Leisure time in Watford

Watford is also a regional centre for leisure and recreation, with first class football and rugby teams in Watford FC and Saracens Rugby Union team.

Both teams play at Vicarage Road, which has a capacity of over 22,000, and is situated in the heart of the town. The ground is at the heart of an exciting new development in West Watford, known as the Health Campus.

You can find out more about this project by visiting http://www.watfordhealthcampus.org/

Watford is home to the newly refurbished Palace Theatre – the only producing theatre in the region.

The theatre produces nine shows a year, as well as a variety of one-off productions. In addition, the Pump House Theatre caters for fringe and amateur productions, as well as providing a local jazz music venue.

The Watford Colosseum is a multi-purpose venue that attracts a broad range of events and functions and is home to the BBC Concert Orchestra for 90 days a year.

A number of major film soundtracks, including those for the Lord of the Rings, have been recorded there. One end of the town centre has been developed as a "café quarter", where there is a wide range of restaurants, bars and clubs, catering for a growing population at the weekend.

There is a cinema on the outskirts of town, and plans are in development to build a town centre cinema as part of the wider plans for the town.

Although Watford is a predominantly urban area, it is home to Cassiobury Park, covering 190 acres of grassy areas and woodland.

The park contains part of the River Gade and the Grand Union Canal, and also includes small sports pitches and a putting green, and children’s facilities such as a miniature railway and paddling pools.

There are other open spaces in the town, such as Garston Park and Alban Wood, meaning that the town is lucky in having such a good combination of urban facilities and green spaces. Click here for more information.

As well as being a good place to watch sport, Watford has good sports facilities available for residents to use.

There are a number of private gyms in the town, and work has just begun to redevelop two existing leisure centres, owned by Watford Borough Council, into state of the art complexes, each providing swimming, gym and fitness class facilities, amongst other things.



Find out more and track progress via the webcams.