Visiting Chester? What to Know Before You Go

A city where you can walk a Roman wall, shop in a medieval gallery and be in Wales twenty minutes later. In episode 224 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy is joined again by Briony Wilson from Mountain Goat, who spent ten years living in Chester and says it is her next favourite place in the UK after the Lake District. She shares what to see, how much time to give it, and how to use Chester as a base for North Wales, Liverpool and Manchester.

This is the next episode in our Before You Go series, following Edinburgh, York and the Lake District. When Briony joined Tracy for the autumn episode, she mentioned she had lived in Chester for ten years, so she was the perfect person to come back and talk about it.

Chester is a walled Roman city, compact enough to see on foot, with a direct train from London Euston, and it puts North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester and Wrexham all within easy reach. Tracy and Doug have loved it every time they have visited. Briony takes you through her full day in the city, from the walls to Chester Market to the bars on Watergate Street, plus what to add if you have more time.

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Episode 224 – Summary

What you’ll learn in this episode

Where Chester is, and how close it sits to Liverpool, Manchester, Wrexham and the Welsh border
How to get there by direct train from London Euston in about two hours, and why going via Crewe can give you more train times for an extra five or ten minutes
Why you won’t need a car in the city, and how the park and ride works if you are driving in
What the Rows are (R-O-W-S, not Rose) and how these medieval galleries are used today
How the Cross works as the centre point of the city, and why there is no Westgate or Southgate Street
Where to take the classic photo of the Eastgate Clock
Whether to stay inside the city walls or just outside the centre, and what to check before booking an older building with lots of stairs
How many days to give Chester, and why three to five days works so well
What happens to the city on race days, and why it is worth checking the dates before you book
The big days out near Chester, from Chester Zoo and the racecourse to Jodrell Bank, Tatton Park, Dunham Massey and Cheshire Oaks
How to use Chester as a base for North Wales, and what the Mountain Goat tour covers, from Llandudno and Conwy to Caernarfon and Eryri National Park
Why Chester works for football fans, with Wrexham 20 minutes away and Liverpool and Manchester within an hour
Briony’s full day in Chester, from breakfast and the city walls to lunch at Chester Market and the bars on Watergate Street
Briony’s quickfire picks: where to stay, what to eat at Chester Market, the view worth the effort and the one thing to bring home

Briony’s day in Chester

Morning. Start with a good breakfast. Briony’s favourite is Kookaburra Bakehouse, which is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so on those days try The Flower Cup. From there, head to the top of Northgate Street, take the steps up onto the city walls and walk anti-clockwise.

The full circuit is just under two miles and takes about an hour with photo stops, and doing it first thing gives you your bearings for the rest of the day. You walk towards the racecourse, past Chester Castle and the River Dee, and about halfway round you reach the Eastgate Clock, said to be the second most photographed clock in the UK after Big Ben.

You can climb the walls here by steps, so take your photos from the top, then from the street below by the Chester Grosvenor.

Midday. The circuit brings you back to where you started, by the Town Hall and Chester Cathedral. The cathedral runs tours and always has events, and if you are visiting around Christmas, the area outside the Town Hall hosts the Christmas market.

For lunch, Briony’s pick is Chester Market, just behind the Town Hall. About twenty food vendors operate on a buzzer system, so everyone can choose something different and still eat together, plus butchers, fishmongers, and small shops.

Afternoon. The Chester Visitor Information Centre is close by, and many guided tours start there, from history walks led by a Roman or a gladiator to ghost tours and food tours. If you would rather not be marched round the city by a gladiator, it is easy to explore on your own.

Half of the Roman amphitheatre is uncovered, and you can walk in and sit inside it. Past the amphitheatre are the Roman Gardens, which many people miss. It is a long, narrow garden with steps down past mosaic features and the remains of a Roman underfloor heating system, leading out to the River Dee.

Down at the Groves you can sit by the water with a Cheshire Farm ice cream or take a boat trip on the river. Grosvenor Park is a short walk away, and in summer it hosts the theatre in the park.

Evening. Head back to the Cross, where the four main streets meet, for dinner at one of the independent restaurants. Then head along Watergate Street, which Briony calls Bar Street, for cocktails and wine.

Getting around. Chester is compact and best explored on foot, but as an old city, expect uneven surfaces, steps, and level changes. Accessible routes reach every section of the Rows, and most of the city walls are wheelchair-accessible, though not the full circuit.

a building with many windows and people walking on the street

Links mentioned in this episode

Mountain Goat Tours – small-group tours, including the North Wales tour Briony mentions in this episode. Use code UKTRAV10 for 10% off
Hotel Indigo Chester – where Tracy and Doug stayed, and one of their favourite stays. Read our review
Free UK Trip Planning Roadmap – our step-by-step guide to planning your UK trip

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Visiting Chester? What to Know Before You Go

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