Chester is a pretty little city of about 80,000 inhabitants. Our first day, though, was spent somewhere a little more rugged – the mountains of Snowdonia in North Wales. Mount Snowdon itself is the largest in England and Wales, and the scenery there and the on the drive in is really pretty – if you can picture a landscape like South Island New Zealand, with (marginally) less sheep and with rugged 12th Century castles spaced a day's march apart all along the coastline, you'll get some idea of the experience.
We tried to climb Snowdon (the lady at the tourist office took one look at us and sent us up the easy track) but the top was wreathed in cloud so we decided that discretion was the better part of valour. We got far enough up, though, to get some great views and work up a healthy appetite – fortunately a great gastro-pub, Harkers, could fit us in for dinner.
The pub at the bottom off the mountain, complete with well-earned cider
Sunday featured a walk around the city walls, which gave us the chance to see many of the sights that Chester has to offer. We spent most of the day wandering along the most complete medieval wall in England, looking in on the city and out to the countryside. The parts that aren't half-timbered Tudor are built of of a deep red brick, and it has a lovely 'riveria in the North-West' feel by the riverside.
If you're looking for somewhere nice to spend a weekend, we'd highly recommend it – and it is even better when you have friends to share it with.
Main Street, Chester
Peering off the wall into someone's pretty garden
No comments:
Post a Comment