Dippy Jones Across the Pond: Day 60 - Chester... Chester... Toe-knee Chest-nut?

Today, I finally went to Chester. My parents have been telling me I had to go, so I finally got my act together and went!

Turns out though, it was the day of the races so there were thousands of people coming through the tiny town's railway station. All of them dressed infinitely better than I was, and so many funny hats! XD

Anyways, Chester was lovely. I managed to find my way walking through their 'subway', along the main street and then I saw them; the half-timbered houses, the gate with the clock. I knew very little about Chester before going, I knew about the black-and-white renaissance, but I didn't know about that clock... it was absolutely beautiful, if a little gaudy. I do love things dedicated to Queen Victoria though... coated in my initials! ^.^

I hadn't had anything to drink all day, so I was very thirsty. Especially since it was sooo hot. It was so sunny; a nice change. Then I saw this cute little place built into the city wall selling Cheshire Farms Ice Cream (a local creamery). I bought myself a cone of honeycomb icecream, and even if it was trying to melt all over me, and my camera, it was so delicious! I ate it as I started to walk my circuit of the walls.

Chester is the only walled city whose walls have survived to form their complete circuit. You can walk around the whole city centre from those walls. And that's not the only surviving Roman legacy in the town. They've also partially unearthed the largest Roman Amphitheatre in the UK. As well, some of the buildings still have their original roman foundations, the building currently housing a jacket potato franchise actually still has the underfloor heating system from the original roman building it used to be.

So cool!

... I'm such a geek. :P

Anyways, I got partway through my circuit and hit the River Dee. For some reason the town really started to remind me of a cross between Stratford, ON and Riverside Park back in Guelph. Made me feel like Canada Day.

I found a great little park across the river with the most fantastic little playground. I wish I weren't there at such a busy time of day, otherwise I'd have had a really awesome time playing. That reminds me, I really want to go to that playground near campus... it's all ropes and stuff, awesome.

Continued my stroll along the river and found the castle and the racetrack. It's actually the oldest racetrack in the UK, it's been there since the 1500s, round about. There were limos and even more people in fancy dress. They've got an awesome museum down that part of town too. It has a period house, local natural history display and the largest collection of Roman rocks (gravestones specifically).

Walked through town a little more and had a Mars bar milkshake from this little milkshake and smoothie shop in the rows. It was tasty, but apparently a milkshake just involves milk there really... no ice cream. Bizarre. Makes it less than the icy cool treat I was expecting. More just creamy and vaguely cool-ish.

I saw the cathedral and decided to continue my walk around the walls. I saw the tower where King Charles watched his army's defeat in the battle of Rowton Moor in 1645, the Water Tower they built to stop the river from silting up and got an even better view of the racetrack, and the last race of the day.

I'd noticed through the day, little cut circles in the stone and concrete on the ground, with little red arrows inset into them. I'd been wondering what they were, and finally I found a plaque. It was some sort of millennium path through the city.

Then I walked, trying to avoid the newly released horde of horse-racing fans, back to the railway station.

Wound up being in time for just the wrong train. I had to wait for almost an hour for the train to get there, then, when we got to Crewe, it was over an hour before the next bus back to campus. What could have been an hour trip, wound up taking 4 hours. Oh geez... I'm glad that I decided to leave at 6, if that had happened leaving any later, I would have been so ticked off... As it was, I'm home so late I don't think I'm going to go to Birmingham tomorrow as I'd hoped... Sleep and Doctor Who sounds like the best plan for my Sunday ^.^