Welcome to Watford **CHANGED** (Watford)

Member Name: pjs21

Product:	Watford
Date:	12/10/00 (2071 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Something for everyone

Disadvantages: The worst ring-road in creation.

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the sunny town of Watford.

My name's Paul and I'll be your guide for the afternoon. Showing you the highlights and lowlights of this busy town.

Home of course to the football team of the same name – also called the Hornets. Ex-premier division but now sadly going down faster than a balloon with a puncture. The grounds are also home to The Saracens Rugby team, who are doing remarkably well at the moment.

Elton John is reported to be chairman of this football team, something he apparently takes great pride in – there are no recent reports of him attending a match in these grounds.

Starting at the top end of the high street we find ourselves standing at the edge of the beautiful Cassiobury Park. Many people flock to the park in the summer, swarming around the children's pool area. Beware those footballs and Frisbees that have been known to strike a man hard enough to knock him unconscious for days.

Through the park runs the canal which, if followed, takes you into Cassiobury Woods. There are many quiet walkways through the woods for any one who fancies a quick ramble – it is rumoured that one could soon forget that they are in the middle of a busy town once inside the park. And I have to say – it is indeed a welcome relief for those townies who like a bit of countryside.

It is a beautiful park which is equally stunning in the autumn with it golden-brown trees leading you down the main pathway. For those who wish, there are tennis courts, but get their early in the summer months if you wish to play.

At the top end of the high street we see three major buildings. Watford Town Hall/Coliseum, The Library and Watford Baths.

The Coliseum is part of the Town Hall and is used primarily as an entertainment venue. Stand Up Comedians, Classical Music, Pop-Stars, Opera Singers - they've all been here to perf
orm in this 1400 seat venue. And on a Friday night you can enjoy the 70's disco nights for which people flock from miles to get into.

The library – well, that's full of books.

And the baths – One big swimming pool. Now the only pool in Watford since the new "Watford Springs Health Complex" closed down. I guess the people of Watford aren't as interested in exercise as was first hoped.

Onto the main high street and we find ourselves standing next to Watford Pond. The pond dates back to the late 1800's and unlike then, is now surrounded by pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants.
If we look we will immediately see two traditional pubs, two clubs, one comedy club, and five fancy new bars. Mixed in with these we will see around 12 restaurants and several fast-food outlets for those who like their food to come in pitta bread or seeded bun.

Moving further down we are suddenly aware of the presence of some retail outlets. Oxfam for one. Oh, and there's a bank over there if anyone needs some money.

To our right you can see, oh, three more pubs, another four restaurants, and a new club.

This is known as the Weekend area of the high street. Both Destiny and Area nightclubs attract coaches filled with short skirts and too much Kudos aftershave from 8pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. If you are not in to clubbing, drinking, or keeping your life – then this area is best avoided at these times.

Moving into the centre of the highstreet, we now see a plethora of shops opening up. Clements department store – the oldest in Watford, and apparently the shop that Are You Being Served? was based on. Jimmy Perry used to work around the corner from the store and would make frequent visits. It still hasn't moved on from this period in time.

Again, more fast food outlets for the burger, chicken and pizza lovers amongst us. MVC Music
shop, and Jacksons Jewellers. Jacksons is the home of antique jewellery and silverware. If it's amber you want, you won't go far wrong from taking a look in this tiny olde-worlde shop.

More pubs – another two right next to each other, and another one a few doors down.

On the right, Woolworths and WHSmith dominate the highstreet. Costa Coffee providing the welcome break between these two giants.

Some more banks scattered around us and – another place to buy dead cow in a bap.

If we take this walkway on the right handside between the home of the Chicken Royale and American Clothes shop, we find ourselves in Charter Place. Home of the late C & A, sadly no longer with us. R.I.P. C & A! To our right there is Watford Market – a great place for Fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables, hoover bags, cheap cafes and bits and bobs you didn't think you wanted. There is a small stall inside which sells the most beautiful pewter vases, the lady owner also makes delicate soap flowers – (they're actually quite incredible!) These make great presents when you're looking for something a bit different. But the stall is very small and may take some hunting down.

But now, the grand dame of Watford, the piece la resistance, the Harlequin Shopping Centre. This enourmous monstrosity houses major shopping outlets such as Trewins (John Lewis), WHSmith, Dixons, Boots, Superdrug, BHS, Marks and Spencer, Barratts, Clarkes, Morgan, Next, Dorothy Perkins, Monsoon, Waterstones, Virgin, River Island, and The Body Shop.

There are also a few smaller shops including Wax Lyrical, Partners, Petside, Victoria Health Foods and Games.

This, of course, is only a small selection of the shops available. There is multitude of footwear companies, a myriad of clothing outlets and mob of mad shoppers to fill them all.

On the high street, running outside the centre, you can also find many
more shops and fast-food outlets. Gap, Tandy, Jigsaw, The Music Shop, they all squeeze in between the outside entrances of all the bigger stores that lead you back into the Harlequin.

If you are looking for more gentle entertainment then the pubs and clubs of Watford, that too is catered for.

If it's food you're after, we highly recommend three restaurants for you, each very different.

L'Artista – Offering a large range of pizza and pasta dishes, along with Salads and the all important desserts. This can be found the top end of the high street. Pizzas and Pasta dishes start from as little as £5.50. Pizzas are around 16" and the pasta bowls are deep and big. I for one have never seen anyone complete either. It is extremely good food at extrememly good prices.

Further down the high street we find a road called Market Street. Situated a couple of hundred metres down on the right is The Flower Drum. Exceptional Chinese/Pekinese food. It can be pricey if, like me, you order pretty much everything on the menu. But again, the quality and service are superb. They also have a very good vegetarian menu – offering Vegetable Moo-Shi pancakes instead of Duck as an intermediate course. (That was always the part I hated when dining with friends in other Chinese restaurants – I had sit and watch them eat.)

And finally right at the bottom of the high street is the excellent Café Mezza, serving up a Lebanese menu. I have eaten many times, and it somewhere I have taken friends and family. 5 People can order a three course meal each, plus alcohol and coffee for less than £100. That's not even £20 each. And for the "yum" factor, it is well worth it.

And why not start, or finish, your evening with a trip to the Palace Theatre. The only professional producing repertory theatre in Hertfordshire. Plays change on average every four weeks, and contain a mixed season of c
omedies, dramas, classics and new writing, plus the panto at Christmas. (which I recommend). Tickets start at £6 for the Gallery and go up to around £17 for weekends top seats. They are a few pounds cheaper than this during the week. Non-smoking night is every Wednesday – as warning for smokers who turn up wanting a fag before the show, and as information for non-smokers who don’t like smoky atmospheres. The Palace produces very high quality theatre, a lot of which tours the country or goes into the West End after it's run at Watford. It's a good place to see new things before the prices go up.

That concludes my tour of Watford. If there are any questions, please don't hesitate to ask as we make our way back to the coach.

My name's Paul, and I hope you enjoyed your trip around my home town. Please come and visit us again soon.

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