Oh, to spend a summer’s afternoon in Provence. The delicate buzz of bees, the therapeutic aroma of lavender, the skylarks beeping overhead, the… Thameslink train zooming past.
OK, you got me. I was not in the real Provence. But without doubt, the closest you can get to the south of France within the bounds of North Hertfordshire.
I was roaming these lavender fields because nearby Hitchin has just been named the most popular town for London commuters. With its fast trains into King’s Cross (just 31 minutes), the market town attracts twice the number of property inquiries per listing as in the capital, according to Rightmove.
Hitchin’s commuter credentials are well known. But the town is also growing as a day-trip destination. In recent years, Hitchin has invested in live events programmes, opened a multi-million-pound museum, and has seen a wave of independent businesses open their doors. I visited to see what all the fuss was about.
‘The charity shops are epic’
“Market Place is a draw – energy wise, which I’m a great believer in. The town gravitates around it,” says Hannah Killingbeck Brown, who runs the vintage shop Jolly Brown, which also sells hand-made gifts and reworked designs.
Her eclectic little shop is located on Churchyard Walk, a pedestrianised nook that encircles St Mary’s Church, where retirees and young parents set a slow pace in the summer heat. Brown has noticed a shift in clientele since the pandemic.
“On a Saturday, probably half of my customers are visiting from out of Hitchin. It’s completely different to when I opened in 2007, when it was all locals.
“It’s a destination for meet-ups. If people are meeting between Oxford and Suffolk, they’ll meet here. Letchworth and Welwyn don’t have the draw that we have.”
Around the corner, Market Place is indeed the heart of Hitchin life. Surrounded by old half-timbered Tudor and Georgian buildings, it hosts one of the biggest regular outdoor markets in the country.
Starting this week, a summer-long beach pop-up will offer a taste of coastal life for families who live two hours from the sea (July 20-Aug 31). It is, quite comically, twinned with Cromer Beach. For some, however, there is an even bigger draw to the town.
“The charity shops are epic,” said Nina, who grew up in Hitchin and was on a return visit with her sister, Savinda. “I travel all the way from India just to visit these charity shops. It’s an annual event.
“It’s a great place to live. It’s very expensive though. The locals have been out-priced. But it’s still got a sense of community. You come back, you know everyone. You can barely walk through town without bumping into someone you know.”
“Hitchin’s the new London,” Savinda chimed in, jokingly. Although, from what I was seeing, I sensed the joke was laced with elements of truth.
Echoes of East London
Let’s be under no illusions. Hitchin is beset by the same roster of Turkish barbers, pound shops and vape stores that you will find across provincial Britain. But shop vacancy rates are among the lowest in the country, and around town I saw echoes of the bohemian, left-field spirit of East London, which has drawn plenty of expats to live in Hitchin since the pandemic.
With 10 taps and bottles from almost 500 breweries around the world, The Beer Shop is the destination of choice for the discerning drinker. I asked Meg, who has worked at the shop since moving to Hitchin four years ago, how she would describe the town to an outsider.
“It’s a cute little town that has loads of pizza and coffee shops,” she said, without hesitation. “And great beers.”
Pizza and coffee are indeed in good supply. But so is music. Around the corner, Jack Perry has just opened a new vinyl shop called JP’s Records, beneath Ronan’s, a coffee shop filled with laptop-tapping work-from-home sorts.
Having spent much of his life working in hospitality in London, Perry decided it was time Hitchin had its own record shop. Along with this business he hosts a podcast, For the Record, featuring local personalities and businesses from the Hitchin area. But even he, as a new local, has been nudged out of town.
“I lived in Hitchin town centre, but rent prices were coming up to the London mark. Now we live in a cottage in a village where it’s a half-hour walk into work. It’s the best place I’ve ever lived.”
A growing tourist trade
For the incoming tourist, the main attraction in the town centre is North Herts Museum (free to enter), which opened in 2014 with help from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
While “North Herts” might not get the pulse racing like, say, “Jurassic Coast” or “Stratford-upon-Avon”, the museum has an impressive range of displays.
Exhibits range from a woolly mammoth tusk to a pair of Stanley Matthews’s football boots, via the Queen Mother’s christening gown and a pair of handcuffs used to arrest the infamous local Fox Twins, who had more than 200 convictions between them. Last year, more than 36,000 visitors passed through the doors.
Beyond the bounds of Hitchin, the counties north of London are blossoming as tourist destinations. The Warner Bros Studios Tour in Leavesden (a 40-minute drive south of Hitchin) has fast become the county’s leading visitor attraction. Soon, it could be trumped by Universal United Kingdom Resort, a 40-minute drive north from Hitchin, in neighbouring Bedfordshire. The resort promises to put Bedford on the map when it opens in 2031, and Visit Hitchin hopes to launch a shuttle service to it.
For now, the main event is Hitchin Lavender. Owner Tim Hunter says his father first planted the crop at the turn of the century for an additional source of income, but it has spiralled in popularity in the social media age.
“He’s over there in his tractor somewhere,” he said, waving in the distance between selfie-taking visitors, some in quite extravagant costumes. “Even now, he can’t quite believe just how many people come, having lived a pretty solitary life as a farmer.”
The whole place is a delightful assault on the senses, with food trucks, picnic areas and a tea room giving ticket-holders some extra value for their £8 entry fee.
The season is short, of course. This year the lavender blossom began in mid June and probably only has two or three weeks left, by Hunter’s estimation. Hitchin’s moment in the sun, however, feels anything but fleeting.
Getting there
Trains run regularly from London King’s Cross, starting from £10.90 one-way. Beware, Hitchin’s railway station is a 20-minute walk from the town centre.
Stay here
Given Hitchin’s development as a visitor destination, the town could do with one or two new hotels. The Fox at Willian, a 10-minute drive out of Hitchin, is a cosy, dog-friendly country pub with contemporary boutique rooms (doubles from £150).
Book this
This summer, Hitchin Live at the Priory (Aug 27-30; tickets from £50) will welcome The Human League, Rudimental and the Libertines, among others. If you fail to make that, check out the regular gigs held at Club 85, which was recently saved from closure thanks to community crowd-funding efforts.
For the family
Check out the delightful, heated Hitchin Lido (£8 adults, £4 children), or pop along for some lower-league action at Hitchin Town FC (£15 adults, £3 children).