Bricks in Hertfordshire

Bricks for the barbecue

How many times have you gone to have a barbecue when the weather warms up, only to discover that your barbecue has rusted away over the winter in a damp shed or under its flimsy cover?

You head off to your local garden centre and part with a sizeable chunk of cash for a new barbecue and they are not the cheapest things to buy at the best of times.

Why not make a barbecue out of bricks?

The only thing you need to buy for a barbecue made from bricks is the coal tray and the grill bars, but you may even be able to salvage these from the old barbecue. The metal body os the first thing to rust on a barbecue, so the tray and grill may be perfectly suitable to incorporate into your new barbecue made from bricks.

You can be as basic as you like with bricks. A simple rear wall with two sides is all that is needed, but why not incorporate extra storage units and serving areas, making a really impressive outdoor cooking centre.

You could include storage cupboards for spare charcoal or even incorporate a small side enclosure to use as a smoking unit? The possibilities are endless with bricks.

Panshanger Park in Hertfordshire

Panshanger Park is set in four hundred hectares of amazing Hertfordshire countryside and is a genuine haven for wildlife and people too.

The Hertfordshire park is actually an historic park and garden that has been registered as Grade II by English Heritage and part of the estate is also a country park and nature reserve. Much of the parkland was created by Humphry Repton in the latter part of the 18th century, with other parts previously landscaped by the famed Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.

Panshanger Park was once owned by the Hertfordshire based Cowper family. Unfortunately, Panshanger House no longer stands but other parts of the estate can be seen such as the Orangery, the Broad water and the Panshanger Great Oak. Now open to the public, you can take a leisurely stroll around the Oak Trail to visit the historic part of this great park.

Gravel extraction serving much of Hertfordshire

Prior to the park being opened to the public, over four million tonnes of sand and gravel were quarried here. A good deal of it has been used to build homes and roads in Hertfordshire and the surrounding area.

Prior to the park opening up to the public, the lakes and river were set aside for private trout angling. The smaller lake contained an enormous sturgeon fish that could be seen cruising around the perimeter like a prehistoric sea creature.

Hertfordshire wildlife at its best

Panshanger Park is made up of woodland, picturesque lakes, ponds, a river, reed beds and grassland which together support a diverse amount of wildlife. Red Kites and Buzzards can be seen here, as well as dragonflies and a plethora of other incredible creatures.