Area Guides

I moved to Bushey in 1989, so am well qualified to know the town I call home, although five years ago moved to Cassiobury, Watford but still have many friends and family living in Bushey and must admit that I miss the community feel no matter if you live up in Bushey, Heath, Bushey Village, North Bushey or Central Bushey, there is community spirit throughout.

I have seen changes to Bushey over the past 30 years as it has blossomed from a town near Watford, to a town standing alone heaped with history.

The first written record of Bushey is an account in the Domesday book which describes a small agricultural village named ‘Bissei’ (which later became ‘Biss(h)e’ and then ‘Bisheye’ during the 12th century).

Despite being close to London and having Watford on its doorstep Bushey retains the feeling of a small town and this is reinforced with events such as the Bushey Festival and quarter marathon which is held each July and the Horticultural Society’s flower and produce show.

The area contains a mix of Queens School, Bushey Meads School and The Grange Academy of which the first two generally do well in comparison with other schools in the county. Bushey is also the site of the famous Purcells School, a school for young musicians well known for turning out many successful musicians. There are also two private girls’ schools, St. Hilda’s and St Margarets in the area.

Entertainment and good food is all on your doorstep, with a fantastic array or restaurants, which include St James, Barracuda and Zaza are just three to mention out of many in the village along with many more on the heath along with The Kanteen, Sea Pebbles and Flax’s Deli.

Bushey station is located on the Watford side of Bushey, by Bushey Arches, with trains just 20 minutes into London Euston. In the same location you have all your shopping needs with Tesco Superstore and only opened in 2020 are both Lidl and Aldi, along with many other necessary shops such as Halfords, Argos, Next and Pets at Home.

If you are looking for a medium size town, to put down roots where families live throughout their own generations, Bushey could be just for you.

Here are a couple of videos on the local area – Bushey Village & Bushey Heath.

After moving to Watford from Bushey in 2015 on to the Cassiobury Estate, it has certainly confirmed what a vibrant, positive and enthusiastic community I am fortunate enough to live in. Watford residents by and large are friendly and engaging with a community spirit and general compass to do the right thing, which I feel can get lost in many grown up towns. Watford has certainly grown up and is a Town, proud to be at the top of its game.

Let’s start with Watford’s award winning Cassiobury Park being one of my favourite past times, with wonderful canal walks into Whiippendell Woods, The two café’s and community events that go on throughout the year.

Next you cannot miss Watford Town centre with the newly developed INTU shopping centre, entertainment and shopping facilities all the way from Primark to Designer outlets. In the past three years, INTU has had £150m pumped into it and it certainly shows.

What would we do without Watford General Hospital? With the NHS at its finest and an army of angels who look after the residents of our town, with such care and devotion.

Watford has become the business hub of North West London, the home to many blue-chip companies where Head Offices are plentiful. You can always tell the maturity of a town by the amount of residential new building going on and Watford is undergoing new housing developments throughout, which will only help sustain and build house prices in the long term.

Walking through the town centre just before Christmas this year and enjoying the displays and Christmas lights made me very proud to call Watford home.

Apart from my personal experiences, Watford has excellent transport links and is a main line overground Junction for most of the UK allowing you to catch a train from Watford Junction to almost anywhere in the UK. Roads are served with easy access to both the M25 & M1 as well as A41 into London.

Watford Grammar Boys & Girls schools are generally on most families wish lists as are most of Watford schools.

To sum up, Watford offers you a high standard of living and caring facilities. It has a real old fashioned community spirit, and you will be hard pressed to find such a homely town of its size in the UK. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, we have our own football team, but I am sure you already know about the Hornets!

I started selling in St Albans purely by chance. It started with a referral from a Dr to sell his home and over time grew with more and more referrals. I suppose what I offer is very unique in a town steeped in heritage, where the residents tend to follow suit and go with agents they have known for many years. However, with what our good nation is now experiencing with COVID, there has been a shift of what is important in our lives and that is ‘trust of the individual’, where a deal is done on a handshake and phrases such as ‘my bond is my word’ have never meant so much. It seems like good old-fashioned integrity and values are once again topping the list of what is important when choosing any business in 2021.

St Albans is my top town to visit and I have been visiting it for most of my life. It is my entertainment, with a fantastic array of restaurants, bars cafes and pubs as well as great shops, including The Maltings. St Albans has been a part of my education since my childhood, with regular school trips to Verulamium and St Albans Cathedral, which you always recognise on TV programs such as The Crown, which is used as Westminster Abbey. With walks through St Albans School and its grounds, leading to the Christmas Fayre, St Albans has it all and you never need to venture outside to educate your children and keep your mind occupied. I love to wander through the high street and mooching through the street market, stopping off for a coffee and then a stroll through the grounds of the Cathedral.

St Albans has always been one of the most desirable towns to live in outside of London and property prices tend to reflect that. It is a friendly, happy town with a great atmosphere and will always remain that way far into the future. If you are looking to sell your property in St Albans and would like to deal with an agent that offers the residents the respect they deserve, please get in touch.