We were worried that there might not be enough to vlog about, having visited 3 castles last week. How wrong we were! Chester has so much to see and do. We actually had to miss bits out that we had planned!
Chester Walls and The Roodee
We decided to park at the Little Roodee car park. Purely selfish reasons! We live on the Wales side of Chester and this car park is on the Wales side of Chester. The roadworks in Chester at the moment (June 2021) are terrible. There are so many closed roads and diversions, we didn’t want to sit in city centre traffic for ever. It’s looks like this car park might be on Park for a night as there were a fair few VLW there (van life wankers - just kidding!!! Kudos to you all, we are just massive inbetweeners fans!). We decided that the best way to do this vlog was to walk the old city wals of Chester. The walls go past most of the things we wanted to see and we could hop on and off as we chose. Also, the wall runs alongside this car park! The first thing we saw on our walls walk was the Roodee, Chester’s racecourse. This is the oldest racecourse still in operation! This is in the Guinness world records, so must be right. We were able to go into the grounds and down to the track. When the races aren’t on, you can use the grounds as ‘park’ space. There were a fair few dog walkers there. On race days you can stand on the walls (for free) and have a view of the whole track, although it does get busy!!
King Charles Tower and the Addleshaw Bell Tower
We carried on our walk, you can see the canal off the to the left of the wall, you also pass over the North Gate into the city. The next things we can to was King Charles tower. This structure dates from the 13th Century. King Charles is said to have stood on this tower in September 24ty in 1645.
The addleshaw bell tower is a structure next to the Cathedral. It was built in 1965 by George Pace. Apparently when they removed the cathedral bell from the main tower in Chester cathedral, it was deemed unsafe to remove hang it as it would cause damages to the ancient roof structures. So they needed somewhere to house it where it could still be rung but cause no damage. The design caused a fair bit of controvesy as a lot of people thought it was ugly. I’ve got to say, I think it’s a bit ugly, but Wills loves it!
Chester Cathedral, Godstall Lane and the Rows
We left the walls at this point to see these next few things. Chester Cathedral is a truly impressive structure. It rises up out of the centre of the city with magnificence and presence. It dates from the 11th Century and has many different styles of architecture in the building. It is free to enter for a look around as long as there isn’t a service on. It’s equally as impressive from the inside. My favourite part is the cloisters, I think Wills favourite part was finding a face cut out monk !! He cannot resist a photo opportunity when he sees one of those! The Cathedral gardens are absolutely beautiful with plenty of benches to relax and reflect.
We then went through Godstall Lane to get to the high street. This lanes entrance is opposite the cathedral and is one of the prettiest streets around. It’s full of little bars/cafes and is definitely at its most magical at night when the coloured festoons are turned on. It’s the only Godstall Lane in England, so very unique. If you want a romantic drink or bite to eat, this is the Lane for you!
Godstall Lane delivers you onto the rows. The rows are a series of covered walk ways on an upper level - reached from ground level by old stone steps (steep stone steps designed for Roman legs!!). These are one of Chester’s most visited attractions, although it was sad to see that quite a lot of shops had closed down over Covid and there are now a fair few units standing empty!
Eastgate Clock
Back to the Walls we went. The next thing you reach is the Eastgate clock. It’s said to be the most photographed clock in Britain after Big Ben. It’s a really pretty clock so I’m not surprised. It was constructed to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.
Roman Gardens, Roman Amphitheatre and Grosveror park.
We left the walls again just after the EastGate. The Roman Gardens are right at the foot of the walls. It’s a small gardens next to the Amphitheatre housing a collection of Roman finds and artefacts collected form across Chester. There are boards all around the garden with detailed info about what you’ll see. Next is the Amphitheatre, this was the largest in Britain and used for entertainment and military training. Again there are fantastic informative boards around the site. Admission is free and you see many a picnic being enjoyed in the amphitheatre.
Further away from the wall is Grosvenor Park. This is regarded as one of the finest examples of a Victorian Park in England. It’s a lovely big park (20 acres), and again a haven for picnics. In the summer months there is an open air theatre (you must book tickets to watch the shows, they are really great shows. I used to work for them!) Each year there will be a comedy, tragedy/or more serious and something for the kids - do check them out at
The park has great public toilets that are nice and clean - always useful to know. There is also a miniature railway for the kids. Definitely spend some time chilling in this park, but watch out for squirrels if you’re eating! They are beyond cheeky.
The Riverfront
Back to the walls! The walls now wind down to the Riverfront. This is a gorgoues place to while away a few hours. There are numerous cafes/restaurants and bars. You can go on a pleasure cruise on one of the larger boats. Or your can hire a rowing boat or pedalo. The front has a paved promenade complete with bandstand and a few ice cream kiosks!
The Bear and Billet
At this time Wills had been whinging about his pint for some time (since about the bell tower!! We were also starving as we though we’d have gotten all this done in a hour and we were into our 3rd hour! We had planned to go to the Bear and Billet for our pint as it’s the finest 17th Century framed timber house in Chester and one of the last remaining timber framed houses in England. Super music Tricia for you, John Lennon grandmother was born in this pub! We were super glad to learn that they A)served food B) had a table as we hadn’t booked! We ordered a beef Sunday dinner and it was AMAZING!!!
We had a lovely pint of Amstel as we reminisced about our day. It definitely took longer that we anticipated, but was great fun and made us appreciate just what an amazing city we have on our doorstep!
Cheers to the good times
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