The Historic Walled City of Chester
Chester is often called one of England’s most beautiful cities. This ancient place of striking old walls and black-and-white Tudor buildings (two-storey shopping galleries under covered walkways, found nowhere else in England.
Shops and cafés line both the ground floor and the upper gallery, protected from wind and rain. The timber and stone arches overhead provide shelter in all weathers, and visitors can glimpse original medieval beams, old shopfronts, and exposed brickwork.
Another thing you’ll notice in Chester is the warm orange glow of older buildings, due to local Triassic sandstone, a type of stone quarried nearby for centuries. Builders used this soft yet sturdy rock for much of Chester’s historic heart, from the city walls to the cathedral and local homes.
This stone makes Chester look as if it’s glowing at sunset, especially after rain. It’s not just pretty on the outside. The thick blocks keep interiors cool in summer and hold heat in the colder months, which mattered long before central heating.
Sharing Land More Fairly?
A large amount of Cheshire is owned by the Duke of Westminster, including Eaton Hall. Who despite being born with ‘the longest silver spoon anyone could have’ is at least using some of his wealth to help the less fortunate in society.
However there are calls for him to ban hunting on estates he owns (one creature was actually killed in someone’s garden, after the hunt pursued it onto private land)
Read more on why England could share land more fairly.
The Main Cheshire Towns
- Crewe was once a small village, until the Grand Junction Railway was built in the 1830s. The town grew up around the railways, all the houses, shops and schools shaped by the train industry.
- Nantwich feels like a walk through the pages of history. Black-and-white timbered buildings line its streets, dating back to the days after a great fire in 1583. The town’s medieval charm is made even richer by a lively food and festival scene.
- Warrington sits at the heart of modern Cheshire, linking Liverpool, Manchester, and the wider North West. Once a quiet crossing on the River Mersey, it grew rapidly with canals, railways, and industry.
