Roman City of Chester

Chester is the Eastern most Roman town located in the heart of the UK about 197 Miles/317 KM from London,not far from Liverpool, and the Welsh border. The name Chester is derived from the Latin term for a Camp 'Castra'. Chester has the oldest race course, the Largest Roman Amphitheatre, the only surviving rock cut Roman Shrine in the Country. and the most complete set of Town Walls in the Country. Under a tudor law it is illegal for Welshmen to enter Chester after nightfall. Also the first person to walk across Chesters Grosvenor Bridge was a young Princess Victoria (in 1819) - later to be Queen.

Chester Racecourse is Britains Oldest sporting venue (in continual use) with the first race occurring in 1540. We parked at the track and walked along the outskirts of the city centre along its ancient Roman walls. We exstensively toured Chester Cathedral when we got to the city centre. Chester Cathedral is a truly remarkable building, with a history spanning almost two thousand years. According to legend, a prehistoric Druid temple existed on this site, which was succeeded by a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo. When Christianity became the state religion of Rome in the fourth century AD, the pagan temple then become a Christian church.

The shopping in Chester was a walk back in time. Modern and traditional shops on two levels in ancient Tudor buildings. On the way out of town we stopped in a Pasty shop for a takeaway lunch, and sat on the grounds of the racetrack to finish our meal.The Cornish pasty formed an important part of many working Cornishman's diet, be they miners, farmers, or fishermen. The men folk for the most part needed a packed lunch which would travel well, with easy inexpensive ingredients. Shaped like a half circle, the crusty part on the round side would form a handle, and would be thrown away because of the worker's dirty hands. Now the crust of the pasty is the best part.

Traveling back to Mersey we took a side trip into the North East corner of Wales to add another country to our ininerary. Dinner was a BBQ at home, and Julie and Stewart's friends Kate and Cambell joined us with thier son Alfie. Kate and Cambell taught at Rickstones school where I taught in 1992-93. Great end to a wonderful Liverpool experience!

The trip ended with a quick trip