The OutSkirts Of London: Why St Albans Is Perfect For A Solo Date

I’ve been meaning to start a new series on my blog about my favourite locations on the outskirts of London and why they are perfect for a solo date.

In this post, I’m focusing upon the gorgeous Hertfordshire town, St Albans.

I’ve lived in Hertfordshire pretty much my entire life. I did move to London in my twenties for university but I soon came back to Herts. Home is where the heart is, as they say.

There are some truly gorgeous spots to wander around or eat some seriously delicious foods, including around the lovely town of St Albans.

A Foodie’s Heaven

St Albans have some seriously good foodie options pottered around: Omboo in Sopwell House is one of my favourite near-by Asian restaurants, The Waffle House is always a 10/10, The Breakfast Club is incredible for brunches, The Pudding Stop is great for a sweet treat, as is GAILS. They also have The Ivy, HATCH, Knoops, Per Tutti, Itsu, Pret, some gorgeous independent Italian restaurants near the clock tower and much much more.

Lovely Walks

St Albans is really lovely to walk around, the Verulamium Park often has monthly sausage dog strolls.
I’ve often done solo walks around the park listening to one of my audio books, it’s so peaceful and calming to walk around.

Also, did you know in early 2022 Verulamium Park was used as a filming location for Wonka starring Timothee Chalamet!

Other than enjoying a stroll in the park, I also enjoy pottering around the town, they have some lovely shops like Anthropologie, SPACE NK, Sweaty Betty, Jo Malone, Oliver Bonas and The White Company. As well as most of the restaurants I named above.

St Albans is a cathedral city so it has some beautiful churches, a clock tower and has a Roman heritage – where you can see some of the remains around the town.

Amazing Luxurious Spa Days

St Albans is also home to Sopwell House. One of my fave local spa’s, The Cottonmill. Sopwell House also has Omboo inside, which is honestly the most amazing Asian restaurant.

It’s super expensive for spa breaks and spa days, but I feel so lucky to have this spa locally to fully relax and re-charge every now and again.

Traditional Roots

St Albans is known to be a market town, usually the market runs on a Wednesday and Saturday. Sometimes they do special events like a ‘Vegan market’ which I think is held on a Sunday. They also do beer festivals every year and I believe they do a foodies festival once a year too.

When I was younger the Hertfordshire music scene was pretty huge, they had this amazing venue in St Albans called the Pioneer where all the bands used to perform. I saw the likes of Enter Shikari when I was around 15, which is crazy because that’s about twenty years ago. I also saw Friendly Fires a few years ago where they played at The Alban Arena for a special home gig.

We were super lucky to grow up with such a talented musical scene. My local venue was Watford Railway Club where bands used to play. I loved watching The Gallows and all the local rock bands back in the day.

I digress… Anyway, St Albans is really lovely to have a mooch around, the perfect location for a solo-date. I’m always having solo-dates here as it has some amazing restaurants and bakeries. I can relax, eat some amazing food and enjoy listening to an audiobook. Then go for a leisurely stroll. My idea of heaven.

How to get to St Albans

If you’re interested in visiting, it’s really easy to get to St Albans from London. You can take the St Pancras International line and take the Thameslink towards Bedford. It’s around twenty minutes from St Pancras.

I’ll be writing a few more ‘The Outskirts of London’ posts. So keep an eye on my ‘London‘ section over the next few months if you’re interested.