Grosvenor Park, Chester — 16th July 2022 (Author’s Collection).
My “Summer Project” of walking the entirety of the Shropshire Union Canal took me both to the beautiful city of Chester as well as a cheeky detour throughout the famed “Walled City” of Cheshire, a cheat code for missing a few miles of the canal from nearby Nantwich and, perhaps more importantly, creating yet another idea for a series of articles within this already bulging net of simple travel ideas throughout the UK. If you’re new to these particular articles, here’s some background flavour for the wealth of recent articles on my gambolling along canals this Summer, as well as this article in particular.
I started this without any aim or plan whatsoever but after walking a couple of the nearer stretches of the waterways here in Shropshire I decided to extend this to a passion project for the Summer, and my walking of the entirety of the Shropshire Union Canal. To date, I’ve covered roughly 2/3rds of the 66 mile stretch of the commonly known “Cut” and I have the final third, Nantwich to Manchester via Chester, to complete. So strictly speaking I’ve missed a small chunk to compile this particular article today, however, and here’s the beauty, I now have another passion project underway: to cover the central stretches of canals running through major UK cities. This article is one, another two (Wolverhampton and Birmingham) are local to me and already pencilled in the memory diary for parts two and three and, with some forward thinking, I’m now planning one off visits to other major, mainly English cities, that benefit from the beautiful vista of a canal snaking it’s path from the 18th through to the 21st Century.
Without any real aim, I now have several! The completion of the Shropshire Union Canal is one, as is the completion of the local stretches of the Llangollen Canal both of which cover where I live in an almost distant arc snaking their way either side of me and, together with my latest idea of the major cities and accompanying stretches of canal, I now have a larger and larger “project”, which pleases me as I am oft to forget what an actual real life is and when I do engage with that strange concept called “real life” and find these little nuggets of a bygone age, I have the widest of smiles to accompany my sore and aching feet.
This article on Chester is somewhat of a “Special Edition” and in league with the spirit of a winding canal, we’ll bend and twist our way via a whistle stop tour of the walled city herself, its Tudor period architecture, canal highlights, the beginnings of the River Dee, cathedrals, churches (a special extended look at The Church of St John The Baptist and its centuries old ruins), as well as some fortuitous images captured at the huge local racecourse before we conclude our sunshine filled stroll with some pleasing images from Grosvenor Park in the heart of the city. I have driven through and around Chester many, many times, so today was my first chance to relax into a fully explorative walk around the city and as I hope the following collection of images present, I rather fell in love with this old historic Cheshire city.
I say “whistle stop” when in actual fact this edition is bulging with far more images than even I normally include. Please take this as a show of love and affection for a quite beautiful few hours in the sun.
Only minimal colour commentary to accompany the images from hereon in, and I sincerely hope you enjoy this virtual amble in the sun around Chester.
*All images were captured by me on Saturday 16th July 2022*
Welcome to Chester! Captured between Bridges 123a and 123b or “Hoole Lane Bridge” and “City Road Bridge”. The central belt of the canal and merging with the River Dee lies straight ahead.
“Chester Shot Tower” beside the Shropshire Union Canal that winds its way through the city.
View from atop Bridge 123b at City Road heading out of the city toward Boughton, and via the 5th canal Lock of Chester at Hoole Lane.
The merging of the Shropshire Union Canal with the River Dee and its path through the “Walled City”.
The creation of “Hoole Lane Lock” on the outskirts of Chester.
View from atop Bridge 123a or “Hoole Lane Bridge” perfectly representing the long stretch of canal into the heart of the city and the dominant remnants of a bygone age — the “Steam Mill” building to your left and “Shot Tower” to your right.
View from atop Bridge 123e or “Cow Lane Bridge”.
There’s something childishly pleasing about a bridge crossing called “Cow Lane”.
All you could ever wish to know about the intricate “Staircase” type Locks at Northgate Cutting in the centre of the city.
(1) The bottom Lock of three at Northgate Locks.
(2) The bottom Lock of three at Northgate Locks.
The canal “basin” of Chester.
“Where the Shropshire Union Canal meets the River Dee”
The canal basin within Chester’s “Garden Quarter”.
Lock Number 1 at “Williams Moorings”.
The canal Locks leading to the River Dee and a historic look at “Williams Moorings” above.
Lock Number 1 at “Williams Moorings” with the canal workshop and central wharf ahead.
Please say a hearty hello to “Willow” stationed here in the wharf of the canal basin.
View through Bridge Number 126e or “Cambrian Road Bridge” and back toward the central wharf and canal basin of Chester.
View through Bridge Number 126 or “Tower Wharf Bridge” and a beautiful representation of the small but beautiful canal basin.
Commemoration plaque for the Chester born writer Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt at the foot of “Tower Wharf Bridge”.
A beautiful view from atop Bridge 126 at Tower Wharf overlooking the canal basin. From here, the canal splits in two. The Shropshire Union Canal continues heading north toward Manchester whilst a small section of canal is broken by four Locks as it merges with the River Dee (between the trees on the right in the distance).
Lock Number 2 of 4 as the canal links with the River Dee that flows around the city.
The ancient and the modern as well as the linking/merging with the River Dee.
View from atop a railway bridge as we follow a river side trail that leads you from the end of the canal and alongside the continuing river that snakes through and around the city.
View from the same bridge and our first glimpse of the magnificent Chester Racecourse to the right.
View from the well signposted walkway and river side trail that runs parallel here to the racecourse and around it’s perimeter through to the magnificent freebie views captured shortly below. By this stage in our walk we have circled the outside of the city via the canals and will now enter the central hub of the city herself. But first, do you want to see the 1.59pm 6 Furlong Novice Sprint (sponsored by Budweiser)?
Rather fittingly and ostensibly at the entrance to the vast circular racecourse, is a statue in honour of Field Marshal Stapleton Cotton. The history books state he was a hero of the Napoleonic Wars and I state he had the most stereotypically English/British name of all time. Stapleton Cotton!
Chester Racecourse from high up on the walled roadside and quite the free view as well as a very pleasing surprise as I didn’t know beforehand how central the racecourse was within the city.
Rounding the bend into the home straight, the 1.59pm 6 Furlong Novice Sprint (sponsored by Budweiser).
“And your race leader “Self Praise” kicks for home with a furlong to go”.
Chester Racecourse and quite the freebie view!
St Michael’s Church behind the city’s County, Crown and Magistrates Courts.
Queen Victoria stationed at the entrance to the city’s Crown Court.
“Sick to Death” and a “Dark look into Chester’s past” through to “Chester Cross” at the bottom of Bridge Street.
At the top of Bridge Street and turning right onto Eastgate, Chester’s famous “Eastgate Clock”.
Chester’s magnificent cathedral.
“Eastgate Clock”, Chester.
The collision of architecture and times, the ancient and the modern, the Tudor and the Georgian.
The beautiful Tudor architecture so prevalent of Cheshire/Shropshire border towns and cities.
“Erected by Public Subscription” and completed in 1899.
With the city walls to your left and a very busy river boat hiring pontoon and small promenade, the River Dee snaking through Chester toward “Queens Park Bridge”.
“Queens Park Bridge” and the busy life of an English riverside city.
Celebrating its centenary next year, “Queens Park Bridge”, Chester.
With 45 minutes left of my walk I had a choice to finish here, or the nearby Castle and Castle Walls. I believe I chose wisely, and I hope you enjoy this rather elongated look at “The Church of St John The Baptist” and its accompanying ruins, some of which date as far back as the 9th Century.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 1.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 2.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 3.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 4.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 5.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 6.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 7.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 8.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 9.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 10.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 11.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 12.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 13.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 14.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 15.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 16.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 17.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 18.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 19.
The beautiful “Church of St John The Baptist” and accompanying ruins — Part 20.
Adjacent to both the ruins of the church of St John The Baptist and the Castle/Castle Walls is beautiful “Grosvenor Park”. This huge park is again well signposted and acts almost as a thoroughfare in all compass directions for the city.
At an entrance to Grosvenor Park and the magnificent juxtaposition between “Grosvenor Park Lodge” and St Werburgh’s Catholic Church.
A final late afternoon image and farewell to a city that treated me so well on a quite perfect late morning and long afternoon in the sunshine of beautiful Chester.
Your humble narrator and Radiohead obsessive on the outskirts of Audlem Mill, Cheshire, late June 2022.
Thanks for reading. Further city editions of the Locks and Canals of Wolverhampton and Birmingham to follow but if you’ve enjoyed this elongated pictorial stroll in the sunshine, can I tempt you with these recently published articles on specific walks throughout the Central/North West stretches of England’s waterways?
