It’s free and it’s a good walk; but it may also be the best legwork you do on your visit to Chester.
Spending time wandering the raised, restored walls is a perfect way to immerse yourself into the lengthy history of this absorbing city.
As the most complete in the UK, the City Walls follow the lines of the original Roman fortifications.
Along the way, they offer views looking inward and outward over many of Chester’s best known attractions.
In between the city’s gates, you can look across to the Cathedral, the castle, see the canal basin and railway, follow the course of the River Dee, peer down to the Roman amphitheatre and skirt the perimeter of the racecourse.
Spectacular monument
The city walls are spectacular and a true monument to time in themselves, but also the grandest viewing platform you could hope for. The panoramas will not disappoint.
If you’re looking for a landmark as your starting point, pick the Eastgate, instantly recognisable with its commemorative clock – one of the most photographed timepieces in the country – and constructed to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.
Heading north sweeps you past the 1000-year-old Cathedral and Deansfield, now open grassland that two millennia ago was the barracks for the Roman legions stationed in Chester.
Nearby is the King Charles Tower, said to be the point where Charles I witnessed the defeat of his Royalist forces in 1645 at the Battle of Rowton Moor. Note also the Phoenix carved into the stone, the emblem of the guild company of painters and embroiderers which formerly used the tower for its meetings.
Hop-on-hop-off
As you circumnavigate, you’ll meet dog walkers, joggers, badged-up passengers from cruise ships or locals simply getting from A to B.
It is also a hop-on-hop-off experience, like the open-top tour buses in the city. You’ll see access points, not just at the gates but also steps spread around the circumference, letting you down to street level.
That means you can do the 1.9-mile route in stages or drop down for lunch in one of Chester’s diverse selection of cafés and restaurants.
You can whizz round the walls or segments of them, but my suggestion is take your time and allow 90 minutes or so for the whole circuit.
Major photo-stop
Crossing the Northgate, look below and follow the canal to the Water Tower and Gardens and then head towards the Watergate or western gate where the wall overlooks what is the oldest racecourse in the country.
The walls later pass by the castle and Cheshire Military Museum and follow the River Dee, over the Bridgegate near the Old Dee Bridge.
Turning back towards your start point at Eastgate you’ll first cross Newgate near the Roman Gardens and amphitheatre.
As well as being a major photo-stop, Eastgate also offers views toward the Chester Cross which marks the city centre and The Rows – the two-tiered medieval shopping galleries with the black and white facades.
The DIY walking tour of the walls needs no guide and is a free opportunity to enjoy Chester from an elevated perspective. There are also informative signboards along the way.
Losing (clock) face
Once back at ground level, wander at leisure along St Werburgh Street to the Cathedral and Town Hall or enjoy the restaurants and cafés along Northgate Street. My choice was Marmalade, friendly, welcoming and serving a lovely coffee.
The Storyhouse, a theatre, cinema and library and also the site of Meghan Markle’s first royal engagement in the UK, is also along Northgate Street.
Time, of course, is ever-present in Chester with numerous clocks in addition to the renowned Eastgate timepiece.
But also take a close look at the Town Hall clock. It has faces on three sides but oddly not on the fourth side facing Wales.
As Gareth Boyd, my guide on another walking tour – this time of food outlets – tells me:
“The clock face facing Wales was removed, supposedly because the English did not want to give the Welsh the time of day!”
Food on the move
The Walking Food Tour of Chester calls in at various eateries, allowing you to stroll, sate your appetite and enjoy local produce too.
“Come hungry, leave full,” says Gareth, who established the tours in 2018 and offers anecdotes and info while pointing out landmarks along the way.
At the first stop, we are introduced to Ann Faulkner and her staff at The Cheese shop and offered a selection of cheeses, paired with mead.
Ann explains that her mother Carole opened the shop 40 years ago:
“When she started, the aim was to focus on British cheeses, because at the time some 80% of cheeses were either French or Italian.”
Thriving food scene
Working with artisan producers to deliver British cheeses for customers, the stock includes Cheshire cheeses, which is one of the oldest British cheeses and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Ann continues:
“In Tudor times, Cheshire was a big cheesemaking area; at one time there were 2,000 cheesemakers in Cheshire; today, there are two.”
We taste a traditional Cheshire cheese, orange light and mild Crabtree with holes in it and made to an Italian alpine recipe; and two from local cheesemaker Claire Burt – the soft Drunken Burt and the Bidlea Blue wrapped in vine leaves.
A second stop is Mediterranean themed Artezzan for pincho, small bites of fried dauphinoise potatoes, lamb kofta and pork belly. Then it’s time for a drink at Vin Santo to savour Goldford Brut, a sparkling white wine at £38 a bottle and produced in Cheshire.
The walks aim is to showcase Chester’s thriving indie food scene: from pizza to Indian cuisine, Aussie inspired pastries at Kookaburra; craft ales at That Beer Place; and tapas, Turkish and Polish cuisine. Tours last four hours with five venue stops and cost £90.
Luxury lodges
Other walking tours include ghost tours and The Dark Tour, bringing out the more macabre elements of the city’s past, which also saw the Anglo Saxons and Vikings leave their imprint long before the Middle Ages. There are tours focusing on Vikings, Romans, the Middle Ages, family-based walking tours too and the Chester Tour covers 2000 years of the city’s history. Tours are £10 (adult).
There’s a lot to be said for exploring a city on foot, especially one so compact, contained and accessible as Chester with around 130,000 inhabitants.
There are also numerous other attractions including the Grosvenor Museum with its array of artefacts and Chester Market.
Meanwhile, Chester Zoo is a must visit. One of the best-known zoos in the UK with its leopards, elephants, rhinos and giraffes, it also has a strong environmental ethos with a range of ground-breaking research projects.
New for this year are luxury lakeside lodges, where you can stay in the zoo grounds and wake up surrounded by exotic animals.
River cruise
When you’ve done with your walking, take to the River Dee for a cruise.
Wander through Grosvenor Park to the waterside and pick up a vessel for a two-hour sailing with Chester Boat along the River Dee (£17).
As you leave the city you pass the rowing clubs (Chester apparently has the oldest regatta in the UK), while large houses – most of which have been converted into apartments – tower up beside the water. Among them is Uffington House, the home of Thomas Hughes, author of Tom Brown’s Schooldays.
Further into the cruise, a right hand bend known as the Crook of Dee, marks the deepest point of the river at 35-40 feet, though in the centre of the city it is often shallow enough to wade across.
The river meanders into beautiful countryside and through the Duke of Westminster’s estate. The clock tower at Eaton Hall with its 31 separate chimes stands out as a landmark before we reach Aldford Iron Bridge, dating from 1824 and designed by Thomas Telford, and begin our return.
Offering yet another perspective of this delightful city, a river cruise is an idyllic way to round off a visit to Chester.
Fact Box:
Mark Nicholls stayed at The Queen Hotel opposite Chester Railway Station. For more information on Chester and Cheshire, please visit: www.chesterattractions.co.uk and www.visitcheshire.com.
Author Bio:
Mark Nicholls is an award-winning freelance travel writer and author, based in the UK and has written for a range of national titles, specialist magazines and international websites and operated as a war correspondent in locations such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Photographs by Mark Nicholls
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