Chester

Chester is our ultimate destination on the Shropshire Union Canal (SUC), there's a couple more hours cruising to Ellesmere Port if you have never done that part of the canal before. We cruised down to Ellesmere Port in 2014 checking out the museum and the port itself and that will do us.

Why do I mention this? Well we made sure we moored before the winding hole near Bridge 123E but not in the 48 hour moorings, they're near the pub and can get a little rowdy, a few customers ended up in the canal the first night we were in Chester. We found a nice mooring just a little further back near Bridge 123C where we had the shade of a nice willow tree for the afternoons.

All our plans to pick up visitors had fallen into place and this was no exception. We arrived the day before our friends were due to arrive by train so that meant a trip into town to have a look around before we became the guides. Here are some of the photos over our three day stay.

Probably one of the most photographed parts of Chester is the Eastgate Clock erected in Victorian times atop the city walls, the walls originally erected by the Romans.

Further on down the mall are the Rows, two tiered medieval buildings containing many up market shops on the verandah while we found several nice cafes downstairs.

Another street shot this time with Chester Cathedral in the background

The Church of St John the Baptist, the oldest church in Chester and the ruins around about it, apparently the site of christian worship for over 1300 years.

The Roman Amphitheatre, the largest of its kind in Britain.

A stroll through the Roman Gardens containing Roman artifacts collected from the local area.

Remains of Roman bathing halls

We strolled from here along the wall and the River Dee (not sure where those photos went) and around to Chester Castle (National Trust). Lots of steps to get up and into the castle but not a terrible lot to see.

The oldest part of the castle is Agricola Tower, built in the 12th century.

We walked most of the 2 miles of city wall enjoying the small coffee and wine bars built into the wall as we strolled along. We departed the wall next to the canal near Frodsham Street, one of the main streets of Chester.

It's not often we get to large shopping centres so Rachael made the most of our stay before winding and heading off back up the locks. Of course our traveling day was overcast and as expected, when we got to our first lock the heavens opened. Lucky I was on the boat waiting under a bridge, Rachael had volunteered to do this lock! Five locks and a few hours later we were moored outside of Tattenhall Marina in the 48hr moorings, tomorrow we will leave Serafina in the marina as we head off for a break.