Perhaps rightly or wrongly, best known for being "the place where Hollyoaks is based", Chester is one of a few places in the country that can truly offer something for everyone - for my money Chester has to rank as one of them. The only UK city to be able to boast being enclosed within a Roman wall, it also features an Norman cathedral providing an almost unrivalled historical edge to the city. Then there are the modern aspects to the city, not least the shops which seem to span literally every area of the city from wall to wall and beyond. If you have a children, there are a multitude of places to go and finally if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle, you're never very far from the River Dee or one of the many homes and gardens just a short drive away. It had been some years since I last visited Chester and that had been at the back-end of a day trip to North Wales, so while Sue and myself had walked the walls and wondered around the town a little, that was about our only experience of Chester, while Ehlana and Dylan had yet to experience the place. At a little over an hour and half's drive from Birmingham, Chester's surprisingly easy to get to once you've got passed the usual M6 snarl-ups. We were staying at the Crowne Plaza, a recently refurbished 4 star hotel which was perfectly situated to maximise our time in the city - it's just a two minute walk away from the main Watergate/Eastgate Streets which are the heart of the city. The twin room we stayed in was perfect, bold textured wood complemented with red furnishings, plasma TV's in both rooms; one room was converted for the children to share while the other room had all the usual hook-ups you'd expect - internet access etc. Here for just two days, initially, we were going to begin our weekend with one of the many bus tours that are located just outside the visitor centre, which in turn is just over the road from the Roman Ampitheatre - apparently the largest in Britain. Unfortunately, we were in the city on the day of the Lord Mayor's parade and the lovely 1910 open top bus we wanted to tour in had been booked by a group for the parade which meant we couldn't use it until later in the day - if our schedule permitted - which it didn't. After that minor set-back, we opted for the next best thing, a tour of the city via the wall, heading down towards The Groves which are situated alongside the River Dee. We joined the wall at Castle Drive and began our walk past The Roodee, Chester's racecourse and the oldest one in Britain. The wall is 2.2 miles long and is a great place to take your time and experience some the history of the city. Plaques regularly inform you of any historical significance or purpose of any given section and with regular paths back into the town, you can often get off the wall to explore an area, as we did when we approached the Eastgate Clock, one of the city's most famous landmarks, and headed into the city centre to watch the tail-end of the parade. After a couple of hours walking we were back at The Groves and opted for one of the many boat trips available up and down the river, we chose Bithell Boats and went for a 30-minute excursion, which while pleasant enough, turned and returned before you knew it - also the system of collecting money during the entire trip manage to drown out the commentary and proved to be quite annoying. There are longer cruises and themed cruises available which may be more satisfying, but I'd steer clear of the 30-minute job. A quick whizz around the Grosvenor Mall and a few of the boutiques (Chester has an impressive array of both high street brands, designer stores, galleries and a TRAVEL number of familiar culinary names) and it was time for to head back to the hotel to get ready for the days main event. The evening's entertainment was an outdoor firework concert in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle which boasts some simply spectacular gardens - although it does have some competition with the likes of Tatton Park, Lyme Park all in the vicinity. Despite getting off to an awful start - we had torrential rain for about an hour before the concert began - this annual event is fantastic entertainment for people of all ages and walks of life; we saw families picnicking alongside tuxedoed revellers who had brought candles, tables to enjoy their evening meal. Opening with Mossley Brass Band, followed by the Manchester Camerata, the music covered a number of popular classical pieces as well as a sprinkling of more contemporary fare closing with fireworks and some lethal looking flame throwers located safely out of harm's way! Sunday saw us head back into Chester to visit the Tourist centre. Ehlana had just finished covering the Roman's at school and was keen to see what things were on show, and discover a little more about Chester's Roman roots. After that, we headed for Chester Zoo, which is a registered charity geared towards animal conservation. While initially the price may seem a little daunting (it'll cost around £50 for a family ticket), it's fantastic value with 7000 animals and over 400 species - no wonder after six hours we found ourselves rushing around the last few enclosures before it closed. Set within beautiful, clean grounds, all of the enclosures are spacious, well kept and generally reflect the environment you expect the animal to have come from - no-shows were very rare as well. The highlight for Dylan was undoubtedly the Bat Cave, a darkened warehouse type structure where Fruit Bats swoop around the lake picking fruit from the trees as you walk around. For me, it was quite alarming just how many animals are on the endangered lists, with seemingly almost every animal in jeopardy to some degree. It's also quite refreshing to walk around without being bombarded with ice-cream kiosks - while they are scattered around the grounds, there aren't that many and they are subtlety placed. After our visit, we were left somewhat dissapointed - not with the city or the attractions but the simple fact that there was so much to do that we simply hadn't had time to fit it all in. 10 things you didn't know about chester * The Roodee is the only racecourse in britain where you can view the entire course from any position * The Rows are a unique medieval two-tiered shopping street * Chester's Roman ampitheatre is the largest in Britain * Chester is home to the oldest rowing competition in the world * The Cathedral has the most complete Monastic Cloisters in England * The Blue Planet Aquarium is Britain's biggest and also as the worlds longest underwater moving walkway * Chester is the only place in Britain to maintained regular midday proclamations * Chester claims to have more ghosts than other city in England * The Duke of Westminster owns The Chester Grosvenor, the only 5 red star in Northern England n Chester football club straddles the England/Wales border KEY LINKS
www.visitchester.com
www.crowneplaza.co.uk
www.chesterzoo.org
www.showboatsofchester.co.uk
www.chesterheritagetours.co.uk
www.english-heritage.co.uk
www.goape.co.uk
www.tattonpark.org.uk
www.chestercathedral.com
www.andertonboatlift.co.uk
www.blueplanetaquarium.com | 
