Area Guide: Fleetville

Fleetville is a popular bustling area of St Albans, which is well placed between Oaklands and the city station and town centre.

There are many shops and amenities including several schools and pubs, takeaways, cafes and a play park making it an ideal residence for families.

Shopping

A big Morrisons supermarket and a smaller but well-stocked Tesco Express are handy in Fleetville and there are several independent shops, including newsagents and licensed minimarket grocery stores.

St Albans town centre is a 10 to 15-minute walk away and is packed with large chain stores, such as Marks and Spencer, H&M and Wilkinson, and more specialist boutiques, gift shops and the popular market on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Luton and London are all within reasonable distance and offer extended shopping opportunities, which can be accessed via car, bus or train.

Transport links

Two train stations serve St Albans, with the city station a short walk from Fleetville providing direct routes to and from London and Luton, Brighton to Bedfordshire and beyond. It’s around 20 minutes on the train to central London and trains run every few minutes at peak times. St Albans Abbey station is a single-track line to Watford Junction station.

The M25, the M1 and A1(M) are very close by, meaning easy driving north and south and for commuting or travelling to airports.

Food and drink

The Rats Castle is popular among locals. It serves a range of cask ales as standard and has at least one guest ale. It is situated on the corner of Sutton Road on Hatfield Road.

The Crown pub is a charming pub with character and has a full menu, including homemade burgers, Sunday roasts and cake and coffee mornings. Drinks such as an extensive selection of rare premium spirits, real ales, new craft beers and fine wines are on sale.

Little cafés, eateries and takeaways in Fleetville include popular Tea for Two at the Fleetville Vintage Emporium, Fleetville Café and Chinese Express. There is and a brilliant fish and chip shop on the corner of Sutton Road.

Thai, Indian, Chinese and Italian cuisine can be found in the town centre where there are hundreds of coffee shops, cafes and pubs to choose a vast array of food and drink

Housing

It is made up of a mix of housing, mostly terraced houses, semi-detached or detached three-bed family homes with gardens. Most of the housing on Brampton Road, Woodstock Road and Jennings Road are Victorian or Edwardian. There are some apartments above the shops on Hatfield Road and newer purpose-built flats in blocks towards the station.

Schools

Fleetville Infants and Junior Schools are on either side of Hatfield Road and there is a nursery. The school was rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Camp Primary and Nursery School was acknowledged to be ‘good’ at its latest Ofsted inspection.

Verulam School is a boys’ secondary school with academy status. A small number of girls attend in the sixth form. It was founded in 1738. Now it is a technology college with an emphasis on maths, science and technology.

There are several other ‘outstanding’ and ‘good’ primary and secondary schools surrounding Fleetville, which families might be allocated if their closest schools are oversubscribed.

Sport and leisure

Westminster Lodge is a local council-run recently developed pool, gym and leisure centre, which runs a multitude of fitness classes, and sports sessions for all ages, including children. It has a small soft play centre, café and baby pool with features for youngsters. It is within walking distance of Fleetville.

Nuffield Health is a private gym requiring membership, which is a five-minute drive from Fleetville and boasts health experts from personal trainers to physiotherapists and physiologists to help you get fit. It has a squash club and courts, offers swimming lessons and nutritional therapy. There is a day nursery for children.

Fleetville Community Centre in Royal Road runs a number of clubs and facilities for families, and is a meeting point which is open seven days a week. With two large halls and three smaller rooms, it has a well-equipped kitchen for meal preparation and is available for party hire and other purposes. It is a single-storey building with easy access and toilets for people with disabilities.