Coordinates: 51°48′22″N 0°11′36″W / 51.8062°N 0.1932°W / 51.8062; -0.1932

Welwyn Garden City ( /ˈwɛlɪn/) is a town within the Welwyn Hatfield borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) from Kings Cross. Welwyn Garden City was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948).

It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and exemplifies the physical, social and cultural planning ideals of the periods in which it was built. Because of its historical importance it attracts visitors from around the world.

Welwyn Garden City was founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the 1920s following his previous experiment in Letchworth Garden City. Howard had called for the creation of planned towns that were to combine the benefits of the city and the countryside and to avoid the disadvantages of both. The Garden Cities and Town Planning Association had defined a garden city as

"a town designed for healthy living and industry of a size that makes possible a full measure of social life but not larger, surrounded by a rural belt; the whole of the land being in public ownership, or held in trust for the community"

Coordinates: 51°49′52″N 0°12′54″W / 51.831°N 0.215°W / 51.831; -0.215

Welwyn ( /ˈwɛlɪn/) is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands. It is sometimes called Old Welwyn to distinguish it from the newer settlement of Welwyn Garden City, about a mile to the south.

Situated in the valley of the River Mimram, Welwyn was first settled in the Iron Age^{[citation needed]}. The Belgae colonised the area in the 1st century BC^{[citation needed]} (although the Catuvellauni are more often associated with this area) and later it was settled by the Romans. Many Roman artifacts have been found, and the remains of a Roman bath house may be visited. Much later, in the 17th century, as it lies on the old Great North Road, it became an important staging post and a number of coaching inns remain as public houses. After the Great Northern Railway by-passed the village due to the objections of local landowners, Welwyn became less important. Having previously been seen as a town on par with Hatfield and Stevenage, it gradually was seen as a village. The 20th century brought major expansion to the area, as estates to the south, west and north of the village were built up.

Garden City or Garden Suburb may refer to:

Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is a British rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, model and television personality. She first found fame in the all-female R&B/garage trio Mis-Teeq, however, the trio separated in 2005 and Dixon continued pursuing her music career as a solo artist, signing to Polydor Records. Dixon began recording her debut solo album, Fired Up, in 2006, but due to poor record sales of her first two singles, "Lipstick" and "Knockdown", she was dropped from Polydor.

In 2007 Dixon became a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and eventually won. Her television exposure led to a successful comeback, which included her signing to Asylum Records, an offshoot of Warner Music Group. Dixon then released a second album, entitled The Alesha Show, in 2008, which received platinum certification from BPI in the UK and spawned four singles including "The Boy Does Nothing" and "Breathe Slow", the latter of which became her highest charting single and earned her a Brit Award nomination.

Mark Astronaut (Mark Wilkins) is a Welwyn Garden City (UK) based musician.

Astronaut has been involved with three main projects consisting of The Astronauts, Restricted Hours and The Otters. His career spans over 30 years. He was involved in the free music scene of the late 70's and early 80's, playing with the likes of Zounds, The Mob, and touring on Here and Now's Free Tours. The Astronauts have released material on a variety of labels including All The Madmen, Acid Stings, Irregular and Bugle.

Although never seeking publicity and recognition, Mark's music trickles out to those in the know, and frequently receives critical acclaim. Mark is a profound lyricist, and frequently draws inspiration from the absurdities of life in Britain, giving his music a distinctly English feel. A collection of his lyrics can be found on the official Astronauts website under songbook. Rock n Reel magazine (March/April 2009) described Mark as 'The Post-Punk Dylan of Welwyn Garden City'.

The Otters are Mark's latest project, and have been performing for approximately 7 years.