9 things you’ll only know if you’re from Potters Bar

Potters Bar – that famous commuter town!

The one everyone says ‘oh yeah I’ve seen the signs for it on the M25’ about. The place many people think is in London – but I can confirm it’s firmly situated in Hertfordshire.

When you say “I live in Potters Bar” people nod knowingly and reply “I remember the train crash” and you smile and say “yeah”.

Read more: Latest Potters Bar news

But if you’re from Potters Bar, you’ll know the town is so much more than that.

If you are one of the nearly 22,000 people who live here, there’s a few fun things we’ve all experienced, mostly due to the varying reliability of public transport.

But it’s our home and we love it!

The Walk aka Mount Everest

This doesn’t do The Walk justice, the incline is definitely steeper than this

I remember, back when I was a little girl at Ladbrooke JMI School, the road The Walk was actually super fun.

My dad would zoom down (at 27mph) and my sister and I would love bouncing about on the speed bumps in our car seats.

Now the sight of The Walk fills me with dread.

You finish work or get home from a day in London shattered, and there it is, that steep, never ending incline.

In my college years I realised the worst thing about The Walk is, once you reach the Cricket and Tennis Clubs, you think it’s over – but guess what you’re only about two thirds of the way there.

It is torture.

The 242 bus never ever comes

I've spent ages sitting waiting here for the 242

I’ve spent ages sitting waiting here for the 242

If you’ve ever managed to catch the 242 that is a huge achievement in my eyes.

The bus, which runs from Waltham Cross, is so elusive, even when it’s supposed to come once every two hours it’s still late.

I have sat shivering at Potters Bar train station for 20 minutes and it has just never turned up.

It’s a hard life deciding whether to face The Walk, or wait an undefined length of time in the hope the bus will show up.

Where are you 242? Maybe it prefers being in Waltham Cross.

Waiting behind that person at the train station who tries to use their Oyster Card

Potters Bar railway station

Potters Bar railway station

All the commuters and London college students get off the train and fill the ramp down to the main station.

You crane your neck and roll your eyes as the barriers are closed again.

As you reach them the crowds slow and it become claustrophobic as someone tries to tap out, again.

The barriers beep and they look around in confusion, despite the fact there were multiple announcements on the train saying Oyster cards are not valid beyond Finsbury Park, or Hadley Wood, depending on which service you’re on.

“You can’t use your Oyster card here,” a grumpy commuter says, as the Londoner is taken aside by the station staff.

(Disclaimer, you can now use contactless at Potters Bar station, so this may have helped the situation a bit).

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Trying to explain Potters Bar is in Hertfordshire

After leaving Potters Bar for college and university, I realised our hometown is something of an enigma.

Some believe it’s in London, others berate you for saying it’s near London; accusing you of pretending to be metropolitan.

Many inner city dwellers believe we live in an episode of Escape To The Country, surrounded by rolling fields, forests and farmers.

Other friends from further afield think you’re cool and urban or very posh.

Who knew a Hertfordshire commuter town could be shrouded in so much mystery?

Fun Swim at the Furzefield is the highlight of your childhood

Furzefield Leisure Centre

Furzefield Leisure Centre

If you never went to fun swim at the our local leisure centre and swimming pool, the Furzefield Leisure Centre, you did not live!

Nothing tops the adrenaline rush of flying down the inflatable slide or pretending you’re Rose from Titanic on the ‘big floats’.

It was even better when it was fun swim at the end of term during your school swimming lessons.

I’m not sure how much the Potters Bar parents enjoy fun swim, but it is definitely great if you are 12 and under!

Going to The Byng or The Straff and seeing every single person you knew you from school (but didn’t know well enough to talk to, until you’ve had 2 pitchers)

You're always guaranteed to bump into someone you know at The Straff

You’re always guaranteed to bump into someone you know at The Straff

It’s got to be done hasn’t it? The trip down to the local pub or Spoons seems like a great idea. The drinks are cheap and you don’t have to deal with the struggle of getting home from London.

But as you and your friends arrive and try to find a table, you notice the bar is filled with people from your school, or the Facebook friends you added when you were 15, when it was so important to add all of your peers in a ten mile radius.

Oh and there’s the person you used to have a crush on, bringing up vivid memories of you embarrassing yourself and them definitely not liking you back.

But two pitchers down, the awkwardness has faded and you’re all together round a table bonding over your shared Potters Bar experiences.

A wild PB night out!

Trying to explain to your London friends that you need actual coins to get on the buses

This might be a niche one, as a lot of my friends are not from our fantastic home town.

But the level of uproar I faced when explaining to my friends that they would need to use real money to get home, was unmatched.

Matters got even more confusing when I helpfully explained that some of the London bound buses do accept Oyster cards.

Needless to say my friend tried to use her Oyster to get on the 84 and then was told to get off the bus.

It’s quite a confusing system isn’t it?

Taking three hours to go round big Tesco because you/your mum has to catch up with all the other PB mums doing their shopping

Tesco superstore in Potters Bar

Tesco superstore in Potters Bar

“I’m just going to nip to Tesco,” shouts my mum as she hurries out the front door.

“See you in two hours,” I reply.

Honestly, I challenge anyone to make it round Tesco in Mutton Lane without bumping in to somebody they know. The weekly shop is a major social event for Potters Bar shoppers.

My mum has formed alliances, has 20 minute chats with people and then asks “who was that?” and then just when you think you might get home, we have a nice chat to the man at the checkout too.

If you’re younger, half the store staff went to your school so it’s either great for a chat or the height of embarrassment.

It’s all fun though, and you can get a Costa at the end of it!

Spending most of your school life saying you can’t wait to leave PB then aged 24 you’re still here, living in your parents house and justifying it by claiming “there’s really good transport links”

I’m really outing myself for this article, aren’t I?

“I can’t wait to get out of Potters Bar,” my friends and I used to say. But guess what, we’re all still here.

“Why don’t you move to London?” “But it only takes 16 minutes to get to Kings Cross,” I protest.

Living in Potters Bar is just so easy, it can be outdoorsy and rural but it’s close enough to London that you don’t feel completely cut off.

It also helps that my parents live here – have you seen the house prices in Hertfordshire?

I might moan that it’s so far from London, or there’s not a lot to do here, but secretly I love it!

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