Welwyn Garden City is one of England's finest examples of a new town. It takes its name from Welwyn, a separate village situated several miles north of the new town.

The new town was developed in 1920 by Sir Ebenezer Howard, the residential and industrial areas are laid out along tree-lined boulevards with a neo-Georgian town centre which offers excellent shopping facilities. The development of the town followed Ebenezer Howard's first Garden City, Letchworth, in 1903.

Welwyn Garden City is situated between Hatfield and Stevenage, just east of the A1(M) motorway. The River Lee flows past the south side of the town on its way to Hertford.

The town offers excellent modern shopping, comprising mainly of the modern Howard Centre indoor shopping centre, a large John Lewis department store a few hundred metres away from the Howard Centre.

The industrial and business parks are home to some top companies, including Xerox, Tesco and Roche. "Shreaded Wheat" breakfast cereal is also manufactured in the town, which can sometimes explain the pleasant aroma in the air!

Residential areas are modern, with older houses on "The West Side" and newer houses on the East Side of the main boulevard that runs through the town.

There are two golf courses in the town, with more just outside. It was here that Nick Faldo learnt the game and his name can be seen on the walls of a number of clubhouses in the area.

Gosling Sports Centre offers excellent facilities including dry ski slope, golf driving range, indoor and outdoor tennis, squash, football pitches, an athletics track, a gym and bowls. For walks and water sports, visit the nearby Stanborough Lakes.

You can visit the Roman Baths which are preserved in a steel vault underneath junction 6 of the A1(M).