Delights of Chester, Part 2.

Having had such a lovely time yesterday, we thought we would do some further sightseeing again today, but that only happened after I bought a new compact camera from Currys. I have bought the same Samsung camera that Keith has, so we can use the same software. I will see if my Canon can be fixed when we head back to Market Harborough later in the year, if there is any water to get there on.

We firstly visited the  largest Roman amphitheatre in Britain and dates to the 1st century. It was used for entertainment and military training by the Romans. The amphitheatre was only rediscovered in 1929, when one of the pit walls was discovered during construction work, in 2004-5 excavations by English Heritage and Chester City Council revealed two successive stone-built amphitheatres with wooden seating.

We then carried on down to the river for a walk along the banks. But stopped to have a coffee at Hickory's restaurant, which had a strong smell of smoke coming from the kitchen, which is completely normal, as the meat is smoke cooked. The coffee was a little expense at £2.25 a cup, but we needed a coffee so we paid the price.

On a sandstone knoll overlooking the  river Dee, is the curious Anchorite's Cell in the grounds of St. Johns Church. It may have originated as a private chapel. In the 16th century it was used as a meeting house of the Company of Shoemaker's. It has seen service as a grain store and in the 1970's it was an architect's office before being converted into it's current use as a private residence. It may have also been occupied by a hermit monk, the unique medieval cell is home to a powerful, mischievous spirit that springs to life at Halloween. It is now a two bedroom house.

We walked up into Grosvenor Park to see if we could find the miniature railway and found the Squirrel population very friendly.

The railway does not operate until April.

The Spring flowers did look fantastic in the sunshine.

We walked over the Queen's Park suspension bridge which was built in 1923, replacing an earlier footbridge.

We walked on down to the meadows and watched one of the trip boats out on its hourly cruise.

 

On walking back in the opposite direction we came across an old water wheel from a former mill site. The wheel was restored in 1988. In the 16th C there were eleven water wheels in operation. Six of them for grinding corn, two for pumping water and three for fulling mills to clean and treat cloth. This is the last remaining wheel.

Chester Weir and Salmon leap is grade I listed. It was designed to provide a head of water for the medieval mills on the river. It did look splendid in the sunshine.

Before crossing the bridge back into the centre of Chester we went and found the shrine of the Roman Goddess Minerva in Edgar's Field. The shrine dates from the early 2nd century and is carved into the face of a sandstone quarry. Minerva was the Roman goddess of war, knowledge and craftsmanship. After visiting the shrine one Chester's churches bells were ringing to announce 12 noon, which meant one thing, it was time for some lunch.

We ended up having a curry club lunch and pint at Wetherspoons, which hit the spot a treat, because after lunch we went food shopping in Tesco. On returning to the boat, I put the frozen food in the freezer and then got ready to move off to descend the Northgate staircase locks.

I still could not hear any sighs, as we passed under the bridge of sighs.

Top Lock was full.

I had to empty lock two and three, so we could descend the staircase.

Those darn high gear paddles were a pain. I did however have some help with the gates, as two young ladies dressed in school uniform asked if they could help with the gates. I am never one to refuse some help. I also got chatting to some people who were on holiday in Chester for a week, they were thoroughly interested in how the staircase works.

Having exited the last lock we made our way to a mooring on Tower Wharf, where Jenine, William and Alex are moored up. having secured the boat, we stood and had a lovely chat with Jenine and William for a while. It was then time to put away the rest of the food shop. I am looking forward to an evening with my feet up and a good nights sleep, because last night was not a good night for me, as I had that flippen camera on my mind.

Chat soon.