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| Streets of Chester |
We were up and out early today to
catch the ferry to Holyhead. It was a good crossing – just under 2 hours! The
train station is very conveniently located essentially in the Holyhead ferry
terminal, so we had our Brit Rail passes initialized and wandered out to find
our platform.
The train journey were very pleasant
– the Welsh countryside was lovely. Rocky outcrops projected here and there
from verdant fields dotted with sheep, cows, and horses. These rural scenes
were interspersed with glimpses of the ocean and the occasional beach resort
with crazy people cavorting in the frigid sea and charming cottages with
foxgloves, roses, and daisies everywhere. We actually saw swans! A highlight of
the trip was passing through Llandudno Junction– the entire village was a
tourist brochure of quaint brickwork nestled at the feet of a castle ruin.
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| Roman walls and canal |
Chester is truly one of the most
beautiful towns we have ever seen. We absolutely loved it, despite the way it
thwarted our plans. The first setback occurred at the train station – no left
luggage room! We had checked this for ALL the stations we are travelling into,
but somehow there isn’t one there. This left us saddled with all the bags.
Those of you who know me know how I feel about baggage. There is almost nothing
worth the inconvenience and tedium of carrying with you. However, on a trip
like this one, there are a few things that we were required to bring – they
are, naturally, large, heavy, unwieldy things so we have 5 bags with us this
trip. And thanks to Chester’s refusal to have a left luggage room, we got to go
on our walking tour of the city walls, the Cathedral, the Roman amphitheater,
the Rows, and the half mile to and from the station loaded down like pack
animals.
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| Cross section of the flooring of a Roman bathhouse. |
The walk into town was (other than
the cacophony of luggage wheels on old, irregular stone pavement) delightful.
We walked along the canal path lined with trees, flowers, and houseboats and
home to what looked like roughly 90% of the duck population of Britain. We had
hoped to begin our walk on the city walls at the East Gate, which houses a very
impressive clock recognizing Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, however the wall
was closed at that point as they are restoring the clock. The scaffolding at
this site was handsomely robed in Tyvek-like sheets imprinted with a picture of
the structure we had hoped to see! Very thoughtful of them. There are several
entry points onto the walls, so we were able to walk a couple of blocks over
and enter by the cathedral. The walls were originally erected during Roman
times. Chester was one of the 3 major Roman fortifications in Britain, and has
also the remnants of a Roman garden and amphitheater right in the town.
The Deanery field adjacent to the
cathedral is in process of being converted to a falconry and nature preserve.
We saw the perches and a very large owl, but couldn’t catch sight of any
falcons. We ambled along past medieval watchtowers, city gates, and the ruins
of Chester Castle. It was a perfect day and the views out over the surrounding countryside
and of the River Dee were truly lovely.
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| Chester Cathedral. Sadly, we only got to see the outside. |
We had timed our circumnavigation of
the town to have us back in time for evensong at the Cathedral. http://www.chestercathedral.com/ According to their website, that is at 3:30 on
Sundays. As we approached we heard the bells and then something that sounded
like drums. The drums increased in volume and then we heard bugles. We walked
into an enormous procession of scouts – boy & girl scouts of all ages, 5-95,
in full regalia with what appeared to be two bands and an enormous color guard
and reception committee of scouting dignitaries. We were extremely confused and
concerned that the parade would keep us from getting to the service on time
when we became aware that the procession was actually heading into the
cathedral! Evensong was apparently cancelled for a special scouts’ service. We
peeked in a saw just enough to be devastated that we couldn’t attend service in
such a glorious space or take the tour – you can see the bell tower, and a cathedral
model entirely in Lego!
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| Ruins from the 16th century Church of St. John. The church was founded in the 7th century. |
We consoled ourselves with
delectable snack platters, crème brulee, and homemade shortbread at a lovely
place called Dutton’s http://www.duttonschester.co.uk/
that resides in one of Chester’s narrow, cobbled, medieval alleys. We hoped we
could squeeze in a quick visit, if not the tour, after the scouts, but before
our train. However, it was apparently not to be.
Our train to Cardiff took us through
more exquisite countryside. I will spare you all reams more slavering by just
assuring you that every overblown, effervescent, syllable of purple prose
expended on the glories of the English countryside has never come close to doing
it any justice. It is sublime. As you work your way further south in Wales it
becomes less and less rural and more and more a validation of Luddites.
We arrived in Cardiff
about 8:40 and, regretting the materialistic culture we are hapless products of for the last time today, hauled our burdens off to the hostel to rest and
prepare for another day!
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