Potters Bar
Potters Bar is in Hertfordshire.
Understand
This small town with a population listed in 2011 as 21,882 is just inside Hertfordshire. It borders the northern part of metropolitan London and is today very much in the city's commuter belt. Its name may refer to the fact that pottery was manufactured here in Roman times. The town, dating from the early thirteenth century, was small and began growing when a line of the Great Northern Railway was built through it in 1850. The Great Northern still runs through town, linking Potters Bar to Hatfield to the north and to central London to the south, terminating at King's Cross station.
Get in
The Great Northern Railway links Potters Bar to London and to many towns to the north. The M25 Motorway is at the southern limits of the town. A1000 runs from south to north through the town centre. A1005 links to A111, just on the town's south side, and becomes B556, which runs through the town centre and links Potters Bar to nearby London Colney. The bus service also connects the town to London and other nearby towns.
Get around
Potters Bar is small enough that it can be traversed by foot but the PB1 bus will take you around the town as is available at the majority of bus stops dotted around the area.
See
- 1 [dead link] Oakmere Park (The A1000 (High Street) runs along the west side of the park). Open during daylight hours. This park was once the private grounds of the Oakmere House, now a privately run restaurant and pub, and it retains much of the features it had in the 19th century. The park contains two small lakes and numerous footpaths. Part of the Oakmere and Parkfield Tree Trail is located in Oakmere Park. This park has three outdoor fitness stations. The park has picnic tables and fishing is allowed by obtaining permission from the Potters Bar Angling Club. A large car park is on the park's southwest corner. In 1916 a German Zeppelin was passing over Oakmere Park and it was shot down and crashed, killing the pilot and crew. A marker in the park tells the story of this event.
Do
Buy
- 1 Sainsbury's, 7-8 Darkes Lane, Sainsbury Centre, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AU (Directly east of the railway station), ☏ +44 1707 650814. M-Fr 7 AM-8 PM; Sat 8 AM-8 PM; Sun 10 AM-4PM. A Sainsbury's supermarket.
- 2 Darkes Lane (It is one of the business centres of town; the railway station is roughly at its centre). This is where a large grouping of businesses, pubs, eateries and large and small shops are located.
Eat
- 1 The Oakmere House (Harvesters Oakmere House), A1000 (High Street), Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 5BT (At northeast corner of Oakmere Park), ☏ +44 1707 644035. Breakfast 9-11 AM Mon-Sun; restaurant 11:30 AM-10 PM Mon-Sun. Oakmere House was originally a country estate and the first building was built about 1800. It was destroyed by fire during an expansion and a new house was completed by the early 20th century. In the 1980s the Oakmere House was converted into a restaurant and today is run by Harvesters. The menus provide a variety of foods in the setting of an old estate house. Inexpensive.
- 2 The Old Manor, Wyllyott's Place, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 2JD (Go on Darkes Lane west 1/2 block from the railway station and then north 1/2 block on Wylliott's Place), ☏ +44 1707 650674. M-F 12 noon-3 PM and 6 PM-9 PM; Sat-Sun 12 noon-9 PM. This is a restaurant and bar contained in part of an old manor house, Wylliott's (or Wyllyott's) Manor. The restaurant is in one part and the bar adjoins the restaurant.
Drink
See The Old Manor in the Eat section above. The bar serves a variety of beers, ales and liquors.
Also drink at the Strafford Arms on Mutton Lane, lovely boozer with a good ledge.
Sleep
- 1 Premier Inn South Mimms Potters Bar, Swanland Rd, South Mimms, ☏ +44 871 527 8990.
Connect
Go next
All roads and the railway line going south head into metropolitan London. The A1000 north connects to nearby Brookmans Park and Hatfield.
| Routes through Potters Bar |
| West London ← London Colney ← | anticlockwise  clockwise |
→ Epping → East London |