Today, on a bright but breezy February Sunday, I opened the Trainline app and booked a day out in Chester.
It’s a city I’ve not visited for about 25 years, I reckon.
When we lived in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Derby or Hanley were closer, but we made the occasional drive to Chester and I had fond memories of the place.
First things first, Chester is just 50 minutes away by train from Manchester Victoria, which is just a 15 minute walk from home in Miles Platting. I’d visited Leeds and Liverpool, before Christmas, in a resolution to do this each and every Sunday.
But like the NY Resolutions, many of us make, the idea had quickly fallen to one side.
Today, however, with temperatures around 12 degrees, with no rain forecast, I packed my rucksack, my two phones, Rode microphones and AirPods and set off.
Chester did not disappoint at all
The initial surprise was how close the train station was to the city centre. If you’ve travelled by train to Cambridge, that walk is a good 30 minutes and quite dreary. Though Cambridge itself is excellent, if a bit Fennish and Southern in its aloofness.
Chester was a 10 minute stroll from the train and I was stopped en route with friendly locals, admiring Cassie my border collie and advising me on the location of the Roman Amphitheatre.
First stop was the Cathedral
The Anglican Cathedral was the most impressive I’ve been in, in the UK. Better than Norwich, Lincoln, Lichfield, Manchester and Liverpool’s, in my opinion. Very friendly staff too towards me and the mutt. Its cloisters and layout was redolent of Norwich’s, a Cathedral we overlooked from our apartment there.
Sandstone, not Caen stone, made it look richer visually, and it didn’t have the cool standoffishness of Norfolk’s finest ecclesiastical building.
The city walls of Chester
I enjoy being perched above a cityscape – Lincoln, York (next Sunday day out perhaps) and Alcudia Old Town always thrill me, and Chester’s walls did too. They are remarkably well-preserved and didn’t have the fleshy footfall of York at all.
We made it to the Roman Gardens, via the Tattersalls entrance of Chester racecourse, taking in its dips and steps, before heading to the river Dee, and Grosvenor Park, where Cassie stretched her limbs pointlessly chasing the odd squirrel.
Lunch at Antica Kitchens
Finding a dog and coeliac friendly can be an issue. Not so much in Manchester, where I know Viet Shack, Ezra & Gil and Purezza cater for us both.
A nice find – with Northumberland Sparkling Water (no San Pellegrino or Vichy Catalan here), a soya latte and an onion bhaji burger with sweet potato fries, in a heated courtyard, made the perfect late lunch.
Walking to the Roman Amphitheatre
Post-lunch, we headed back under the clock tower on the elevated walkway to the Roman Amphitheatre, where I sated my dopamine needs by more videos for my growing TikTok channel.
A live video broadcast from there garnered 1000 views and we headed back to Chester station, for the 50 minute stretch to Victoria.
Chester was magnificent
I knew beforehand that Chester was a lovely place, but being there after a long absence, made me realise just how great a city it is.
Small, yes, friendly, yes, beautiful, yes.
It’s a city that I could easily see myself moving to in 2025.
Someone told me I’d get bored there, but I’m not so sure.
It is true that I love urban living – rural life can wait until I’m infirm and close to death. I’ve lived rurally and semi-rurally in Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and Norfolk. But cities are my thing.
They give off tremendous energy. They have unbeatable global cuisines. They never bore me (well, Manchester doesn’t).
You never feel alone in the right city.
Manchester is perfect in so many ways for me and this business
I’ve been in Manchester for 14 months now and still find it a largely perfect base to live and work. It’s friendly, exciting, diverse, and surrounded by hills and National Parks.
Chester though is the only city I could see me moving to, perhaps in 2025.
It was charming and alluring, friendly and beautiful.
Time now, perhaps, to end this and head to the rob dogs of Rightmove and search for what I could buy or rent there in 2025?
Chester did take this Man out of Manchester and I was quite smitten by Deva.
