Looking to explore? 5 of the most picturesque villages in Hertfordshire
If you are looking to explore some new treasures across the region, then look no further, as we have rounded up some of the prettiest villages to visit.
Keep this list somewhere safe in case you want to wander around any of the picturesque locations in the area anytime soon.
Set between Hitchin and Stevenage in the Chiltern Hills, St Ippolyts has the perfect charm of a small village while being near towns.
Properties in the village date back to the 17th century with gables houses and timber-framed houses back to the 16th century.
St Ippolyts has a handful of popular pubs, including The Rusty Gun, The Bird In Hand and the Hermit of Redcoats.
Near Tring, Aldbury is also located in the Chiltern Hills and people describe it as offering the "ultimate chocolate box charm."
Medieval stocks still stand in the village along with several historic homes, all offering impressive views of the surrounding countryside.
The Greyhound Inn is the local pub and has a 4.4 Google Rating, with one guest sharing: "Fantastic food and service. Really happy with our overnight accommodation. The view from our bedroom window is a, "feel good" feeling."
Aldbury has also been used in several film and TV productions, including Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
The village of Redbourn was previously named Hertfordshire Village of the Year, home to a busy high street and many independent shops.
With a handful of local pubs and a Common that welcomes joggers, dog walkers and cricketers, Redbourn is a popular spot.
It also benefits from being near Harpenden and the M1 along with the annual Hertfordshire Show taking place just outside the village.
Much Hadham was once named among the best places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times, earning praise for a strong community and being a picturesque village.
The village is between Ware and Bishop's Stortford with a historic high street home to characterful buildings, including the local pub, The Bull.
Recommended Reading
Quintessential market town Faversham perfect for a getaway
Abingdon the beautiful market town an hour from Watford
Discover the seaside town an hour from Watford for a getaway
The Bull has a 4.4/5 rating from over 290 reviews with one guest sharing: "Simply a great pub. The menu is lovely, not too big but has something for all. The staff are just attentive and friendly. There is a good bar for both drinkers and those who wish to eat."
Ayot St Lawrence is filled with cottages and a picturesque view from the village best known for its links to playwright George Bernard Shaw.
Shaw's former home is now a National Trust property, Shaw's Corner, that attracts many visitors every year.
Between Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City and Harpenden, Ayot St Lawrence comes at a hefty price as Zoopla once named it the most expensive village in the region.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
3 days ago
- Buzz Feed
Romance Movies To Stream On Hulu
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025) Synopsis: "After a wild night, Shaw confesses her love for Rule, a rebellious tattoo artist, testing their friendship—will love bring them together or tear them apart?"Trope(s): Bad boy / good girl, best friend's brother. Who's in it?: Chase Stokes, Sydney Taylor, Alexander Ludwig, and Evan MockWhy you should watch: The same studio that brought us After also brought us this book-to-screen adaptation. Also, a tatted-up Chase Stokes? Sign me up, please. Rye Lane (2023) Synopsis: "Yas and Dom, two 20-somethings both reeling from bad break-ups, connect over the course of an eventful day in South London — helping each other deal with their nightmare exes, and potentially restoring their faith in romance."Trope(s): Unexpected love. Who's in it?: Vivian Oparah and David JonssonWhy you should watch: If you only watch one movie on this list, let it be Rye Lane. Dirty Dancing (1987) Synopsis: "Spending the summer in a holiday camp with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle."Trope(s): Dancing (of the dirty variety), enemies to in it?: Jennifer Grey and Patrick SwayzeWhy you should watch: Simply watch this movie just to hear Patrick Swayze say "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." Ruby Sparks (2012) Synopsis: "A young author's most heartfelt character steps off the pages of his new book and into his life in this romantic fantasy." Trope(s): Manic-pixie-literal-dream girl, fish out of in it?: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, and Antonio Banderas. Why you should watch: It's giving The Velveteen Rabbit, but less sad and more romantic. Friends With Benefits (2011) Synopsis: "Determined to avoid Hollywood cliches, a couple embarks on a relationship built on sex without the problems of romance, but, of course, things get a little complicated..." Trope(s): Friends to lovers <3 Who's in it?: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, and Woody you should watch: Remember that movie No Strings Attached? This is the better version of that movie with funnier dialogue. Easy A (2010) Synopsis: "After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl sees her reputation tarnished until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing."Trope(s): Childhood sweethearts. Who's in it?: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, and Stanley Tucci. Why you should watch: Penn Badgley has, and I cannot emphasize this enough, never looked hotter than he does in this movie. 27 Dresses (2008) Synopsis: "A perennial bridesmaid who's unhappy that her little sister is marrying the man of her dreams, falls in love with a cynical wedding journalist who's covering the event"Trope(s): Enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity. Who's in it?: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Ed Burns, and Judy Greer. Why you should watch: The montage of Jane (Katherine Heigl) trying on all 27 of her bridesmaids' dresses is canonically one of the best fashion scenes in cinema. Maid in Manhattan (2002) Synopsis: "A senatorial candidate falls for a hotel maid whom he mistakes for a socialite in this glossy Cinderella story." Trope(s): Mistaken identity, millionaire MMC, mistaken identity. Who's in it?: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, and Tyler Posey Why you should watch: Jenny from the block falls in love with a pre-evil Voldemort — need I say more? (500) Days of Summer (2009) Synopsis: "A romance between two young office employees is charted across its roller-coaster duration in this tale of love and heartbreak."Trope(s): Manic-pixie-dream girl, he falls first (and harder). Who's in it?: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Gray GublerWhy you should watch: Some of the best music to ever be featured in a film: The Smiths, Hall & Oats, and, let us not forget, The Temper Trap! Dandelion (2024) Synopsis: "Dandelion, a struggling but determined singer-songwriter in a downward spiral, reluctantly takes a last-ditch effort gig where she meets Casey, a guitarist who walked away from his dream long ago. As Dandelion joins Casey's eclectic and nomadic group of struggling musicians, the two kindred spirits make music together and strike up an intoxicating whirlwind romance that leads Dandelion to a deeper appreciation of her artistic journey and the discovery of a voice that is authentically her own."Trope(s): Opposites in it?: KiKi Layne and Thomas DohertyWhy you should watch: OK, I lied. If you can only watch TWO movies on this list, let it be Rye Lane and Dandelion. The Hating Game (2021) Synopsis: "Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against cold and efficient nemesis Joshua, a rivalry that is complicated by her growing attraction to him." Trope(s): Office romance, in it?: Lucy Hale and Austin you should watch: A romance between two rivals who work at a publishing house? A booktoker's dream come true. Crush (2022) Synopsis: "When an aspiring young artist is forced to join her high school track team, she uses it as an opportunity to pursue the girl she's been harboring a long-time crush on. But she soon finds herself falling for an unexpected teammate." Trope(s): WLW, secret in it?: Rowan Blanchard, Auli'i Cravalho, and Megan MullallyWhy you should watch: The perfect high school romance to watch if you wanna kick up your feet and giggle at the screen. Fire Island (2022) Synopsis: "A group of queer best friends gather in Fire Island Pines for their annual week of love and laughter, but a sudden change of events might make this their last summer in gay paradise."Trope(s): MLM, in it?: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, and Margaret ChoWhy you should watch: This is one of my fave Pride & Prejudice adaptations (second only to the 2005 film directed by Joe Wright). The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020) Synopsis: "A brokenhearted New York museum curator begins a collection of things connected to break-ups and writes about it on her blog." Trope(s): Strangers-to-friends-to-lovers, grumpy / sunshine. Who's in it?: Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, and Molly GordonWhy you should watch: I wish that Broken Heart Galleries actually existed, but, since they don't, this is the next best thing! Love Again (2023) Synopsis: "A romantic comedy about finding love where you least expect it featuring new songs by Celine Dion." Trope(s): Second-chance romance, love after loss. Who's in it?: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, and Celine DionWhy you should watch: For fans of Celine Dion AND Jamie from Outlander. Romeo + / & Juliet (1996 and 2013) Synopsis: Like you don't already know. Trope(s): Forbidden love, love at first sight. Who's in it?: 1996: Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes / 2013: Douglass Booth and Hailee Steinfeld Why you should watch: The most iconic love story of all two different variations! The Last Song (2010) Synopsis: "A rebellious teen and her brother are shipped off to spend the summer with their recently-divorced dad — but just when she is ready to sulk away the season, love arrives."Trope(s): Grumpy / sunshine, second chance in it?: Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, and Greg KinnearWhy you should watch: In case you're in the mood to swoon AND cry! One True Loves (2023) Synopsis: "Emma and Jesse are living the perfect life together, until Jesse disappears in a tragic helicopter crash on their first wedding anniversary. Four years later, Emma finds happiness again as she's about to marry her best friend. However, when Jesse miraculously resurfaces, Emma soon finds herself torn between two great loves."Trope(s): Best friends to lovers, love triangle. Who's in it?: Phillipa Soo, Simu Liu, and Luke BraceyWhy you should watch: To live vicariously through Phillipa Soo, who gets to kiss both Simu AND Luke. Say Anything...(1989) Synopsis: "John Cusack stars as an aimless high-school graduate who tries to win the hand of the class brain in this teen Opposites attract. Who's in it?: John Cusack and Ione SkyeWhy you should watch: This film is required viewing for everyone who considers themselves a fan of romantic cinema. Stream these romance hits on Hulu.
Boston Globe
14-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Al fresco and bilingual, ‘¡Qué Diablos! Fausto' gives the devil his due
Its world premiere production is being produced by Rhode Island Latino Arts in partnership with Trinity Rep, and staged by Teatro en El Verano. All of the company's productions, which have included translated and adapted versions of George Bernard Shaw's 'You Never Can Tell' and F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby,' are free to the public and take place at various outdoor locations throughout the state. The site of my viewing of '¡Que Diablos! Fausto' was an intimate grassy knoll in Payne Park, Pawtucket. Get Globe Rhode Island Food Club A weekly newsletter about food and dining in Rhode Island, by Globe Rhode Island reporter Alexa Gagosz. Enter Email Sign Up Valles's rendition tells this timeless tale of ambition, exploitation, and redemption with just six talented actors. Fausto is depicted as a skilled but flawed Rhode Island urgent care physician (an abundantly charming and physically agile Alexander Crespo-Rosario II) operating out of a strip mall, whose altruism and poor financial decisions leave his business on the brink of collapse. Desperate to save his practice and achieve greatness, and despite his sharp-witted assistant La Margie's (a very charismatic Marina Tejada) advice to the contrary, he makes a pact with the demoness Mephistopheles (a wonderfully seductive Ashley Aldarondo-Martinez). Advertisement Once Fausto trades his soul for wealth, power, and fame, he eagerly partakes in an assortment of sins (nicely personified by Mireya Hoffens, who also plays an angel representing good, and Ashley Soto, who also plays a devil representing evil). But the deal excludes love, which becomes Fausto's deepest desire. All the while, the celestial being Seraphim (Michael Green, whose comic timing is masterful) attempts to save Fausto's soul. Advertisement The playwright's strategy for addressing Marlowe's complex, 17th-century approach to spirituality and religion, humanist stance on individual morality, and attention to symbols that bring out elements of divine conflict is to stage it as if it were one of those live-action, educational children's television programs that once dominated PBS on Saturday mornings in the 1990s. It's an intriguing choice. Much like 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?' and 'Wishbone' – which were cleverly disguised and very entertaining lessons about grammar, science, classic literature, and American history – '¡Que Diablos! Fausto' is a smart and simple family friendly affair. There are a few lines from 'Wicked' and 'The Godfather' along with stealthy references to ICE interspersed throughout the script. Everything is set in perpetual motion by Armando Rivera's direction, which allows for actors to walk among and mingle with the audience. The acting is appropriately broad and animated. Dustin Thomas's contemporary costumes – which includes masks and headdresses – are bold and colorful. The painted images on Tiago Pereira's three-panel scenic design is humorously exaggerated to the point of being cartoonish, and the many props are larger-than-life cardboard cutouts. Lovanni Gómez's clever sound design includes snippets of songs by Britney Spears, the Spice Girls, and others to underscore key moments in the action. And there's a puppet. Advertisement All this results in a rather engaging night of Marlowe-lite. This bilingual production makes a classic play accessible to communities who don't speak the language of the original work, and it delivers it through the lens of Latinx voices and vision. And while the Saturday morning mindset, broad humor, and pop culture references come close to diminishing the original play's sober themes, it only succeeds in turning the dark 'tragical history' referenced in the original title into a mild-mannered morality play. The thing is, bilingual presentations like this – without the benefit of projected subtitles that translate Spanish into English in real time – are challenging. The dialogue needs to balance out the co-existence of English and Spanish without being excessively redundant, which becomes lengthy and tiresome for everyone. A graceful ballet of sorts between both languages, that seamlessly segues from one to the other and often in the same breath, is ideal. Despite the best efforts of the cast, the script for '¡Que Diablos! Fausto' offers more of an awkward two-step that keeps both groups of native speakers in the audience a little off balance and in the dark too much of the time. And so the aforementioned familiarity with the German legend or having seen Marlowe's play would certainly come in handy here. ¡QUÉ DIABLOS! FAUSTO Book by Christopher Marlow. Translated and Adapted by Jesús Valles. Directed by Armando Rivera. Advertisement Remaining performances of Teatro en El Verano's touring production take place on Tuesday, July 15 at La Galería del Pueblo, Central Falls at 6:30 pm; Sunday, July 20 at 195 District Park, Providence at 5:30 pm; Tuesday, July 22 at Roger Williams Park, Providence at 6:30 pm; Sunday, July 25 at Dexter Park, Providence at 6:30pm; July 25 Sunday, July 27 at The Edward King House, Newport at 4:00 pm; and Friday, August 1 at Southside Cultural Center, Providence, at 4:00 pm. Tickets are free.
San Francisco Chronicle
12-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: Grief and danger collide in 'Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell'
Sixteen years have passed since Shaw Connolly's teenage sister, Thea, slipped out of their family home in rural Maine to party with friends and never came home. Shaw (short for Shawnee), now a fingerprint expert for law enforcement agencies, is certain that her sister was murdered, but she is obsessed with learning where she was buried. More Information Shaw Connolly Lives To Tell By Gillian French (Minotaur Books; 352 pages; $28) Even now, after all these years, she continues to put up posters and roam the woods of their hometown with a cadaver dog. Her obsession takes a toll not only on her but on her family, driving her husband away and traumatizing her two boys. But in author Gillian French's 'Shaw Connolly Lives To Tell,' Shaw isn't the only one who is obsessed. Someone is obsessed with her. His name is Anders Jansen, and he calls Shaw frequently, often at odd hours. He taunts her about Thea, revealing details that hint at his involvement in the girl's disappearance — but never enough to justify an arrest. As their cat-and-mouse game continues, the phone calls become more menacing, and soon he starts following her and making vague threats against her family. When Shaw grows alarmed enough to get a protective order, he violates it, giving police a justification to make an arrest. But now he's on the run, the police can't find him, and the calls continue. Meanwhile, Shaw has a job to do. She assists police investigating the death of a man who was bludgeoned while walking his dog. She is called to assist with an arson fire in a vacant building. But then there is another arson fire. And another. And another. When the arsonist burns down the church Shaw attended as a child, she and the readers wonder if Anders could be setting the fires. This well-written, emotionally wrenching novel is not a mystery in the traditional sense. It is apparent early on that Thea is dead and that Anders killed her. The tension lies in how far Shaw will go to learn where she is buried, what Anders will do if she persists, and the price the people she loves will pay for her obsession.
