20 Attractions to Explore Near Hartham Common

Hertford Museum was established by brothers Robert Thornton Andrews and William Frampton Andrews in 1903. The Museum cares for in excess of 100,000 objects. Collections include archaeology, paper ephemera, ethnography, fine art, geology, natural history, photographs, social history and the Hertfordshire Regiment collection.

Panshanger Park is a 1,000-acre site situated between Welwyn Garden City and Hertford. It was a heaven for the prople and wildlife. The park contains the largest maiden oak in the country, with a circumference of 7.6 meters. It is believed to have been planted by Queen Elizabeth I. Acorns from the tree have been used as seedlings for notable oaks in other parts of the country, such as the Prince Consort Oak in the Forest of Dean. Winston Churchill planted a sapling from the tree in the park and

A large grotto, built by a Quaker poet in the 1760s and restored by the Ware society. It survives from an eighteenth-century rococo garden. It is a Grade I listed building and with six chambers the most extensive shell grotto in the United Kingdom. The grotto is set into the northeast face of a hill, and comprises an entrance hall and a series of six chambers extending over 65 feet into and 30 feet below the chalk hillside, together with air shafts, light wells, and connecting passages.

The East Herts Miniature Railway is situated in the Van Hage Garden Centre, Great Amwell near Ware, Hertfordshire. This fantastic, 7¼" gauge railway completes two circuits of beautifully landscaped gardens and includes a trip over a pond and through a tunnel! Tickets for the railway cost just £1 per passenger. The railway opening times are from 11am-5pm on Saturdays and Bank Holidays . 10:30am-4.30 pm on Sundays. A special mid-week service operates during school holidays on Tuesdays and Thursday

World of Dinosaurs at Paradise is now one of the UK’s biggest Dinosaur attractions and features thirty, moving, snapping, roaring dinosaur models. From cunning Velociraptors, to vast Brachiosaurus, from terrifying Spinosaurus to unpronounceable Pachycephalosaurus, plus of course, a mighty T Rex, they are all here! There’s a Dino Dig area too plus lots of other Dinosaur themed treats for all the family.

Paradise Wildlife Park is a majestic family-run animal park located in Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England. The zoo is home to over 800 animals including Amur tigers, white lions, snow leopards, European wolves as well as African penguins, red pandas, Green anacondas, Two-toed sloths, lemurs, meerkats, Bactrian camels, Plain's zebras, Brazilian tapirs, and many more.

Lowewood Museum showcases the history of the Borough of Broxbourne. Discover the history of the local area from prehistoric times to the present day. Explore the stories of those who have lived and worked here, from Royal Academy artist James Ward to the Pulhams of Broxbourne, one of the most important garden designers of the Victorian era.

Rye Meads is a 58.5-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Rye House, Hertfordshire. It is one of series of wetlands and reservoirs situated along the River Lea. This delightful wetland reserve beside the River Lee is a firm favourite with walkers, birdwatchers and photographers thanks to its many trails and hides. The HMWT site is an ancient flood meadow that has a variety of habitats including reedbed, marshy grassland and fen. It is grazed by ponies and water buffalo.

The woods are part of a wider, very large area of Sessile Oak and Hornbeam woodland at the northern most part of its natural range. Both woods contain protected Sites of Special Scientific Interest, one area in Broxbourne Wood undergoing significant restoration to a more open landscape with grazing animals.

Mill Green Museum is a restored 18th century working flour mill powered by water to produce flour and demonstrate historic milling practices. Its heart is a working watermill, with 18th and 19th century wooden machinery restored to full working order. It is in regular use to grind organic wheat for a local bakery and for retail sale. Visitors can explore the mill, see it working and chat to the miller on duty. Flour is sold in various sizes.

Welwyn Roman Baths is a 3rd-century bath complex that formed part of the Dicket Mead Roman villa. The baths lie directly underneath the A1(M) motorway, protected by a steel vault. The baths were a small part of the Dicket Mead villa, which was originally built in the 3rd century AD.

A majestic and beautiful countryside park, with 2 lakes covering an area of 126 acres, on the outskirts of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Home of Stanborough Park Activity Centre, on the South Lake you can experience Sailing, Kayaking, Canoeing and Stand Up Paddleboarding in one of our many activity sessions. The whole park is completely man-made from an old quarry site creating the lakes and the hills around them.

Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, just 21 miles north of London, is a fine Jacobean House and Garden in a spectacular countryside setting. It is a prime example of Jacobean architecture. The estate includes extensive grounds and surviving parts of an earlier palace. The house, currently the home of 7th Marquess of Salisbury, is open to the public.

A majestic castle built by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I, from 1607 to 1611. There is a marvellous collection of pictures, furnishings and historic armour on display. The estate has been in the Cecil family for 400 years - one of England's foremost political families. Hatfield House is the home of the 7th Marquess of Salisbury.

Benington Lordship Gardens is a seven-acre garden surrounding a lovely Georgian manor house. Beside the manor are the ruins of a Norman castle keep, surrounded by a moat. The magnificent neo-norman folly, comprising a gatehouse, summer house and adjoining curtain wall, was completed in 1838 by James Pulham of Broxbourne.

The New River is neither new nor a river. It is a water supply aqueduct, completed in 1613, to bring drinking water from Hertfordshire to North London. It used to go from New Gauge in Hertford down as far as Sadlers Wells in Clerkenwell but now the overground waterway now ends at Stoke Newington though there are some ornamental waters along its route south of Stoke Newington.

River Lee Country Park is a 1,000-acre park with a variety of activities for all ages to enjoy, great for families with young children to couples, walkers, cyclists, and wildlife watchers. The park follows the course of River Lee and has green spaces, country parks, nature reserves, and lakes and sports centers.

Henry Moore Studios & Gardens is the workplace and family home of 20th-century sculptor Henry Moore: with over 70 acres of sculpture gardens & rolling fields. It has a display of over 20 of Moore's world-famous, monumental sculptures; showcasing his work as he intended, against the landscape he shaped. The Foundation supports innovative sculpture projects through a global grants program, runs exhibitions and research worldwide, and conserves the legacy of Moore himself.

Knebworth House was the former Home of the Lytton family for over 500 years, Knebworth was transformed in 1843 from a red brick Tudor house into a veritable feast of Victorian Gothic turrets, gargoyles and gryphons, by writer-statesman Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Other notable family members include Lady Constance Lytton, Hertfordshire’s own Suffragette and the Edwardian architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who married into the Lytton family.

Cedars Park has been a popular public park since it was first gifted to the people of Cheshunt in 1919. For 100 years the park has provided essential space for quiet recreation in a landscape of lawns, woodland and formal gardens. The park has received a Green Flag Award every year since 2009, rewarding it for promoting standards of good management for green spaces.