This page describes routes between public transport and Watford High Street.
Our route takes us from the main entrance, across Station Road, then along Clarendon Road into the High Street. See the buses section of this page for details of buses serving Watford Junction station
Describe Online has published a guide to Watford Junction Station
As you leave the main entrance, turn right and follow the building round the corner to your right and continue till you find the entrance road to the car park. Turn left here and go up the slope to Station Road, then move to your left to locate the crossing. This is a silent crossing with no rotating cones.
Cross Station Road and turn left, pass railings to your left, into Clarendon Road. Continue to Shady Lane, which joins Clarendon Road from your right. Following tactile paving, to avoid an island in the middle, cross Shady Lane and continue to the crossroads with St. Johns Road. This crossing has a rotating cone and push button to your right.
Cross St. Johns Road and continue, along Clarendon Road. You'll find the pavement sloping down into the subway under Beechen Grove. Continue, through the subway and follow the path, right, then left (180 degrees) sloping up to street level. Continue forward a few metres from the top of the slope, to locate the kerb, then turn right into Clarendon Road. Continue, passing the Palace Theatre on your left, into the High Street.
Our route takes us along Clarendon Road to the roundabout outside Watford Junction Station, where we cross Station Road and make our way to the entrance.
Clarendon Road leads northwest, away from the High Street.
Follow the left-hand side of Clarendon Road till you reach the main road ahead of you. This is Beechen Grove. Turn left here and follow the pavement, which slopes down into the subway. Turn right (180 degrees) and continue to the bottom of the slope before turning left, under Beechen Grove.
Go up the slope and continue, along Clarendon road to the crossroads, St. Johns Road. This crossing has a push button and rotating cone to your right. Cross St. Johns Road and continue, along Clarendon road, to the next junction, Shady Lane.
Cross Shady Lane, following the tactile paving to avoid an island in the middle of the road and continue, past the railings on your right. You're now in Station Road.
Locate the crossing to your right. This is a silent crossing with no rotating cone. Cross Station Road, then turn left and continue to the kerb (of the car park entrance road) before turning right. Continue, down the slope till you locate the station building. Turn right here and follow the building round to your left to locate the entrance. Beware the pillar jutting out just before you reach the station entrance.
Describe Online has published a guide to Watford Junction Station
Our route takes us from the station entrance, up the slope towards the ring road, from the top of the slope, we make three road crossings to reach the High Street.
Describe Online has published a guide to Watford High Street Station
Leave the booking hall and follow the wall on your left. You can either turn left, up one step through the first turning, or continue to the kerb before turning left up the slope.
Go up the slope and, at the top, locate the crossing to your right. This crossing, with push button and rotating cone to your right, takes you over the lane from the Lower High Street into the ring road, traffic comes from your right.
Cross to the island, bear right and locate the crossing in front of you. This crossing, with push button and rotating cone to your right, takes you across the bus lanes between the Lower High street and the High Street. Cross both these lanes, separated by tactile paving in a central reservation, onto the island, then turn left.
Locate the crossing of the ring road, in front of you. This crossing has the push button and rotating cone to your right. Cross the ring road, to the right-hand side of the High Street. If you want the left-hand side, there's a traffic light controlled crossing to your left, though it may be easier to go some way along the High Street before crossing, where it's a bit quieter.
Our route takes us from the High Street, across the ring road, then Lower High Street and down the slope to the station entrance.
The ring road should only be crossed from the left-hand side of the High Street. There's a traffic light controlled crossing a few metres from the junction, though you may find it easier to cross the High Street some distance from here, where things are a bit quieter.
Locate the kerb for the ring road, then move left to locate the crossing. This crossing has a push button and rotating cone to your left. You cross onto the triangular island between the left turn from the ring road and buses leaving the High Street.
Turn right and cross the two middle lanes, with tactile paving between them, onto the triangular island between the bus lane and left turn from the Lower High Street. The push button and rotating cone for this crossing are to your right.
The island between the bus lane and left turn from the Lower High Street has a lamp post and road sign on two posts, before you reach the crossing to which you bear left. The push button and rotating cone for this crossing are to your left.
Having crossed this lane, continue down the slope to the wall which extends from the booking hall. Either go down one step (through the gap) or slope (following the kerb on your left) before turning right into the booking hall.
Describe Online has published a guide to Watford High Street Station
Our route takes us from the station entrance, along Cassiobury Park Avenue and Rickmansworth Road to the Town Hall where we take the subway into the High Street. There is an alternative route, through Cassiobury Park, which may be shorter, though the route given here is easier to describe and follows obvious paths.
Describe Online has published a guide to Watford Metropolitan Line Station
Leave the station, turn left and go to the end of the building, the pavement slopes down towards Cassiobury Park Avenue which you cross and turn right.
There's a bus stop to your right, after a few metres, for buses W14 into central Watford (hourly service 20 past the hour). The return stop is about 30 to 40 metres beyond (west) of the station.
Continue (east) along Cassiobury Park Avenue, cross Shepherds Road, which is actually the entrance to Cassiobury Park on this side of the avenue. Continue to the main road Rickmansworth Road, there are railings on the outer edge of the pavement, turn left, northeast.
As you pass Cassiobury park, on your left, there's a bus stop on your right, (no information at the time of our survey, suggest W14 service mentioned above).
There's a phone box to your left, about 20 metres beyond the bus stop, after another ten metres, there are two bollards in the pavement. The pavement veers left, away from the road, you now share the pavement with a cycle track - keep left, there's a slightly raised line in the pavement separating these two facilities.
You now pass the park fence on your left before crossing Cassiobury Drive, the end of which is blocked by bollards. Beyond the bollards is a low wall, before which is the access to the subway towards Cassio Road. This is not a good way into the town. We suggest you keep this wall to your left and continue along the pavement at road level.
You go up a slight slope before Watford Town Hall on your left, a step jutting out from the left of the pavement indicates the entrance to the Colosseum, up 5 steps, before a dividing rail (beyond rail it's six steps) a series of double doors is in front of you. A wheelchair access ramp runs down, southwest from the entrance and joins the pavement southwest of the steps.
The entrance to the Civic part of the Town Hall is on the northeast side of the building. Continue beyond the building, then turn left up six steps, curving left, up one more step to the entrance. These steps run across the entrance to the building which is concave, whilst the outer edge of the steps is convex.
Continuing, past the foot of the steps, following the building round to your left brings you onto a ramp, go up this to the one stop shop entrance with automatic doors to your left at the top. There are nine steps down in front of this entrance.
To find the subway into the High Street, having passed the Colosseum, continue, following the building to your left, up a slight slope. There's a bike rack to your left, before the steps to the Town Hall entrance. Follow the steps round to your left to the wall which curves right. There are three bike racks jutting out from the wall before you reach the corner. Follow the pavement round to your left, you pass a bush to your left before the pavement slopes down. At this point, there's a bollard on your right, a few metres beyond this are the steps to the subway going down to your right (northeast).
Go down 22 steps, northeast into the subway.
Note that there's a slope continuing northwest from the subway which emerges
opposite the steps entrance to the One Stop Shop and that the northeast half of the subway is occupied by a two-way cycle track.
The subway slopes down, the doors to the ladies, then gents toilets are on your right
before the slope up. There are steps up from each side of the subway to street level,
or you can continue,up the slope into the
High Street. There are water gardens with fountains in front of you to your left. You're on the right (southwest) side of the High Street at the northwest end.
Note that the cycle track continues, bounded by slight tactile paving, in the middle
of the pavement down this side of the High Street.
Our route takes us from the northwest end of the High Street, through the subway underneath Rickmansworth Road, past the Town Hall, along Rickmansworth Road till we turn right into Cassiobury Park Avenue which runs past the station.
As you approach the end of the High Street, going northwest, you'll either find yourself on Rickmansworth Road, which runs across the end of the High Street, or going down the slope into the subway. If you reach Rickmansworth Road, turn back for a few metres and move towards the middle of the High Street, you'll either find the rail round the entrance to the subway or the steps down. You can either go down the steps and turn, down the slope, under Rickmansworth Road, or go round the end of the rail and down the slope into the subway.
As you reach the foot of the downward slope and go up again, you pass the door to the gents then ladies toilets to your left. Beyond these, on your left, are the 22 steps up to the pavement outside the Town Hall. You can either go up these, continue to the building, turn left and follow it round to your right into Rickmansworth Road, or carry on (northwest) up the slope, turn left and follow the building round to your right.
Having turned right (southwest) into Rickmansworth Road, continue, down the slope. The pavement retreats from the road and you pass a wall guarding the subway towards Cassio Road to your right. Keep this wall to your right and continue, across the entrance to Cassiobury Drive. You pass two bollards in the pavement, followed by a phone box to your right and bus stop, with shelter, to your left. A few metres beyond the bus shelter is the turning right into Cassiobury Park Avenue.
Turn right into Cassiobury Park Avenue (west) and continue, across Shepherds Road. Some distance beyond this, you pass a bus stop, with shelter, to your left. This is probably the best landmark for locating the station. Continue, to the dropped kerb then cross Cassiobury Park Avenue to the station forecourt. Turn left (southeast) and follow the building on your right to locate the entrance doors.
Describe Online has published a Guide to Watford Metropolitan Line Station
The following were identified at the time of our survey - February 2003.
Stops M and N are on an island pavement between the southwest side of Beechen Grove and a bus lane which runs by the pavement along the northeast side of Charter Place and the Harlequin Centre. As you leave the passage from the northwest end of Charter Place facing northeast towards Beechen Grove, bear slightly right to locate tactile paving leading to the crossing of the bus lane (traffic coming from your left). Having crossed the bus lane, turn right and follow the pavement. You pass between two pillars supporting a road sign and an empty booth before you reach Stop M - 1, 8, 18 and 350. Continue, past a bin and two benches on your left, to Stop N - 10, 142, 258, 602, B9, W9, W11, W12, W14 and W20. Both of these stops have glass shelters jutting out from your left.
Note that the other (southeast) end of this island has no tactile paving, being near the entrance to the car park. You'd normally reach the island from the passage from Charter Place or the northeast exit from the market, when open.
Note also that emergency (fire) exits from Allders and Argos lead onto the pavement which runs along the southwest side of the bus lane.
To reach the island from the Harlequin Centre, follow the pavement on the northwest side of Queens Road, which curves left past flower beds on your right, into Beechen Grove. Continue, beside the Harlequin Centre across the exit then entrance to the car park, beside Allders, Argos and the market, before you find the exit from Charter Place to your left. You can now locate the tactile paving describe above.
The bus station occupies a bay, southwest of the station building. Stops 1 - 3 are located along the southeast side of the bay, whilst stops 4 - 6 are located on an island pavement along the northwest side. All stops have shelters.
The following buses were identified at the time of our survey.
At the southwest end of the bay is Stop 7, for coach services.