Franglais27 Tales

Ware is one of those destinations that I always remember seeing on the display boards for trains departing from London Liverpool Street. I had never visited the town previously, however, and so decided to visit for a day trip during a long weekend. If you have already read my current post about Paris then you will know just how much I do enjoy travelling on a day trip!

Ware is situated in the county of Hertfordshire and can be easily visited by train from Liverpool Street station or Tottenham Hale station, in London, making it ideal to visit for a day trip.

It is a historic town and is even mentioned within literary texts including Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night! In such play it appears that there is a reference to the Great Bed of Ware, of which a replica can be found today within the Ware Museum. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit the museum on this visit which is, of course, the perfect excuse for me to plan a return visit!

So, you may be wondering what there is to do in Ware for a day and so I shall describe some of the places I visited to assist.

River Walks

Ware is ideally positioned for access to both the banks of the River Lea and the New River. Indeed, there are a few other smaller rivers that can be explored in the area but these did not feature on my day trip.

I had previously walked along other sections of the River Lea, in the Hertford direction and the New River, in the Enfield direction. It was therefore interesting to walk past the King’s Meads nature reserve by the banks of the Ware section of the River Lea. It is rather picturesque and tranquil and I have always enjoyed a river walk. Fortunately, it was a rather fair day for my visit and so the walk provided a great respite.

Unique to this section of the river are a series of gazebos that are gathered in a cluster. The gazebos are a renowned feature of Ware on the visitor’s trail. They look rather tranquil and are certainly very Instagrammable!

Great Amwell

I was extremely mesmerised by the views that appeared when arriving at the Great Amwell section of the river path. The village of Great Amwell is approximately 1.5 miles away from Ware and upon arriving there, a picturesque setting awaits with weeping willows!

I certainly enjoyed walking along the country lanes of the village and admiring the pretty cottages. A war memorial can also be seen along the river route. This memorial had been erected along the banks commemorating those fallen within the first and second world wars.

One of the memorable highlights of visiting Great Amwell was the delightful surprise of seeing a few ponies in a nearby field! Seeing them certainly made us pause from the brisk walking pace to admire them up close!

I was also being given tips along the walking route as to how to identify the flowers of the elder tree. There were certainly many elderflowers identified along the walking route thereafter!

Cream Tea

After all of the walking efforts, it was time for a treat. Fortunately, my visit to Ware coincided with the monthly cream tea event taking place at Place House Hall!

Place House Hall is a listed building in which its original timber frames can be seen. Its setting is rather beautiful with a flower garden at its entrance and so I could imagine that it is an ideal venue to attend for special occasions!

I was certainly ready for the scones and tea by this stage! The scones were homemade and extremely scrumptious! I would certainly recommend them from the menu!

The hall itself did conjure up images of being seated within a medieval banqueting hall given its original timber frames! I certainly let my eyes linger on its very impressive ceiling!

After a quick walk back along the High Street and over the bridges adorning the river banks, my day trip to Ware unfortunately came to an end.

Whilst I had walked past the priory and its gardens, I had not had the opportunity to explore further but that may also be another place to visit for your trip to Ware.

There are also summer events to enjoy, such as the dragon boat race and the boats festival, which may be ideal for families, and so I would certainly recommend a visit to Ware!