Day Trip to Chester

Chester is a lovely city. Our trip there started with a walk around the City walls, the novelty of this walk is that the majority of it is along the top of the wall giving you excellent views down at the Shropshire Union Canal, the River Dee and the City itself.

River Dee at Chester

River Dee at Chester

Along the walk are a number of displays explaining a little of the history of Chester including a Roman Amphitheatre a Roman Bath house and Chester Castle to name a few. The shopping area is a mix of architecture including Tudor whilst the Cathedrals Romanesque and Gothic styles contrast nicely.

Roman Bathhouse Chester

Roman Amphitheatre Chester

Chester Castle

Chester Race Course - Oh I wish I had my Croquet set with me

Tudor Style - Chester

Mixed architecture Chester

 

On to nature – the River Dee appears to be a healthy river, despite its murky muddy appearance several Herons and Cormorants were fishing its waters below the weir, I managed to get a few nice pictures of this heron who had sited itself in an old Mill race, there was not much in the way of trees round the city so passerines were few, Blackbirds, Robins, Blue Tits and Great Tits being the only sightings.
 

Those that know me well are probably aware of my antipathy towards Zoos however Chester Zoo is probably the best zoo I have visited in the last 25 years, all the animals have space to move around and there is a high level of care shown towards them. I was impressed with what they have achieved  including the breeding programs. If you visit Chester you must give the zoo a look ( http://www.chesterzoo.org/ ). The following is a small selection of the animals and birds I saw.

Giraffe

Komodo Dragon (from Geneva zoo for breeding)

Iguana



Asiatic Lion

Rhino (part of a successful breeding program)

Meerkat

Giant Otters (look at the front paws)



Little Egret



Glossy something

Spoonbill

Penguin

Flamingo