Great Britain > Chester

The Walled City
The huge stone wall around this small city was built by the Romans back in the day. It was to keep the English and Irish out, but as we can see, they didn’t succeed for too long. With over 2000 years of history, the city has a lot to offer the interested historian. The walk around the city on top of the wall is interesting and definitely a different kind of wander, with this wall being the most complete city wall in England. The Roman amphitheatre, on the way to the river, was thought to be one of the largest outside of Rome in its heyday.

The county of Cheshire has just over 100,000 people living in it. Chester has a river running through it, which is a playground for kayakers, boaties and brave swimmers. The cold in winter is biting, and will quite easily freeze your face if you let it. In saying that, England is all a bit that way.

Daylife
The cobbled streets are relics of days gone by, with almost everything you look at seeming to be sooo old. It’s all made of stone, and is cold. The constant temperature changes can’t be good for you – freezing streets, hot shops, cafes and bars. The shopping is very good here, with the female of the species sometimes travelling from far away distant places to enjoy the bargains and boutique shops Chester has to offer. The two-tiered shopping is also unique, with shops on two levels and balconies providing access. It really is a pretty city, with the old pinky-red cathedral being one of the main attractions. The cathedral is just like all the others: spectacular. Even the most hardened atheist couldn’t help but be impressed with the workmanship and serenity of the insides. Somebody certainly spent a lot of time and thought creating it.

Food and Drink
The Chester Wine and Food festival held annually is an interesting day trip, with organisers hoping to brand Cheshire as “the county for Food and Drink”. The 2006 festival will be held on 15th-17th April (Easter).

Nightlife
As you find everywhere in England, the pubs and bars are the best place to go to meet people and enjoy your evenings. On cold winter’s nights there is very little else to do so crashing the town is an interesting way to get to know its’ inhabitants. With bars with names like The Slug and Lettuce you have to wonder what they were thinking. The metaphors are questionable.

The latest edition to Chester’s streets is it’s first ever strip club. Having just opened in December, the club has opened many local eyes to what the rest of the world has enjoyed for many years – freedom of sexual expression, and essentially the sale of sex (minus the actual sex part). England is somewhat behind in the times in this respect. It may not be the most popular spot in town, but it is certainly busy with the drunkards of the weekends.

Telfords Warehouse has great live music, and good (but simple) food. Reflex is the largest nightclub in Chester, and has two floors of music and three bars. The lines to the “after close” clubs, Brannigans and Reflex, are always long and even in winter, heavily laden with miniskirt-and-tank-topped girls, who must be incredibly drunk to withstand the cold drafts. Or perhaps its their long British boots that keep them warm. It is hard to tell them apart most of the time, because for some reason British women all dress the same.

As for pubs (which all close at 11pm or midnight, though this may change with recently relaxed licensing laws) the Albion or Ye Olde Harkers Arms are good choices. In England, many pubs are named after somebody’s arms. The Queens, the Kings or perhaps Arthur or Martha. For a bit of a different theme, try Fiesta Havana, a Cuban-style bar with dance teachers available to practise your salsa, tequila and Cuban cigars.

Parking is expensive in Chester, but cabs (“Licensed Hackney Carriages”) are reasonably priced.

The People of Chester
They are a mixed bunch, from all over the place. Mostly white faces in a reasonably happy crowd, and if you’re out to make friends, you may just be in luck. There are enough people living, working and partying here to make your chances of finding like-minded people a bit higher. A lot of people come to Chester to work, so there is a fair cross-section of nationalities (as fair as it gets in England, excluding London).

Getting to and from Chester
Getting to and from Chester is relatively easy, but can get expensive. Trains are an excellent way to travel, they are comfortable and have a small café on board. The bill can start to rack up quite quickly if you are getting around England by train, but it is certainly a good way to see some of the countryside and travel in comfort. Petrol and diesel are very expensive in the UK, so driving is not always a good option. Buses take a very long time, and because of the proximity of towns in England, stop often. They are less costly than trains, but if you have the money to spare, trains are ten times better and much faster – they take the direct route and don’t have traffic issues. You can easily make up the money spent in time doing something more fun. There is a small airport in Chester, but it depends where you are coming from/going to as to whether this is going to be of any use. It is not an international airport. Overall, easy to get to, and around. It has been voted by English as one of the best places to take a short break.

Chester Links & Accommodation