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Hertfordshire is officially in drought and there's no rain in sight, and the risk that comes with it showed up in Waltham Cross itself over the weekend, a grass fire on Sunday burned through 14 hectares alongside the railway line, halting trains to Liverpool Street and shutting the M25 on smoke for hours. It's a reminder that the tinder-dry ground here makes the smallest spark serious, not just somewhere else. On a lighter note, Hertford's newest building is up for the country's top architecture prize, Waltham Cross has a full slate of summer holiday activities for kids and teenagers starting today, and Rock at the Castle drew thousands to Hertford Castle on Sunday for a day of live music.

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The Environment Agency declared Hertfordshire officially in drought on 29 July, one of seven areas of England to be downgraded after one of the driest Julys on record. Affinity Water, which supplies most of the county, has had a hosepipe ban in force since 11 July with no end date announced, meaning no watering gardens, washing cars or filling paddling pools with a hose, and breaching it can cost you up to £1,000. The county council is also asking people to check on older neighbours, babies and anyone with an underlying health condition as the heat continues, since they're most at risk; HertsHelp can arrange support if someone needs it, NHS 111 covers general health concerns, and it's 999 for a suspected heatstroke or an emergency. With the ground this dry, the advice also covers barbecues and cigarette ends specifically, since either can start a wildfire right now. If you're after practical ways to cut your own water and environmental impact while this drags on, that's linked below too.

Read more → · Water-saving tips →

A Level results land Thursday 13 August and GCSE results follow on Thursday 20 August, and Hertfordshire County Council is running free support either way. Services for Young People advisers will be in schools and at young people's centres on both results days offering impartial advice on further and higher education, apprenticeships and jobs, and anyone feeling overwhelmed can also reach Just Talk Hertfordshire for wellbeing support. If you're heading into Year 12 without a clear plan for September, the council's "Get September Ready" sessions and the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal are worth a look too.

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A fire broke out alongside the railway line near Waltham Cross at around 2pm on Sunday 2 August, and by the time it was under control it had burned through roughly 14 hectares of grassland. More than 50 emergency calls came in as smoke drifted over the M25 between junctions 25 and 26, forcing drivers to slow down and prompting the London Fire Brigade to halt all train movements through the area as a precaution; Greater Anglia diverted Liverpool Street services via Seven Sisters while crews worked. The fire itself was out by around 5pm, but the line stayed shut for safety checks until close to 11pm that night. It's a sharp reminder of what the county's drought advice has been warning about: with the ground this dry, it takes very little to start something that shuts down a railway and a motorway for the best part of a day.

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Herts Summer Parks launches today, Tuesday 4 August, at Waltham Cross Playing Fields for 12 to 16 year olds, with inflatables, gaming, football, climbing and a free food voucher at every session. It runs on three Tuesdays only, the 4th, 11th and 18th of August, not every week through the holidays. Register your child's place via the Herts Summer Parks 2026 registration form.

Friends of Cedars Park run a Men's Shed at the park in Waltham Cross aimed at anyone struggling with loneliness or mental health, and they've released a short video of one member, Ray, talking about what the group has meant to him. The group says there's no pressure to join in on anything and everyone is welcome, whatever your reason for turning up. Specific meeting days and times weren't confirmed in what was sent through, so check with Friends of Cedars Parkdirectly before heading down.

Hertford's £30 million theatre and cinema, BEAM, has been shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize, the award for the UK's best new building, alongside five other finalists including an expansion of Pembroke College, Cambridge. RIBA praised the building, which kept the original 1970s Hertford Theatre and added new cinema screens, a studio theatre and a café, as a model for retrofitting old civic buildings rather than replacing them; the winner is announced in October. But the same venue is now a live row at East Herts Council: a predicted £1.8 million profit for 2025/26 has turned into an actual loss of £970,000, and the Conservative group is calling for Cllr Sarah Hopewell, the executive member responsible, to resign over how the finances were handled. The project's cost has also grown well beyond its original 2018 estimate of £13.5 million, with a further £10m and then £6m signed off by successive administrations to get it finished.

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East Herts has confirmed you no longer need special compostable liners for your food waste bin, bread bags, cereal liners and frozen food bags all work, because the plastic is stripped out before the waste goes into the digester. It's a small change meant to keep more food waste out of your general rubbish bin and cut contamination, just don't use black bags, since crews may mistake them for general waste. The council says the push is already working: East Herts residents recycled almost 6,500 tonnes of food waste in the scheme's first year, part of a 36% drop in non-recyclable household waste across East and North Herts combined.

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Rock at the Castle drew thousands to Hertford Castle across three stages of live music on Sunday 2 August, organised by Hertford Town Council. It's already happened by the time this lands in your inbox, so it's excluded from What's On, but it's a strong Picture of the Week candidate if you can source a photo and credit from the organisers.

Every Hertfordshire library, Royston included, has signed up to the Hertfordshire Breastfeeding Friendly scheme, confirmed this week to mark World Breastfeeding Week (1 to 7 August). It means you can breastfeed in any of them without question, and the library service has put together a booklist of picture books and non-fiction titles on the subject alongside the scheme details. Hertfordshire Family Centres are also running three breastfeeding celebration events across the county this week with advice, support and activities, check their events page for locations near you.

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🎉 Little Movers & Big Groovers Family Disco
📍 The Green Room Bar, The Spotlight, Hoddesdon
🗓️ Saturday 15 August 2026
⏰ 2:00pm | 5:00pm
🎟️ Paid ticket, £5 per child, £8 per adult, £22 family ticket (2 adults + 2 children), under-1s free
👉 Learn more: www.thespotlightvenue.com/whats-on/little-movers-big-groovers-family-disco/506

🏃 Herts Summer Parks
📍 Waltham Cross Playing Fields, Waltham Cross
🗓️ Tuesday 4, 11 & 18 August 2026
🎟️ Free entry, with a free food voucher at every session, ages 12 to 16
👉 Learn more: Herts Summer Parks 2026 registration form

🎨 Blast Off Into Space: Solar System Craft Session
📍 Waltham Cross Library, Waltham Cross
🗓️ Tuesday 11 August 2026
⏰ 3:00pm | 4:00pm
🎟️ £4.40 per child, ages 7+, places limited
👉 Learn more: Book in person at the library Enquiry Desk

🐢 6 Weeks of Summer Fun
📍 Cedars Nature Centre, Cedars Park, Theobalds Lane, Waltham Cross EN8 8RU
🗓️ Throughout the summer holidays
🎟️ £2.40 per person, under-2s free
👉 This week: The Big Zoo Quiz, plus My First Pet Club (tortoises)
👉 Learn more: www.cedarsnaturecentre.co.uk

📚 Summer Reading Challenge: Read to the Beat
📍 Hertford Library, Hertford
🗓️ Runs until Saturday 5 September 2026
🎟️ Free entry
👉 Learn more: hertfordshire.gov.uk/summer-reading-challenge

Rock at the Castle - Hertford Castle.

HERTFORD

Tuesday 4 August 28.7°C 🌡️ 17.9°C | ⛅ Warm with a chance of a shower | ☀️ Sunrise approx. 5:50am | Sunset approx. 20:33

Wednesday 5 August 24.1°C 🌡️ 12.1°C | ☀️ Fine and settling | ☀️ Sunrise approx. 5:51am | Sunset approx. 20:31

Thursday 6 August 21.1°C 🌡️ 10.2°C | ☀️ Cooler | ☀️ Sunrise approx. 5:53am | Sunset approx. 20:29

Friday 7 August 22.9°C 🌡️ 10.8°C | ☀️ Mild | ☀️ Sunrise approx. 5:54am | Sunset approx. 20:27

Saturday 8 August 25.9°C 🌡️ 10.9°C | ☀️ Warming up again | ☀️ Sunrise approx. 5:56am | Sunset approx. 20:25

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Editor-in-chief | Emeka Ogbonnaya

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