Hertfordshire

Lee Valley White Water Centre

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Attraction | "Make A Splash"

Rafting Photo - Lee Valley White Water Centre, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire

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I am fortunate enough to live near the new White Water Centre in Lee Valley, Herts that was built for the 2012 Olympics. As part of the legacy policy of the Games the course is open to the public. You can learn and practice canoeing and kayaking here, as well as try white-water rafting. I had tried rafting elsewhere and loved it, so was very keen to have a go. Some friends went in September, but I was booked to go with some other friends in October, so went along to watch them to see what it was like and then took the plunge myself.The Centre is approximately 10 minutes walk from Waltham Cross rail station (trains from Liverpool St in London) or if you drive, there is a car parking on s...Read More

I am fortunate enough to live near the new White Water Centre in Lee Valley, Herts that was built for the 2012 Olympics. As part of the legacy policy of the Games the course is open to the public. You can learn and practice canoeing and kayaking here, as well as try white-water rafting. I had tried rafting elsewhere and loved it, so was very keen to have a go. Some friends went in September, but I was booked to go with some other friends in October, so went along to watch them to see what it was like and then took the plunge myself.

The Centre is approximately 10 minutes walk from Waltham Cross rail station (trains from Liverpool St in London) or if you drive, there is a car parking on site (as well as overflow parking when events are on) and the centre is close to the M25/A10 junction.

I made the initial booking on-line with my credit card, but when we wanted to add extra people to our party I booked by phone to make sure our booking was linked and we could share a raft (they can’t guarantee this unless you have nine people). I didn’t find it easy to get hold of anyone by phone having to leave messages, so I recommend booking on-line if you can. The seven of us were booked for a 4pm slot on a cold and wet Saturday in October, and were advised to get there for 3.30pm. There is a café on site selling snacks, hot drinks and alcohol. You are not allowed to drink alcohol before going rafting/kayaking.

At 3.45pm we were all called together and giving basic tips about wearing wetsuits and equipment that we needed (all provided). The wetsuits come in various sizes and you are also provided with boots, a helmet and a life vest. As it was particularly cold we also got a cagoule and gloves, which the friends who went a month before didn't have. We got changed as quickly as we could, and helped each other into the wetsuits, as they are hard to do up by yourself. I would also advise going to the loo before putting the wetsuit on! They have lavatories and communal changing rooms (two female, three male) with showers. They can get quite busy though. Under my wetsuit I wore my swimming costume, they advise against wearing T-shirts as they just get wet and make you colder, and don’t insulate you like the wetsuit does. The lockers are free and are set by a code of your choice. You just have to remember the code and your locker number; otherwise you are in for a cold wait in the corridor.

Wet -suited up we then headed outside to meet our raft guide Jorge, who ensured out helmets and life vests were all tightened correctly and gave us a short briefing. If you can swim and have no health problems you wear a blue helmet. Non-swimmers and those with health problems (one of our party had asthma) wear a yellow one, so if you should end up in the water, the guide and the marshals know who to pull out first.

The raft was outside the centre on concrete, when my friends did it previously they did the training on the water, but as it was cold, we stayed on dry land, and Jorge went through the strokes and instructions, as well as the drill for pulling someone out of the water correctly. We then put the raft on the water and paddled around the corner towards the course. Here we got out the boat and Jorge went through the drill again if you fall into the water. We then had a swim test where you have to jump into the water and float down the course before swimming out. Getting out was quite a challenge as the current meant I was staying still, no matter how hard I swam against it! In reality you would float until you caught a rope from a marshal or got to calm waters, if you were too far from the boat.

From here we paddled to the uphill conveyor belt that took us to the top of the course, and we commenced the first of our practice runs. We didn't paddle much for the practice runs, Jorge steered the boat from the back and we went with the flow of the water. The early rapids aren't too vicious, but the later ones mean those at the front do get a face-full of water. They swap the seat positions on the raft around on the conveyor belt so everyone can have a chance of being at the front if they want. Some didn't want to, but I found it quite exhilarating.

When we went down properly, we paddled through the rapids and Jorge attempted to get us to turn and surf the rapids more, with varying levels of success. We did seem to spend quite a bit of time paddling in circles. There are several sets of rapids to go down – the course is man-made, so there are plastic blocks to generate the rapids, and it all seems very clean. At points around the course are marshals with ropes that keep an eye on the safety aspect and may ask a raft to wait, if a raft ahead is having difficulty. I felt completely safe at all times. No one in our raft actually fell out, but I have seen it happen when my friends were doing it previously. Sometimes the bemused person is drifting off with the force of the water unable to hear the marshals, but as they followed their training no harm came to them, and the marshals pulled others out of the water. To be honest it looked most fun just to ‘ride’ the rapids, but I guess that isn't great for health & safety.

In our two hour slot (which included training) we managed to get round six times, but I know at busier (warmer!) times it would normally be less than that. There were about four other rafts going round the 160m course at the same time as us. Naturally you get wet, and the the swell can be powerful and hard to row against, but I loved the challenge and we had lots of laughs as we went round.

Back at the centre there are buckets for your boots, gloves and wet suits. The changing rooms are still busy but showers are hot. Afterwards we all met in the café for a warm drink or a beer and some chips. They also do wine, sandwiches and crisps.

The cost was the activity was £49 per person. You must be over 14, and under 18s need a parent or guardian to sign. It you book a raft for nine people, and then you get a drinks voucher to the value of £50.00.

Do I recommend it – absolutely! I had a brilliant time and there were lots of laughs. Yes, I got wet and cold, but that is to be expected. I will definitely go again in the spring when the weather turns warmer again. The facility seems very well run, and is clean and efficient, and this can be enjoyed by experienced rafter as well as being a great introduction for the beginner.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 12, 2012

Lee Valley White Water Centre
Station Road
Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire EN9 1AB
08456 770 606

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Sazio Harpenden

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Restaurant | "Super Sazio"

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On a recent visit to see my boyfriend's brother, we went for lunch at Sazio, an Italian restaurant in Harpenden High Street which they had both been to before and enjoyed. As you go in the restaurant has a light, airy feel to it, with leather clad sofas and casual tables in a smart bar area, and some tables for dining over to the right. We were seated upstairs, the general décor is modern yet discreet with a lot of cream, sage green and a green-beige finish to the leather chairs and plain or classically patterned walls. There was plenty of light from the windows and a number of large mirrors to make the room feel very spacious.We were seated by the window, and brought some menus. The...Read More

On a recent visit to see my boyfriend's brother, we went for lunch at Sazio, an Italian restaurant in Harpenden High Street which they had both been to before and enjoyed. As you go in the restaurant has a light, airy feel to it, with leather clad sofas and casual tables in a smart bar area, and some tables for dining over to the right. We were seated upstairs, the general décor is modern yet discreet with a lot of cream, sage green and a green-beige finish to the leather chairs and plain or classically patterned walls. There was plenty of light from the windows and a number of large mirrors to make the room feel very spacious.

We were seated by the window, and brought some menus. They had a good value lunch menu available Monday-Saturday with a main course for £5.95 which included about 10 dishes – 7 pastas and 3 pizzas which included two veggie options. It is certainly a good deal, but we decided to go for the wider selection off the a la carte menu. We were seated quite a while chatting before our drinks orders were taken, and we did have a bit of a wait for them to come before we could give our food order.

For starters I ordered the bruschetta (£4.90), whilst others had Insalata di Capra (Goat's Cheese salad at £5.50) and Insalata Tricolore (£4.90). There was a little wait until they arrived. I thought the portions to be quite generous for starters and certainly my bruschetta was towering with toppings. There were lots of chunks of fresh tomato mixed with finely chopped red onion and garlic in olive oil on a single piece of ciabatta. It was very generous, but I think an extra piece of ciabatta would have been nice to mix in with the zillions of over-flowing tomato chunks. The Tricolore salad had good sized pieces of mozzarella and avocado with chunky slices of beef tomatoes and a few black olives. The goats cheese salad was described as 'very good', the cheese was roasted, and served with pine nuts, tomato, crostini and balsamic and salad leaves. It certainly looked nice and is on my mental list to try for myself should we return.

Our mains were all pasta based, although they do a range of grilled meats (steaks, veal, calves liver) and fish dishes from £12.90. The pizza selections looked to be varied also, starting at a competitive £7.10 for the Margaretia. I chose the Ravioli di Spinaci (£8.50) which was spinach and ricotta stuffed fresh pasta ravioli (one side traditional pasta, the other side spinach pasta, which I thought was a nice touch) it was served in a white wine, tomato and basil sauce. The sauce was not to rich and the basil flavour quite mild, I appreciated this subtlety as basil can sometimes over power a dish if used to excess and I think they got it just right. The boys both had Linguine Salmone (£9.90) which was linguine with salmon and prawns in a creamy sauce, I was informed that is tasted very nice and the sauce wasn't too rich.

I visited the first floor toilets (I believe there are ground floor ones also), and there are two spacious cubicles, which are clean and well decorated in the same scheme as the rest of the restaurant. At first I thought that the taps didn't work as I couldn't get any water out – you need to move the lever outwards rather than forward and back which I was trying. There was plenty of liquid soap and a super-power drier (the type that make your hands look mis-shapen).

I thought the service was very good, our server was polite but friendly, carrying three warm plates around a child lying prostrate in the middle of the floor and remembered what everyone ordered without having to ask. We did have to wait a little while for the food, but it was all hot and freshly prepared and suited our easy Saturday lunchtime catch up. Afterwards, the boys had coffees. The total bill for two courses for three people, soft drinks and two coffees came to about £55 which I think is good value, and certainly we would happily return here should another opportunity present itself.

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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on May 15, 2011

Sazio Harpenden
61 High Street
Harpenden, United Kingdom AL5 2SL
01582 462 555

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Paradise Wildlife Park

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Attraction | "A Walk on The Wildside"

Alpaca at Paradise Wildlife Park Photo - Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne, England

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During one of the recent sunny Spring weekends my boyfriend and I decided to visit Paradise Wildlife Park which is near Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. The Park is situated just off the A10, not far from Junction 25 of the M25. It is clearly signposted with brown tourist signs from here so easy to reach if coming by car. They also offer a courtesy mini bus service from Broxbourne Rail Station. We came by car and drove straight in, paid and parked, and then wandered the park. We got a map as we arrived. It cost £16 per adult, and it is £11 for Pensioners and children, plus they do a variety of family tickets and discounts.The park seems to offer a kiddie play area as well as a woodland t...Read More

During one of the recent sunny Spring weekends my boyfriend and I decided to visit Paradise Wildlife Park which is near Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. The Park is situated just off the A10, not far from Junction 25 of the M25. It is clearly signposted with brown tourist signs from here so easy to reach if coming by car. They also offer a courtesy mini bus service from Broxbourne Rail Station. We came by car and drove straight in, paid and parked, and then wandered the park. We got a map as we arrived. It cost £16 per adult, and it is £11 for Pensioners and children, plus they do a variety of family tickets and discounts.

The park seems to offer a kiddie play area as well as a woodland trail and railway, amongst other activities. We didn't really explore this aspect of the park as we had come to see the animals. I do think this park is geared up for families, so kids would have plenty to occupy them. There are a number of food/drink options, such as a Diner offering sit down meals – mainly the Hot Dog or Jacket Potato variety, plus a few snack or drink kiosks. There is a nice coffee shop by the Tigers too. There are some picnic areas also.

The Park is not large and the wildlife section seems a bit random as to its layout – for example the meerkats are next to the penguins. During our visit we saw a number of fellow visitors who had animal encounters, which can be purchased from the park. A half hour penguin or meerkat feed was about £99 (ouch!), but everyone seemed to have a lovely day.

On our map it indicated that there was soon to be a penguin talk so we decided to start there. The penguins are African penguins, so quite small and there were about ten of them swimming in their lovely clear pool and popping out for a walk as the mood took them. You can look at them at ground level, or climb up some steps to look down on their enclosure. The keeper gave a short but informative talk on them, and answered questions.

There are two meerkat enclosures, but we spent the most time at the one by the penguins, and you can see them quite well from the upper penguin viewing platform. Again there was someone having an encounter and feeding them, but no official talk. However as you are close to them we could hear what the keeper was saying to the lucky visitor. Apparently the meerkats only trusted the visitor as the keeper was with him, and they showed their trust by sitting in their food bowl whilst the visitor was holding it (he was sat on a rock) and by climbing on their keeper's shoulder and grooming his hair for potential bugs! As soon as anything flew overhead they ducked down and once fed, one of them climbed their mock anthill home to keep watch for incoming predators. There is a little kiddie sized tunnel under the enclosure, allowing kids to stand in the middle (under cover) and view the meerkats.

Also near here are the wallabies, these were mostly sunning themselves, and we did spot one with a joey in her pouch. The tapirs and zebras were busy eating and again can be viewed from an upper platform. I think this is a well thought out touch by the park, allowing you to get a good view of animals that either climb or tend not to linger too close to the fence. The wolves however, were quite good at hiding, those that were awake at least, we spotted one having a mid-afternoon snooze in the shade. The lions has worked out the best place to lay that allowed them to be concealed by the upper platform, but we could see them through the glass wall at ground level. He-lion was kipping, but the lioness got up and moved about briefly before returning to the important stuff of kipping some more. When we went passed later on the way to the alpacas, he-lion was more alert and I got a couple of good photos.

There is a rainforest house here, representing the Amazon and it is hot and humid here with lots of water dripping (be careful of cameras), and it was a bit stuffy and stinky, not everyone seemed to like it. Here there were Amazonian reptiles, frogs and similar. I think the sloth was here too. There is another small Touan house – I wasn't so impressed with this – there was one toucan, some noisy birds of paradise, some tortoises in their shells (to escape the noisy birds I suspect), and some bats in a corner.

There are not a great deal of primates here, there were some gibbons at the bottom, near the penguins, they had two lovely large enclosures, as well as little private huts for sleeping in which we could see into. There was a slightly raised platform that you could walk along to see them swinging. There is also a mirrored door in the enclosure (presumably for keeper access) which fascinated them. This was another example of how well designed the enclosures were, with lots of different levels and things for the animals to climb/sleep on and keep them active and entertained.

The big cat area is also well designed with a high platform with various access points to view the cats who have climbed to various parts of their enclosures. The lions aren't in this section though, they are elsewhere. The snow leopard was another animal that had worked out the best place to sit to confuse visitors – right up against the window of the upper viewing platform. There is a big jungle type cage holding the jaguars – a spotty one and a black one. Here we bumped into someone who had done the Big Cat Keeper experience, and he raved about it, having picked up lots of anecdotes about the cats, such as how the black jaguar, the most dangerous resident, uses her dark coat to hide in the shadows to try and jump out at the keepers. A nearby crying child was of great interest to her also, presumably for a mid afternoon snack. All the big cats were behind thick mesh bars (two lots in the case of the jaguar), and there was a wooden fence. Some were behind glass. I found it quite easy to take photos of the animals as you were not too far away, plus I had a good zoom to cope with the less obliging residents. The enclosures seemed a good size for the animals – there were usually only 2-3 big cats per enclosure – although there was one cheetah that had a smaller enclosure. There was a notice explaining why: she was rescued from another zoo where she had a much smaller enclosure, moving her straight into a larger enclosure had scared and distressed her, so they are gradually expanding her space to keep her calm and comfortable. She still had lots of branches and trees to climb on and a little box with a window that visitors could look into, where she could have a quiet snooze. I had a peak at her through the window – because the sun was shining on it, I put my hands up either side of my face to block any reflection – only to find the cheetah staring straight back out the window at me, about a foot away! We also caught the big cat feed and talk.

As we were leaving the lemurs who had been having a post lunch nap and a sedate mooch about when we went past earlier were getting livelier. There seemed to be a kind of lemur domestic going on, which involved a lot of shrieking and angry swinging and jumping. There are also reptiles, red pandas, and reindeer in the park.

All in all we really enjoyed our afternoon, yes it is pricey, but the animals and the park were clean and well kept, the animals seemed content, and we felt the information plaques on each animal were generally informative. As small as it is, they have a good selection although traditional zoo favourites like elephants, hippos and giraffes aren't here, presumably as they would need such a large enclosure. If you are in the area, especially with the family, then I do recommend this for a day out. If, like us, you are visiting as couple of a group of adults, then you will probably be able to do the Wildlife section in 3-4 hours easily, including catching a couple of talks. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 11, 2011

Paradise Wildlife Park
White Stubbs Lane
Broxbourne, Hertfordshire EN10 7QA
+44 1992 470490

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