Car Hire Berkhamsted

Nestled in the scenic Chiltern Hills, Berkhamsted welcomes approximately 18,500 residents to this charming market town with royal connections dating back to 1066. You can reach us easily via the A41 bypass (opened in 1993), the historic A4251 through the town centre or the A416, which connects to neighbouring areas. The town enjoys pleasant seasonal weather with warm summers reaching 23°C in July and mild winters averaging 8°C in January, making it ideal for exploring both indoor attractions and outdoor adventures throughout the year.

The town serves as an ideal base for exploring the Chilterns AONB, with direct access to the Grand Union Canal towpath, Ashridge Estate (National Trust) with its magnificent beech woodlands and numerous walking trails including sections of the Chiltern Way.

Attractions In Berkhamsted

Experience medieval castle ruins and Grand Union Canal attractions, featuring impressive Norman fortifications, historic market town shopping, scenic canal walks, traditional architecture and excellent rail connections throughout the region.

National Trust – Ashridge Estate

Outstanding natural beauty awaits at this magnificent estate on Moneybury Hill, open daily from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM, with an exceptional 4.7-star rating from over 4,500 visitors. The extensive hiking trails wind through ancient wooded areas, offering peaceful escapes and stunning vistas, with strategically placed benches providing perfect rest stops along the way. Weekend mobility buggy hire ensures accessibility for all visitors and the excellent on-site café and gift shop complement nearby pubs within walking distance, making it ideal for extended outdoor adventures.

Canal Fields

Family entertainment thrives at this popular park at 7 Castle Hill Close, featuring exceptional playground facilities designed for children of all ages. The impressive offerings include a substantial sandpit, varied slides, climbing apparatus for different skill levels and quality swing sets. Spacious picnic areas both within and surrounding the playground accommodate family gatherings perfectly. The beautiful canal stretch provides peaceful walking opportunities away from crowds, though be aware that the free car park occasionally floods during heavy rain when canal waters overflow.

Alpine Meadow

Alpine Meadow is a 0.4-hectare nature reserve near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This chalk grassland lies within a wooded valley in the Ashridge Woodlands. The meadow supports diverse wildflowers including primroses, mouse-ear hawkweed, fairy flax and common spotted orchids from spring through autumn. The warm sloping grassland attracts numerous insects, notably the marbled white butterfly, which is uncommon in Hertfordshire. Surrounding woodland hosts green woodpeckers, finches and goldcrests. Conservation grazing helps maintain the grassland’s biodiversity.

War Memorial

Berkhamsted War Memorial stands outside the west door of St Peter’s Church on the High Street. Originally erected in 1921 near the junction with Water Lane, it was unveiled on 9th October that year before a silent crowd. The stone cross memorial bears the inscription “To Our Glorious Dead” with eight panels listing 182 names from 1914-18 and four panels commemorating 94 names from 1939-45. Following the Second World War, it was relocated to its present position in the 1950s.

Bridgewater Monument

Architectural magnificence towers at this Grade-II listed structure on Moneybury Hill, built in 1832 to commemorate Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, celebrated as the “father of British inland navigation.” The impressive 108-foot monument offers panoramic views from its viewing platform, accessible via 172 challenging spiral steps. National Trust members enjoy free access and the climb rewards visitors with amazing vistas, though pollution haze occasionally limits distant views. The adjacent café and National Trust shop complement the beautiful Ashridge forest walks perfectly.

Berkhamsted Castle

Medieval grandeur unfolds at this remarkable heritage site on White Hill, open daily from 10 AM to 4 PM, showcasing the area’s rich Norman history. Beautiful ruins tell the story of this strategically important castle where Anglo-Saxon leadership surrendered to William the Conqueror in 1066. Free entrance and well-maintained grounds welcome all visitors, whilst the entrance lodge features an excellent miniature castle model and informative displays. Banners surrounding the lodge detail the castle’s historic timeline from 1066 and a complete trail guides you around the entire grounds between two impressive moats.

Berkhamsted Totem Pole

Cultural heritage stands proudly at this distinctive landmark on Castle Street, representing unique local history explained on the town website. The site’s previous incarnation as a wood yard adds layers to its story and the short walk from Berkhamsted Castle makes combining visits logical and rewarding. We recommend approaching via the scenic canal walk, which naturally leads to nearby historic pubs that enhance your cultural exploration with traditional refreshments and local atmosphere.

Strategic access to neighbouring destinations enhances your Berkhamsted experience through these excellent connections:

• Hemel Hempstead
• Apsley
• Tring
• Kings Langley
• Markyate
• Redbourn
• Chorleywood
• Garston

Berkhamsted WW1 Trenches

Berkhamsted WW1 Trenches are First World War training earthworks on Berkhamsted Common, now protected as a scheduled monument. Between 1914 and 1919, the Inns of Court Officers Training Corps, nicknamed “The Devil’s Own”, dug approximately 13 miles of trenches across the common to train over 12,000 officer cadets. The difficult flinty clay soil provided realistic preparation for Western Front conditions. Trainees lived in a tented camp near the station and drilled on Kitchener’s Field before commissioning into other regiments. Of those trained, over 5,000 were wounded and 2,200 killed. Most trenches were filled after the war but around 600 metres survive. Volunteers mapped and cleared vegetation from the remaining trenches in 2012-13, making them accessible to visitors today.

Walled Gardens

The Walled Gardens in Gadebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead, also known as the Charter Gardens, are historic gardens accessible through the Charter Tower. The Tower, displaying the arms of Richard Combes originally formed the entrance to the second Bury House, rebuilt between 1540 and 1595. Local legend suggests Henry VIII handed down Hemel Hempstead’s Royal Market Charter from the Tower’s upper window in 1539, though the existing structure postdates this event. The gardens feature spectacular flower displays and form part of Gadebridge Park’s 190 acres.

Summer House, Tring Park

The Summer House in Tring Park is a Grade II listed neoclassical folly designed by architect James Gibbs in the early 18th century for William Gore. Built of red brick and painted plaster, only the front facade now remains, featuring four Ionic columns supporting a decorative temple-style portico. The rear was demolished in the 1970s during road widening works for the Wigginton road. Originally both practical and ornamental, it served as a dwelling and later housed a gamekeeper. Local legend suggests it was where Charles II met actress Nell Gwyn. The Summer House stands at the end of a straight woodland ride opposite the Obelisk, also designed by Gibbs, within Tring Park’s historic 18th-century landscape created by Charles Bridgeman.

The Riverside

The Riverside in Berkhamsted follows along the River Bulbourne, a chalk stream that rises at Cow Roast in the Chilterns and flows through the town centre alongside the Grand Union Canal for seven miles before joining the River Gade at Two Waters. This rare chalk stream habitat once supported a thriving watercress industry, with remnant watercress beds still visible. The riverside features restoration projects including removal of concrete weirs, pollarding willows for increased light and habitat improvements for wildlife including water voles. Popular walking routes follow the river from St John’s Well near Waitrose to Lower Kings Road, offering peaceful paths away from the busy town centre through this globally rare chalk stream environment.

Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal at Berkhamsted formed a vital transport link completed in 1798 as part of the Grand Junction Canal. Castle Wharf, between Ravens Lane and Castle Street, served as the town’s bustling inland port and boat-building centre, earning Berkhamsted the nickname “Port of Berkhamsted”. The canal enabled cheap transport of raw materials and manufactured goods until the early 1960s. Today the canal provides access to 2,000 miles of navigable waterways, with the towpath offering popular walking and cycling routes through Chilterns countryside. Notable features include seven locks between Tring and Berkhamsted and a Canadian Kwakiutl totem pole near the towpath.

Source Of The Bourne Gutter

Natural phenomena appear intermittently at this unique attraction on White Hill, creating one of Hertfordshire’s most mysterious seasonal features. Local legend suggests the spring emerges during times of trouble and disaster, having appeared from summer 2020 through winter 2021. You can trace the distinctive channel running through fields towards Hemel Hempstead and the intermittent nature makes witnessing this geological curiosity particularly special for those fortunate enough to visit during active periods.