! Until another round chasing Sherlock we will be saying elementary my dear Watson to you all. Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Hemel Hempstead, England !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 