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Mayochup

A London based food, parenting and travel blog. Follow us on our travels

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.

View of Chester from the city walls
View of Chester centre from the city walls

Chester city centre
Chester city centre
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.

Porta kitchen
The tiny kitchen area. Chefs have nowhere to hide

Small service area

Prawn, croquettes and calamari
Prawns, croquettes and calamari

Pastel de Nata
Pastel de Nata - a Portuguese dessert
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.

Steak and chips
Steak and chips. Meat was so tender and cooked perfectly

Lamb cooked three ways
Lamb cooked three ways. Just fantastic

Chocolate tart and strawberry ice cream
Odd combination this one. Dark chocolate tart with strawberry ice cream. Didn't quite go and the tart was a bit dry

Creme Brulee
Creme Brulee. Just amazing.
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?

The Chester Fields
Sandfield Farm
Chester Road
CH2 4JR
http://www.thechesterfields.co.uk/


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The focus of day 2 is a long walk into the Peak District countryside and, due to the navigation skills of my brother-in-law, the walk ended up longer than we anticipated not that any of us complained as we got to see more of the beautiful countryside and woodland.

Peak District countryside
One of the many stunning views
Peaks and troughs of the countryside
We found Longshaw Estate which is a country manor protected by the National Trust and offers refuge and a bit to eat for the weary. We stumbled on it a bit too late as they just stopped serving tea and scones.

Longshaw Estate protected by the National Trust
Longshaw Estate
One of the great aspects about our walk was the different aspects of the countryside. From farmland, hills, to woodland.

Picturesque view of a stream
High vantage point of the stream below surrounded by woodland
Streams make a picture
The walk did end up taking most of the afternoon and we did manage a quick trip to Bakewell were we got some tea and the famous Bakewell Tart before heading back to the tents for our final night. The British weather did its thing and it was a windy and rainy night but I like the sound of rain clapping against the canvas. 

If you're interested in long walks and stunning scenery, then this is the place for you. Just be sure to plan your route and not rely on Google Maps as coverage is intermittent. 


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We were lucky enough to be invited to stay in the Peak District for the bank holiday weekend and after a few essential purchases such as sleeping bags, we were all set.

We left on Friday evening after work and arrived at the camp site at 11:30pm. By that point it was dark and putting the tent up using the car lights was a bit challenging. Thankfully, due to the impressive skills of my brother-in-law, the tent was up in relatively quick time. We got a better view the next morning and here's our des res.

Tent
Our accommodation for the weekend 

Tent
Surprisingly spacious 

We were next to a sheep field which happened to be a gentle alarm in the mornings.

Lamb
Little alarm clocks!

For the afternoon, we went to nearby Ashbourne which is full of high end charity shops, crafts, antiques and tea rooms. We found a wonderful little bakery where we indulged a bit even though it was a little on the expensive side. Think £4 for a little jar of pate as a scale. The bakery shop did point out that there was this bar which specialises in gin and eventually we found that. The Artisan Cafe Bar was tucked away from the main street and it stocked so many gins it was bewildering. To give this place full justice, I will cover this in a separate post. There is also a specialist cheese shop which offered samples before you buy. Essential if you are faced with the unknown.

Ashbourne
Ashbourne high street

The evening was spend relaxing with family and friends before retiring to our tent which was wonderful on a clear night. Next post will cover The Artisan Cafe Bar before day 2.

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