Boudicca's Obelisk

Standing on the roadside just outside Waltham Cross, this stone obelisk marks the spot where Boudicca, the Iceni queen, is said to have made her final stand against the Romans around 60 AD. It's not exactly dramatic - a modest monument in what's frankly quite an ordinary stretch of Hertfordshire - but the historical weight of it hits differently once you know what happened here.

You're looking at a relatively recent memorial, erected in Victorian times, so don't expect anything ancient. What you get instead is a quiet moment to contemplate one of Britain's most defiant moments: a woman leading her people against the empire that occupied them. The obelisk itself is easy to reach from Waltham Cross town centre, making it a straightforward stop if you're in the area.

This works best for history buffs and those with a genuine interest in Romano-British Britain. Families with restless kids won't find much to hold their attention for long - there's no visitor centre, no interpretation boards, just the stone itself and the road. A five-minute visit covers it properly.

If you're basing yourself at one of the nearby Lee Valley parks - Sewardstone, Dobbs Weir, or Fowley Mead - this is worth a quick detour on a local drive. Pair it with a walk along the Lee Valley itself, which stretches across the area and offers far more to occupy an afternoon. The obelisk alone? Brief, but genuinely moving if you care about the story.