# Northaw.uk: Visit Northaw

> Northaw is a ridge-top village on the southern edge of Hertfordshire, with a pub said to date from 1572, a church on the hill and one of the county's great ancient woods on its doorstep. Come for the hornbeams; stay for the stories.

An independent visitor guide to Northaw, Hertfordshire, England: things to do, walks, wildlife, pubs, history, events and places to stay nearby. Content is in British English. Please link to the page you quote.

## Key pages
- [Home](https://northaw.uk/)
- [History](https://northaw.uk/history)
- [Things to do](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do)
- [What's on](https://northaw.uk/whats-on)
- [Blog](https://northaw.uk/blog)
- [Where to stay](https://northaw.uk/stay)

## Things to do
- [Stagmere](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/stagmere): The grand historic manor house that shaped the village we see today, being restored to open to the public by summer 2027.
- [Forty Hall Farm and Vineyard](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/forty-hall-farm-and-vineyard): An organic farm with rare breeds and London's only commercial organic vineyard.
- [Capel Manor Gardens](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/capel-manor-gardens): 30 acres of themed gardens, a mini zoo and a holly maze.
- [Royal Gunpowder Mills](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/royal-gunpowder-mills): Three centuries of explosive history on a secret island of waterways and woodland.
- [The King & Tinker](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/king-and-tinker): A Grade II listed country pub where, legend says, King James I drank with a tinker.
- [Trent Country Park](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/trent-country-park): 413 acres of woods, lakes and meadows on the edge of London.
- [Treetop adventures at Go Ape, Trent Park](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/go-ape-trent-park): Zip wires, Tarzan swings and high ropes in an ancient-woodland country park.
- [White-water rafting at the Olympic course](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/lee-valley-white-water-centre): Ride the rapids built for the London 2012 canoe slalom, about 20 minutes from Northaw.
- [Paradise Wildlife Park](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/paradise-wildlife-park): Big cats and family days out near Broxbourne.
- [Forty Hall and Myddelton House Gardens](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/forty-hall-and-myddelton-house): A Jacobean manor and a famous plantsman's garden, just south in Enfield.
- [Hatfield House (day out)](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/hatfield-house): A great Jacobean house and childhood home of Elizabeth I, a short drive away.
- [Volunteer with the Friends of Northaw Great Wood](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/friends-of-northaw-great-wood): Swap the gym for coppicing: help care for an ancient wood.
- [Cuffley Camp Outdoor Centre](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/cuffley-camp-outdoor-centre): A 96-acre woodland adventure centre for schools and holiday clubs.
- [Nyn Park and Northaw House](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/nyn-park-and-northaw-house): Lost and later mansions of the old Northaw estates, seen from public roads.
- [The King's Wells](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/the-kings-wells): A Restoration-era spa that drew fashionable London, near Cuffley.
- [The village green and its listed buildings](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/northaw-village-green): A triangle of green on the ridge, framed by a Tudor inn, a Stuart inn and the church.
- [The Leefe Robinson memorial](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/leefe-robinson-memorial): Where the first German airship destroyed on British soil fell in flames, in September 1916.
- [St Thomas à Becket Church](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/st-thomas-a-becket-church): A Grade II* Victorian church, rebuilt after a fire, with a medieval font in the churchyard.
- [Cycling around Northaw](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/cycling-around-northaw): Rolling lanes, gravel tracks and a pub on the green to finish.
- [Cuffley Brook and Ferny Wood loop](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/cuffley-brook-and-ferny-wood-loop): A 5.5 km circuit through the heart of the Great Wood.
- [Northaw Great Wood](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/northaw-great-wood): Ancient hornbeam and oak woodland, bracken glades and three waymarked trails, open all year.
- [The pubs of Newgate Street](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/newgate-street-pubs): Two village pubs just beyond the Great Wood: the Coach and Horses and The Crown.
- [The Plough, Cuffley](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/the-plough-cuffley): A McMullen pub with a remarkable story: the airship SL11 fell in the field behind it in 1916.
- [Judges, on the village green](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/judges-northaw): A Grade II listed former coaching inn, The Sun, reborn as a restaurant and cocktail bar.
- [The Two Brewers](https://northaw.uk/things-to-do/two-brewers): A Grade II listed village pub said to date from 1572, beside the church.

## Blog posts
- [24 hours in Northaw: a woodland adventure](https://northaw.uk/blog/24-hours-in-northaw): Ancient woods, a Tudor inn, a royal spa and the night an airship fell: a perfect day and night.
- [The royal hunting trail: kings, tinkers and a lost deer park](https://northaw.uk/blog/the-royal-hunting-trail): Follow James I from Northaw Common to Theobalds and the alehouse where he met a tinker.
- [Autumn colour in Northaw Great Wood](https://northaw.uk/blog/autumn-colour-in-northaw-great-wood): Why late October and November are the best weeks of the year to visit.
- [Stag, star and mere: the heraldry of Stagmere](https://northaw.uk/blog/the-heraldry-of-stagmere): A guide to the Stagmere arms and crest, and what each symbol means.
- [Stagmere changes hands: a new chapter for Northaw's great house](https://northaw.uk/blog/stagmere-changes-hands): In 2024 the estate passed to philanthropist Courtney Jordan, who plans to restore Stagmere and open it to the public by summer 2027.
- [The night the sky caught fire](https://northaw.uk/blog/the-night-the-sky-caught-fire): How a young pilot brought down the airship SL11 over Cuffley in 1916, and why Northaw remembers.
- [Adrenaline near Northaw: rapids, treetops and zip wires](https://northaw.uk/blog/adrenaline-near-northaw): Swap the armchair for an Olympic white-water course and a canopy adventure.
- [A royal spa and a king's fund](https://northaw.uk/blog/a-royal-spa-and-a-kings-fund): How James I enclosed Northaw Common and Charles II's courtiers came to take the waters.
- [Gardens, farms and a vineyard: a slow day near Northaw](https://northaw.uk/blog/gardens-farms-and-vineyards): Show gardens, rare breeds and London's only commercial organic vineyard.
- [Wild Northaw: the Great Wood through the seasons](https://northaw.uk/blog/wild-northaw): Hornbeam gold, fungi, butterflies and frosty rides: when to go and what to look for.
- [The people who make Northaw](https://northaw.uk/blog/the-people-of-northaw): Volunteers, innkeepers and neighbours: the life behind the picture-postcard green.
- [Where to eat and drink in Northaw](https://northaw.uk/blog/northaws-pubs): A Tudor inn, a restored Stuart coaching house and a pub with an airship story.
- [Northaw with kids](https://northaw.uk/blog/northaw-with-kids): Woodland trails, airship tales and adventure camps.
- [Five walks from Northaw](https://northaw.uk/blog/five-walks-from-northaw): Ancient woods, brooks and a ridge-top village.
- [Where to stay near Northaw](https://northaw.uk/blog/where-to-stay-near-northaw-guide): Country-house hotels and handy town bases.
- [Welcome to Visit Northaw](https://northaw.uk/blog/welcome-to-northaw-uk): A ridge-top village, an ancient wood and a thousand years of stories, on London's doorstep.

## Upcoming events
- [Guided autumn colour walk](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/autumn-colour-walk): A slow walk through the hornbeams of the Great Wood at their most golden. (14 November 2026, 10:00am, Northaw Great Wood car park, The Ridgeway)
- [Carols on the green](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/carols-on-the-green): Lanterns, carols and mulled drinks on Northaw's village green. (13 December 2026, 4:00pm, Northaw village green)
- [New Year's Day walk](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/new-years-day-walk): Blow away the cobwebs in the Great Wood, finishing at the pub. (1 January 2027, 10:30am, Two Brewers, Northaw)
- [Talk: the restoration of Stagmere](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/stagmere-restoration-talk): An evening talk on the estate's history and the plans to open the house. (21 January 2027, 7:30pm, Northaw (venue to be confirmed))
- [Great Wood volunteer day](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/great-wood-volunteer-day): Help the Friends of Northaw Great Wood with coppicing and ride clearance. Tools provided. (7 February 2027, 10:00am, Northaw Great Wood)
- [Dawn chorus walk](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/dawn-chorus-walk): Hear the woodland birds wake up. Early start, big reward. (2 May 2027, 5:00am, Northaw Great Wood)
- [Northaw summer fête](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/northaw-village-fete): Stalls, games, teas and music on the green. (19 June 2027, 12:00pm, Northaw village green)
- [Stagmere opening weekend (planned)](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/stagmere-opening-weekend): The first public weekend at the restored manor house, with tours, lakeside walks and a village fair. (3 July 2027, 10:00am, Stagmere, Northaw)
- [SL11 anniversary remembrance](https://northaw.uk/whats-on/sl11-anniversary): A short act of remembrance at the Leefe Robinson memorial on the anniversary of 3 September 1916. (3 September 2027, 11:00am, East Ridgeway, Cuffley)

## Pages
- [The history of Northaw: a wood, a ridge and a thousand years of stories](https://northaw.uk/history): From St Albans Abbey's great wood to Tudor earls, a royal fund, a fashionable spa and a burning airship.
- [Privacy and affiliate links](https://northaw.uk/privacy): How we handle data and how this site is funded.
- [About Northaw.uk](https://northaw.uk/about): Who we are and why we made this guide.
- [Where to stay near Northaw](https://northaw.uk/stay): Country-house hotels in the woods and inns in the towns around the village.

## Optional
- [Full text of every page](https://northaw.uk/llms-full.txt)
- [Sitemap](https://northaw.uk/sitemap.xml)
- [RSS feed](https://northaw.uk/feed.xml)