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Places to stay in Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted is a historic town situated between Hemel Hempstead and Tring and is the place where the crown of England was offered to William the Conqueror in 1066. ‘Berkhamsted is a lively town set in a valley of the Chiltern Hills with a history going back beyond Saxon times. Its claim to fame includes strong royal, literary and teaching connections.’ The valley route north through Berkhamsted has always been of major importance. Originally the ancient Roman road (Akeman Street), it later became a turnpike road for the Sparrows Herne Turnpike Trust. The Grand Junction, now the Grand Union Canal, was opened through Berkhamsted in 1798. Up until the Second World War the canal was a principal artery of the industrial revolution linking London with the West Midlands. The ‘Father of Inland Navigation’, the Duke of Bridgewater, who inspired the canal system in England, had his home ‘up on the hill’ at Ashridge. And just what is a Totem Pole doing in Berkhamsted? The site used to be a timber yard that imported wood from the West coast of Canada. As a gesture of friendship, the Canadian wood yard dispatched the locally crafted totem pole as a gift.
