It’s back! Your chance to WIN free tickets to attractions across Hertfordshire! What are we talking about? The Herts Big Weekend, of course! If you’re a Hertfordshire resident, now is the perfect chance to take a look at some of this year’s fantastic offers and free tickets that just so happen to be right on your doorstep. All you have to do is enter the ballot before 6th March and you and a lucky friend could be heading off for a Herts Big Weekend treat on 4th-5th April.
Some of the county’s biggest attractions are offering tickets in this year’s event, but we’re taking a look at some of the smaller hidden gems throughout the county. Go on, now’s the perfect chance to uncover them!
Rye-Assic Adventure Park
Put your name in the hat for this fantastic offer and you could be treating the whole family to a wild day out as they’re offering tickets for the kids with free adult entry! With six adventure zones to explore and pre-historic creatures to be found, this is the perfect day for your little adventurers.
Pump House Theatre Watford
Drama Kings and Queens, it’s your time to shine. Transformed into a theatre, The old pumping station in Watford is opening its doors for an exclusive back stage tour for 40 lucky people. Tread the boards and learn about the history of this intriguing 1854 building, before retiring for an intermission of tea of cake.
Aylett Nurseries
Tea for two? Don’t mind if we do! Surrounded by plant houses of fuchsias, dahlias, geraniums and a whole host of other spring beauties, Aylett Nurseries’ Dahlia Coffee House is the perfect spot for an afternoon tea. Enter the ballot and you and a friend could tuck into home-made sandwiches, delicious cakes and scones with cream for the ultimate (FREE!) treat.
Weston Auditorium
Kick back and listen The de Havilland Phillharmonic Orchestra as they present Bruch’s Violin Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 within the Weston Auditorium. With a very large orchestra made up of five flutes, four oboes, five clarinets, strings, a full brass section and four bassoons (phew, that’s one big stage), you can certainly expect an impressive performance!
Natural History Museum Tring
If you live in Hertfordshire and you haven’t visited our very own Natural History Museum yet, you’d best get down there! Connected with the Natural History Museum in London, Hertfordshire’s very own impressive collection is an absolute gem. Enter the Big Weekend ballot and you could find yourself on your very own private tour, with specimen handling and a behind the scenes peek at the life of founder Walter Rothschild.
Hertfordshire County Show
Ten lucky winners and their families could win free tickets to the Hertfordshire County Show on 23rd and 24th May! Bag yourself a family ticket and you’ll get a full day of entertainment, with farmyard frolics, foodie finds and jaw-dropping displays. Plus, as you won’t have to pay a penny for your ticket, you can even do a little guilt-free shopping in the brand new “Etsy Hertfordshire” marquee (we won’t tell if you don’t).
Ware and Hertford Waterbus
“Oh yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.” Well, not quite, but step aboard the Waterbus and you’ll soon be cruising along the picturesque flood plains of the River Lee. Relax, keep an eye out for the range of wildlife and enjoy this three and half hour return tour from historic Ware to beautiful Hertford. Trust us, five minute’s aboard and you’ll be so relaxed you’ll soon wish you could wave goodbye to dry land a while longer.
Royston Cave
Remember when we said the Herts Big Weekend was a great chance to uncover some hidden gems? This little gem was first discovered by accident! Cut 25ft into chalk, this intriguing underground hideaway has been baffling visitors for centuries. Look out for extensive carvings of goddesses, Pagan symbols and even the hand of God as you wander this wonder, which contained a human skull when it was discovered in 1742! Was it the Knights Templars, King James I or the Freemasons who created it? Nobody knows for sure, but it certainly has a tale or two to tell.