After a 4 hour drive, our first stop on a weeks tour of England and Scotland is Chester which is situated in the north west just below Liverpool. Chester is one of the few walled cities that is still standing when built by the Romans all those years ago and as a result, the city centre is stunning which combines Roman architecture with Tudor buildings.
After a slow stroll around the centre, we toured around the city walls which takes around 45 minutes to complete. As it so happens, it was Chester race weekend so when passing the racecourse, it was busy with the local Chester wildlife in various states of soberness. Still, this made the city colourful and buskers were out aplenty playing either Oasis or Beatles songs. The really talented ones play both Oasis and Beatles!
For tourist attractions, there are many. You have the remains of an old Roman ampitheatre, Chester Cathedral which is free to enter (they ask for a donation but not mandatory), two tiered shopping centre with tudor architecture, city walls, Chester zoo, the famous Eastgate clock. It's best to Google to find out what you want to do.
We found a place for lunch, situated just below the city walls, called Porta which is a tapas and wine bar. The place is tiny but the food is amazing and just what we needed. Most pubs are baby friendly and little Tamara enjoyed all the attention.
More shops later, it was time to find somewhere for dinner and Chester boasts a fantastic amount of out-of-town gastro pubs serving excellent food so we opted for The Chester Fields which has wonderful views of the countryside on a lovely sunny evening. The only downside is if you choose to eat outside, you'll have to contest your dinner with the local wasps which was off-putting. Still, we moved inside so we can enjoy our dessert in peace.
Chester is well worth a weekend visit with its stunning architecture, city walls, great food and warm and welcoming people. What's not to love?
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| View of Chester centre from the city walls |
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| Chester city centre |
For tourist attractions, there are many. You have the remains of an old Roman ampitheatre, Chester Cathedral which is free to enter (they ask for a donation but not mandatory), two tiered shopping centre with tudor architecture, city walls, Chester zoo, the famous Eastgate clock. It's best to Google to find out what you want to do.
We found a place for lunch, situated just below the city walls, called Porta which is a tapas and wine bar. The place is tiny but the food is amazing and just what we needed. Most pubs are baby friendly and little Tamara enjoyed all the attention.
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| The tiny kitchen area. Chefs have nowhere to hide |
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| Small service area |
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| Prawns, croquettes and calamari |
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| Pastel de Nata - a Portuguese dessert |
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| Steak and chips. Meat was so tender and cooked perfectly |
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| Lamb cooked three ways. Just fantastic |
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| Odd combination this one. Dark chocolate tart with strawberry ice cream. Didn't quite go and the tart was a bit dry |
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| Creme Brulee. Just amazing. |
The Chester Fields
Sandfield Farm
Chester Road
CH2 4JR
