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Watford

Located approximately 15 miles from Hatfield, this popular town is home to a range of bars and restaurants as well as a major shopping centre. Watford is a popular destination for students both day and night.

There's plenty of parking in the town so Watford can be visited by car or via one of the UnoBus direct links.

Things to do

For the theatre lovers, the town is home to Watford Palace Theatre, a beautiful 600-seat Edwardian theatre, and Watford Colosseum featuring a main auditorium as well as a cafe, restaurant and a number of bars. If you're looking for the local arts scene, The Pump House is a small but vibrant theatre and is home to a nationally acclaimed youth theatre group.

Watford is a great day out and there's loads of different things to do. One of my favourite places is the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour. It's amazing to see the sets and costumes, I can't wait to go back and see Gringotts Bank. Magical!

Emily Keens

BA (Hons) Mass Communications

Following on from the the £180million extension to the intu shopping centre, the town now offers an IMAX cinema and a Hollywood Bowl as part of its attractions. The shopping centre is home to many national retailers as well as a mix of fast-food and sit-down restaurants to suit all budgets.

Watford’s parks and green spaces have been granted more Green Flag awards than anywhere else in Hertfordshire. The pinnacle of these parks is the town's Cassiobury Park has recently been voted one of the top 10 parks in the UK.

After dark, Watford's town centre offers everything from clubs, bars and pubs, to nightclubs and comedy venues. During term, there are organised trips from campus to the clubs and bars which offer return travel as part of the ticket price.

Watford is also home to one of the county's most successful football clubs, Watford FC.

To top it all off, Watford is home to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour featuring original sets and costumes from the movies.

Harry Potter studio tour



Getting further afield

Three railway stations serve Watford:

  • Watford Junction
  • Watford High Street
  • Watford North

This means that there are many options to access public transport in the town.

There are a number of direct trains into London as well as St Albans and other local towns and cities. You can also board the London Underground from the Watford Underground station.