Friday, August 12, 2016

York to Manchester to Chester

August 11:  Today, we drove from York, across the northern edge of the Peaks District, through the national park, to Manchester Airport (to allow Elaine to check-in at her airport hotel  - she flies out on the 12th), and on west to Chester.  (Side note in the small-world department:  A Rick Steves tour group was also staying at the Churchill, and we were greeted this morning by a Portland woman, Cindy Horvath, who used to work with us.  She said it was a 14-day tour, they had just come from the Lakes District, and were on their way to London.)

Chester, like York, has intact medieval city walls, Roman ruins, half-timbered buildings, a scenic river, and a significant cathedral.  As a result, it also attracts lots of tourists.  However, many of the half-timbered buildings appear to be modern reconstructions used as facades for 'Olde Shoppes.'

After checking into our comfortable guest house (along the main string of guest houses), we started exploring the city.  It immediately started raining, so we ducked into a tea shop to wait out the storm (a very common activity on this part of our holidays).  We then visited the 900+ year old cathedral and admired its beautifully painted ceiling, intricate gothic wood carvings, and array of modern stained glass windows.


Wood carving in the 'quire' stall
A beer drinker?
From the cathedral, we walked along the city walls, with views of the Shropshire-Union Canal, the River Dee, and the Chester Race Course.  (When races are being held, our guest house host told us that up to 30,000 people stream into town, mostly by train, so the city gets very crazy.)  We walked into the ruins of  a Roman garden and a Roman amphitheater, through the half-timbered shopping zone, and into a canal-side pub, The Lockkeeper's Tavern, for dinner.  We then escorted Elaine to the train station where she caught a train back to Manchester Airport before returning to our guest house.  We have been watching the Rio Olympics off and on this week on BBC.  The BBC coverage is much less annoying than the US version.  They have informed (if sometimes overly technical) commentary, show no advertising, and cover some of the more diverse sports like women's rugby and men's field hockey - focussing on the British athletes, naturally.

Roodee Horse Track, oldest in Britain and within the city limits

Half Timber Pub

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