Things to Do in Tring: The Canal, the Museum, Walks and Pubs
Tring is a small market town on the edge of the Chilterns, 35 to 40 minutes by train from London Euston. Many of the best things to do here cost little or nothing: Walter Rothschild's natural history museum, the woods and chalk downs of Tring Park, the reservoirs and College Lake for birds, and the Grand Union Canal, which crosses the Chilterns just east of town on the highest stretch of its whole route.
We hire out self-drive narrowboats from Cowroast Marina, about two miles from the town centre, so this guide starts on the water.
Things to Do in Tring at a Glance
Most of the best things to do in Tring are free, and all of these are within a few miles of the town.
Drive a narrowboat on the Tring summit, from Cowroast Marina
The Natural History Museum at Tring: free, Tuesday to Sunday
Tring Park: woods, chalk grassland and the Ridgeway, with free parking
College Lake: a nature reserve in an old chalk quarry
Tring Reservoirs: four reservoirs that feed the canal
Ashridge Estate and the Bridgewater Monument
Tring Brewery's taproom and the Friday market
A canalside pub lunch at the Grand Junction Arms, Bulbourne
Drive a Narrowboat on the Tring Summit
You can hire a narrowboat for the day and drive it yourself. You do not need a licence or any experience.
Our boats leave from Cowroast Marina, Wharf Lane, HP23 5RE, on the Tring summit, the highest stretch of the Grand Union Canal, cut through the Chiltern chalk. Each boat takes up to 10 people, and day hire is 7.5 hours.
Head north and there are no locks for about three miles. The canal runs through the Tring Cutting, a deep, wooded channel, to the Grand Junction Arms at Bulbourne, where you can moor and have lunch. At walking pace, about 3mph, that is roughly an hour and a half each way.
Before you set off we give you a full handover: steering, stopping and mooring. Dogs are welcome on board.
Two of our boats, Albert and Victoria, are heated, so they run all year. Our canal routes guide has the stops along the way, and do you need a licence? answers the question most people ask first.
Natural History Museum at Tring
The Natural History Museum at Tring is Walter Rothschild's private zoological museum, now a branch of the Natural History Museum, on Akeman Street, HP23 6AP. Entry is free.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday and on bank holidays, 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00), and is closed 24 to 26 December. Walk-up places are limited, so the museum advises booking a free ticket online.
There is a free car park shared with the Woodland Trust, but the Trust lists its hours as Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday 2pm to 5pm, which do not match the museum's, so check before you rely on it. Tring Park is about ten minutes' walk away, and Cowroast Marina about two miles.
Tring Park
Tring Park is a Woodland Trust site of chalk grassland, woodland and old parkland on the ridge south of the town, once part of the Rothschild estate. The Ridgeway National Trail runs through it along King Charles Ride, an avenue of limes, and you can walk up to the obelisk.
The Woodland Trust car park off Hastoe Lane, HP23 6AR, is free, with 50 spaces. It opens 7.30am to 8pm in summer and 7.30am to 6pm from the last Sunday of October.
Dogs are welcome. The slopes are steep and muddy after rain, and cattle and sheep graze parts of the park.
College Lake
College Lake is a Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust reserve in a former chalk quarry on the Upper Icknield Way at Bulbourne, HP23 5QG. It has hides, a visitor centre, a café and trails that are mostly surfaced, and you can book an all-terrain mobility scooter on 01442 826774.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm), and is closed on Mondays except bank holidays. Entry is by donation.
Only assistance dogs are allowed. It is near Bulbourne, at the northern end of our lock-free route.
Tring Reservoirs
Startops End, Marsworth, Tringford and Wilstone reservoirs were built to keep the canal's summit topped up, and they still do. Together they have been a national nature reserve since 1955, and they are popular with birdwatchers all year. The main car park is at Startops End, by Marsworth.
Our guide to how the canal stays full explains how the reservoirs and the canal work together.
Ashridge Estate and the Bridgewater Monument
The National Trust's Ashridge Estate covers about 2,000 hectares of woods, commons and chalk downs to the east of Tring, and it is open all year. The Bridgewater Monument, put up in 1832, honours the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, a pioneer of Britain's canals. Ivinghoe Beacon, at the northern end of the estate's downs, is where the Ridgeway starts.
The visitor centre, café and monument keep their own opening times and parking arrangements, so check the National Trust's Ashridge page before you go.
Tring Town: The Brewery, the Market and the Local Museum
Tring town centre has a market every Friday, a brewery taproom and a free local history museum.
Tring Market is every Friday, with a farmers' market every other week.
Tring Brewery, Dunsley Farm, London Road, HP23 6HA, has been brewing since 1992. Its taproom, the Piggeries, opens Thursday 5pm to 9pm, Friday 3pm to 9pm, Saturday midday to 9pm and Sunday 1pm to 7pm. The brewery shop is open Monday to Saturday.
Tring Local History Museum, in the old cattle market office on Market Place, is free and opens on Fridays and Saturdays.
In Church Square, look down: the paving has a maze with a zebra's head, after Walter Rothschild, who drove a carriage pulled by zebras.
Canalside Pubs Near Tring
Two pubs sit close to the canal near the Tring summit: the Grand Junction Arms at Bulbourne and the Red Lion at Marsworth.
The Grand Junction Arms, Bulbourne Road, Bulbourne, HP23 5QE. Right by the canal, with a large garden, and the lunch stop on our route north. It serves food; ring ahead to check times, and to book for a group at weekends.
The Red Lion, Vicarage Road, Marsworth, HP23 4LU. A short walk from the canal near Marsworth. Children and dogs are welcome. Ring ahead to check food times.
For Berkhamsted's canalside pubs, see our things to do in Berkhamsted guide.
Walks from Tring
From Tring you can walk the flat canal towpath, or climb onto the Ridgeway through Tring Park.
Tring station to Cowroast Marina along the towpath: about a mile and a half, heading south-east.
The Tring summit: from Cow Roast north to Bulbourne, about three miles of towpath with no locks, through the Tring Cutting.
The Ridgeway: it starts at Ivinghoe Beacon, passes Tring station and runs through Tring Park on its 85 miles to Wiltshire.
Tring to Berkhamsted along the canal: about four miles, station to station, past Cow Roast, Dudswell and Northchurch. Locks and stretches of towpath sometimes close for repairs, mostly in winter, so check the Canal & River Trust's notices before you walk.
Getting to Tring
Trains run from London Euston to Tring in 35 to 40 minutes. Tring station is not in the town: it is about two miles east of the High Street, so a taxi is the easy way in.
It is about a mile and a half from the station to Cowroast Marina along the towpath. By car, Tring is just off the A41, about 38 miles from London.
Tring in Winter
The museum, College Lake and Tring Park stay open all winter, on the days above, and the Tring Park car park closes at 6pm from the last Sunday of October. Tring Local History Museum closes at 3.30pm from November to February.
Pitstone Windmill and Pitstone Green Museum open only in the summer season. Our two heated boats, Albert and Victoria, run through the winter.
Questions About Visiting Tring
Is Tring Worth a Visit?
Yes, for a day. The Natural History Museum at Tring is free and unlike any other museum near London, and the Chilterns, the reservoirs and the canal are all within a couple of miles of the town.
What Is There to Do in Tring for Adults?
Drive a narrowboat on the canal, have a pint at the Tring Brewery taproom or a canalside pub, walk the Ridgeway through Tring Park, or watch birds at College Lake and the reservoirs.
What Day Is Market Day in Tring?
Friday. There is also a farmers' market every other week.
Is the Natural History Museum at Tring Free?
Yes. Booking a free ticket online is advised because walk-up places are limited. It is closed on Mondays except bank holidays.
Can You Hire a Boat in Tring?
Yes. We hire self-drive narrowboats for the day from Cowroast Marina, about two miles from the town centre. No licence or experience is needed, and each boat takes up to 10 people.
Is Tring Dog-Friendly?
Mostly. Dogs are welcome in Tring Park and on our boats (see dog-friendly day hire). College Lake allows assistance dogs only.
Photo credits: photos without a credit are our own. The others come from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licence shown.
Natural History Museum, Tring by Joseph French, CC BY-SA 2.0
Tring Park view by Peter O'Connor, CC BY-SA 2.0
College Lake nature reserve by No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0
Startop's End Reservoir by Peter O'Connor, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bridgewater Monument, Ashridge Estate by Peter S, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Grand Junction Arms, Bulbourne by Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0
Grand Union Canal in Tring cutting by David Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0
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