Hertford

October 28, 2013

Hertford

We went on a weekend trip to Hertford, Hertfordshire. We changed a train at London Liverpool Street to Hertford East. Do you remember that the big mouse (my husband) is bad-weather bringer? It was snow in Oakham, cold wave in Brussels, and rain in Cologne. The sky looked so dark... According to the weather forecast, a hurricane was approaching! Anyway, the sky was dark but the weather stayed in good. We suddenly arranged this trip, so I guess the hurricane was unable to make it.

Hertford is an old town with a history stretching back to Roman times. It is said that the first Church Synod was held at Hertford in 673. We found a stone monument about it in the site of castle. The town name Heartford came from the Angle-Saxson 'heort ford' meaning deer crossing of a watercourse. So deer feature in emblems.

There is the Hertford Castle, but the building itself looks new. Now it's the council office.

We strolled around the town. I can't explain well, but the atmosphere of the town was very old as if you time-tripped to an old times, even though shops and people are modern. I could feel it.

We visited the museum too. It was small, but busy with local children. On the ground floor, exotic animals, fossils, and Japanese armour(!) are displayed. On the first floor, you can see the life of Hertford. It was nice:)

There are many local shops, and window displays were lovely:)

I carried on with strolling alone, while the big mouse had had a break at a hotel.

The hotel we stayed was 'The Salisbury Arm Hotel' at the heart of the town. It has over 400 years history. It's really cosy, comfortable and nice hotel, we loved it very much. Every time we stay at an old hotel in the UK, I check wether a hotel is haunted or not, with curiosity. Actually, it is said that there are at least 40 ghosts in Hertford, and one of the ghosts is believed by some to be Oliver Cromwell. Oliver Cromwell stayed this hotel overnight in 1647 before reviewing his troops nearby.

I don't have extrasensory perception and I didn't feel anything uncomfortable at all when I entered our room. It's clean and bright with luxurious furniture. According to an online, there is a number of ghosts in this hotel, including a Victorian gentleman dressed in black who walks into a cupboard and disappears and a Civil War soldier roaming the corridors. The hotel has some characters such as curved wooden door, exposed beams, staircase etc... They excited my imagination of ghosts. You know, Halloween is coming.:) Our room was on the first floor, we explored the hotel and found nothing except a little bit spooky stair steps.

At midnight, closed eyes, I could imagine old Hertford town from the sounds outside. Eventually,
any ghost appeared in our room, instead yobs and yobettes appeared around the hotel. They talked and laughed loudly, it was so crazy. I couldn't sleep because they were so noisy. I don't know if the police came, but I could hear the voice to order 'move' and they acted repulsively against him. They shouted and then finally they were gone. It was around 2:00am. I was completely lack of sleep... The big mouse had slept peacefully and comfortably with snoring next to me...