Read my Chelmsford travelogue here

The next city for me to visit is Chester in the North-West of England.

You will find Chester 179 miles North-west of London in the county of Cheshire. It derives its name from old Roman term for fort, as it was founded as early as 79AD by the emperor Vespasian. Generally, if a city has “chester” or something similar, it would suggest it began life as a Roman fort.

I have to admit I didn’t have any usual buzz of excitement when going to Chester. I think a combination of a late night and an early morning was taking its toll. But I made it to Euston station to take the 10.02 train to Chester. Thankfully, unlike Canterbury and Chelmsford, I was able to get a direct train.

The train journey was nothing out the ordinary except for the train toilets. When I pressed the button to close the doors, an automatic message began playing. It said something to this effect: “hi, this is your toilet speaking. That’s right. I’m a talking toilet. please don’t flush wet wipes, sanitary towels or nappies down me, but anything else goes. I’m a toilet, so I know what it’s like. In fact, I used to be a public toilet, so this is a real step up for me. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your business now…” I found it very funny that Avanti West Coast went to all the trouble of making this recording when they could have just put a sign up.

Anyway, I arrived into Chester at 12.06. At just over two hours, this was my longest journey yet. First of all, I wanted to see the cathedral, and get some lunch along the way. I turned right out of the station onto Brook Street, and not before long, I found the Brook Street Bistro – a greasy spoon. A greasy spoon is a cheap and cheerful cafe that sells fried, greasy food e.g English breakfast, baked beans on toast, mixed grills, or, in my case, a burger and chips. It certainly wasn’t the best – the chips weren’t seasoned, but for £8.30, I wasn’t going to complain. It was cheaper than the meals I had down south!

I also spotted a Pierogi (Polish dumpling) shop that I made a note to return to later.

After a quick browse in a vinyl record store, I headed to the cathedral. Chester Cathedral surprised me. It was free like Chelmsford, but magnificent like Canterbury, with some lovely-kept grounds. It was a very splendid building with an interesting exhibition on Canterbury’s role in the slave trade. Education is always better than ignorance or exposure.

From here, I had no plan, so I wandered around the Rows – Chester’s main shopping area. It’s here, I found the city walls that bordered the city. You can climbing them, giving you a great view. From here, I found a cheese shop. If there is one thing I like it’s cheese. For those of you that have read my WWOOF blog, you would know that when I was in Normandy I loved camembert.

Anyway, the Cheese man was very friendly and knowledgeable. He let me try some of the Brie De Meaux, which was soft and creamy. Then I tried another cheese, which was a lot stronger. Having just spoiled my taste buds, I then tried another brie – Drunken Burt, another soft cow’s cheese. And it was the two bries that I ended up buying. If you’re ever in Chester, go to the Cheese Shop. You won’t regret it.

I also went to the Roly fudge shop. First, I tried some Strawberries and Cream fudge, which didn’t taste of all that much, so instead I opted for the rum and raisin.

It was nearing three by this time, so I decided to explore many of the art galleries that were littered all around Chester. Art has always been a foreign world to me. I’ve never under it enough to truly appreciate it, but some of the paintings I saw were excellent, especially in https://watergatestreetgallery.co.uk/. I particularly liked Alison Johnson’s paintings. If only I had the money to actually afford some of the gorgeous art.

From here, I headed down to the River Dee that flows through Chester via Grosvenor Park. As it was a gloriously summer day, the park was full of students, families and couples ready to soak up the summer sun.

The park had a miniature railway, a pond, as well as a busking area where two buskers performed a great set, So much so, they had the public up and dancing with them. It was so much fun.

After I did some sunbathing, I walked along the River Dee, where I realised what stunning natural scenery had. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so just look at these pictures.

And, suddenly, it was four-thirty. Almost time for me to head home. Alas I didn’t have time for a beer or an ice cream, but I made sure I bought my fresh-made pierogi. I bought a selection of two Ruskie (Potato + Curd Cheese) two mieso (beef and pork) and two szpinak (spinach, garlic and curd cheese.) I ate one of the Mieso ones, which was yummy. The rest I had for my lunch the day after, but it was so difficult not to eat them all at once.

At five-thirty, it was time for me to go. Despite, my initial hesitance about going to Chester, I was sad to be leaving it so early. I would have loved to have walked more along the river or the canal. Perhaps I could have visited the castle or the museum. All the more reason to come back soon. Chichester! I’m coming for you next.