Good Morning, Hertford! ☀️

Right, we did not expect "let's have an AI walk you through the Trojan War" to be featuring this week, but we are so here for it. Ware Drill Hall's new interactive museum guide is genuinely one of the more interesting things happening around town - you actually get to ask it questions back, which is either the future of museums or the first ten minutes of a sci-fi film. Either way, worth a look.

That's the theme running through this issue, if there is one: Hertford quietly getting more interesting while nobody was looking. Heritage Open Days has thrown open the bits of Panshanger Park you're not normally allowed near, there's a guided walk tracing the town's long-lost railway line, and - genuinely exciting one, this - Proto Bakery finally opens its doors on Railway Street this Saturday. New bakery, new smells, new reason to walk that way to work.

Elsewhere: a night of jazz, a screening of an actual classic, a nervous-system-reset workshop for anyone running on fumes, and a stark reminder about why now's the time to sort your Vitamin D before the whole town starts sniffling. Grab a coffee (or a Proto pastry, if you're quick) - let's get into it.

👇 Here’s what we’ve got for you this week:

• What’s On

• Town Talk: the local headlines worth knowing before you next park the car or cross Hartham

• Kiddies Scoop: choir's back, a book launch, free music lessons, and a save-the-date for the circus

• Eye Catching Deals: pub dining deal

• Property Of The Week

• Weather: a mixed start, but then a lovely sunny patch building for the weekend

• Mind, Health & Fitness: getting ahead of the winter bugs before they get ahead of you

• Extra Sprinkles: satay chicken + coconut rice

What’s On

🎭 Arts + Entertainment

Hertford Jazz Jam
📅 Thu 10 Sep | 19:30-22:20 📍 The Hertford Club, Hertford
An open jazz session for players and listeners alike - different crowd, different energy to the folk night regulars.
🎟 Info here

Ware Poets: Tashaney Hibbert-Jones, Ray Harper & Andrew Geary
📅 Fri 11 Sep | 20:00-22:00 📍 Southern Maltings, Ware
An evening of readings from three guest poets, hosted in Ware's home for live arts.
🎟 From £3pp - Info here

Experience A Museum: AI Tour Guide
📅 Sun 13 Sep | 15:00-16:15 or 16:15-17:30 📍 Ware Drill Hall
Be among the first to try an interactive AI museum guide - ask it questions as it walks you through 8 paintings telling the story of the Trojan War.
🎟 Ticketed - Book here

Casablanca Film Screening
📅 Sat 19 Sep | 📍 Southern Maltings, Ware
A big-screen outing for the 1942 classic.
🎟 From £10 pp - Info here

Outlaws and Sinners: Line Dancing Night
📅 Sun 20 Sep | 18:15-21:30 📍 Corn Exchange, Hertford
No experience needed, just good boots - a proper laugh whether you're a regular or a total beginner.
🎟 £13.02 pp - Here

🏰 Community + Family

Panshanger Park - Heritage Open Days
📅 Sat 12-Sun 13 Sep 📍 Panshanger Park
Areas of the park not usually open to the public, opened up for the fortnight only.
🎟 FREE - Info here

Behind the Scenes at the Museum: Tour of the Stores
📅 Sat 12 Sep | 📍 Hertford Museum, 18 Bull Plain, Hertford
A rare look at what's kept behind closed doors - the objects that don't normally make it onto the shop floor.
🎟 More info

Mayor's Vintage Tea Party (Over 75’s)
📅 Wed 16 Sep | 14:00-16:00 📍 Hertford Castle, Hertford
Tea, cake and a bit of vintage charm inside the Castle grounds.
🎟 FREE - Info here

Hertford's Lost Railway - Guided Walk
📅 Fri 18 Sep | 14:00 📍 Meets in Hertford town centre
A walk tracing the route of the town's long-vanished railway line, with the stories behind it.
🎟 Here

Heritage Day + Buildings of Delight Guided Walks
📅 Sun 20 Sep 📍 Hertford Castle & Hertford town centre
A full day marking Heritage Open Days, plus two back-to-back architecture walks (Hertford East to Parliament Square, then Parliament Square to St Andrew Street).
🎟 Info here

Local Produce & Craft Market
📅 Sun 20 Sep 📍 Ware town centre
Ware's own market - local produce, handmade crafts, a nice way to round off the weekend.
🎟 Info here

🌱 Health + Wellbeing

'Come Home to Yourself': A Nervous System Reset Workshop
📅 Wed 16 Sep | 17:45019:15 📍 Cucumber Fields, Essendon, AL9 6JB
A gentle, trauma-sensitive evening with Esme Winterflood for anyone feeling burnt out, overwhelmed or permanently "on" - space to breathe, move, rest and reconnect.
🎟 £45pp - Info here

Autumn Equinox Qigong Workshop with Abbie Harvey
📅 Sat 19 Sep | 15:00-16:30 📍 The Secret Space, 105 Fore Street
Gentle movement, mindful breathing and meditation, timed to the turn of the season.
🎟 Info here

📣 Town Talk

Proto Bakery rolls into Railway Street. Proto Hertford throws open its doors on Saturday 12 September at 39 Railway Street - swing by on opening day for a free branded tote bag (first come, first served, so don't dawdle), and keep bringing it back for 25p off your order every time.

Hartham footbridge is fixed. Repairs on the Hartham footbridge have been completed, so it's back in action for walkers and cyclists.

Car park charges are coming. A makeshift car park at the end of Marshgate Drive is set to be resurfaced and formalised with the introduction of charges. The makeover is set to bring in charges where parking was previously free - worth knowing before your next trip. Full story

BEAM's up for a major award. Hertford's town-centre BEAM building has been shortlisted for a major architectural prize - a nice bit of hometown pride. Read more

Fancy a say in how the town looks? Pop along to the Castle Plus Neighbourhood Plan Consultation or catch your local councillor for a chat, both free and no appointment needed, this Saturday 12 September in Hertford Castle area and the town centre. Neighbourhood Plan / Meet Your Councillor

Kiddies Scoop

Hertford Children's Choir - New Term Starts
📅 Fri 11 Sep | 📍 17:30 | St. Andrews Church, Hertford
Fresh term, fresh voices - the choir picks back up after the summer break. New members welcome.
🎟 Info here

Proms at St Edmund's College
📅 Sat 12 Sep | 14:00-19:00 📍 St Edmund's College, SG11 1DS
A big family afternoon out with a classic Proms feel - bring a picnic blanket.
🎟 Ticketed - Info here

The Big, Clumsy Queen Bee - Book Launch
📅 Sun 13 Sep | 16:30-18:30 📍 The Book and Bottle, SG14 1RB
A children's book launch at Hertford's own indie bookshop - readings, signing, the works.
🎟 FREE - Info here 

Free Music Lessons
📅 Sat 12 Sep | 10:00-16:00 📍 DeRosa Music Academy, Hertford
A no-cost taster session for kids curious about picking up an instrument.
🎟 FREE - Info here

Happy's Circus - Save the Date!
📅 Sun 27 Sep | 14:00-16:00 📍 Bengeo Primary School, SG14 3DX
All-human circus - acrobatics, comedy and family entertainment. Spaces are limited, worth booking ahead.
🎟 From £12 pp - More here

🔥 Eye Catching Deals

Exclusive Lunch Offer at The Cowper Arms: Fancy pub dining without the weekend price tag? Head to The Cowper Arms in Cole Green Monday to Friday, 12:00-17:00, for two courses from £21.95 or three from £25.95 - and if lunch stretches into the afternoon, cocktails are 2-for-£16 all week too. Grab the deal here

Post-school-run treat: Pearce's Farm Shop & Café is doing a pastry and regular hot drink for £6 Monday to Friday before 10am - the perfect excuse to sit down for five minutes after drop-off.

🏡 Property Of The Week

Brickendon Lane Mews 📍 Brickendon Lane, Brickendon, near Hertford, SG13

This exceptional three-double-bedroom mews, part of a Grade II listed, RIBA award-recognised farm building conversion. A double-height atrium entrance, a 24ft-plus kitchen/dining space with curved windows set into a brick archway, and a principal bedroom running the full depth of the house with its own circular window and en-suite. Living room has an exposed brick chimney breast, log burner and oak beam. Double garage with EV charging, gated development, freehold.

👉 View property here

🌦 Hertford Weather: 8 - 14 Sept 2026

A mixed start to the fortnight - expect morning rain clearing to sunny spells tomorrow (Tue), then a cloudier, showery few days through midweek.

Best days: Saturday 12th through Monday 14th - sunshine building through the weekend and temperatures climbing into the low-to-mid 20s by Sunday and Monday. Handy timing, given Panshanger Park's Heritage Open Days and the Proms at St Edmund's both fall on Saturday.

✨ Mind, Health + Fitness

The nights are drawing in, the kids are back to swapping germs at the school gate, and that first cold of the season is usually just a matter of time. A little prevention now goes a long way before the colder months sets in:

• Restock your Vitamin D. As the days shorten, sunlight naturally does less of the work for you - most adults benefit from a daily supplement all year around.

• Get outside while there's still daylight to catch. Even a lunchtime walk helps with both mood and immunity as the evenings draw in.

• Load up on the immune-boosting basics. Vitamin C, zinc, and a good night's sleep still do more heavy lifting than any supplement on its own.

• Eat the season. Root veg, soups and stews aren't just comforting - they're some of the best-value, most nutrient-dense eating of the year.

• Wash hands, air out rooms, don't push through it. The oldest advice is still the best advice once the bugs start doing the rounds.

💊 Check out Andrew Huberman’s 5 go-to supplements

🧁 Extra Sprinkles

Spice up that regular chicken meal this week with this delicious Satay Chicken and Coconut Rice recipe.

You’re now fully up to date, Hertford.

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