Rick's Roadshow: Chester, England

I'm pleased to bring another installment of Rick's Roadshow: Chester, England. As this is a business trip, it is difficult to have much time for sight-seeing and personal travel. Therefore I bring my camera virtually everywhere I go, so if I'm on my way to an appointment, I snap some photos along the way! That enables me to maximize my time. At any rate I was fortunate to have some time in the city of Chester, England. Chester is located in Cheshire, due west from Manchester, just south of Liverpool, and is nearly on the border of Wales. Originally established by the Romans back in 79 AD, it was an important Roman province until the 5th century, when the Saxons took over. Chester is known for its wall perimeter, and the many medieval black and white buildings (see photo above). Its defensive wall perimeter is mainly medieval and Victorian and is one of the best preserved in Britain. Some sections of the wall date back to 120 AD. This is one old city!

above: here is somewhat of a close up of the wall entering into part of the city's shopping area. You can see the famous Eastgate clock, in honor of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, which was added in 1899.

above portion of the Dee River, with a lazy paddle boat floating downstream.

a nice combination of old arches and original medieval black and white buildings.


above: For some reason I liked the way this building is situated, with the center bit and the brick chimneys.

above: more from The Rows, Park Street and St Werburgh Street area.

above: a portion of the original defensive wall gate. Its amazing what is still standing in this wonderful town. Chester is a hidden jewel. The residential neighborhoods are very nice, and there are loads of great shops too. I'd definitely recommend a visit particularly if you enjoy history. In addition to what I mentioned above, there is a 1,000 year old cathedral, a 2,000 year old Roman Amphitheatre, the oldest racecourse in the country, and very interesting collection of Anglo-Saxon ruins. A visit to England' s countryside should include Chester and Wales; it makes for a nice weekend excursion away from London. Someday perhaps I'll cover some other favorite parts of Britain in a future Rick's Roadshow series. Tomorrow I leave the UK and head to Germany. Rick's Roadshow continues...
-Rick Rockhill