Chester - What A Lovely City

Thursday 5th September

Joy oh joy   I woke today feeling so much better.  Thankfully that sore throat has not progressed to anything worse and those tonsils have done their job, although I cursed them at the time

After a slow morning we readied ourselves to go and take that walk around town.  As we had just stepped off the boat, nb Waiouru with Tom and Jan came around the corner and under the bridge.

Jan, Tom and nb Waiouru

We were preparing for a wave and quick 'Hello and Goodbye' yelled across the water but to our great delight, Tom pulled in to the edge in front of us and invited us aboard for a cup of tea and a chat. 

Well we did not need a second invitation!  We spent a great hour or so talking all things Narrowboat, Kiwi and Aussie.  Thanks so much Jan and Tom, it was great to be able to reminisce about all things down under for a while  

Eventually though, Tom and Jan needed to move on, they had 5 locks to get through as they were planning on stopping at The Cheshire Cat, where we had spent the previous two days.  We also needed to go and do some sightseeing, as we must move on tomorrow.

First stop was the Chester Cathedral. WOW !!  It was quite impressive and these are just a small selection of the photos that I took.

Nave and South Transept from outside

 

Nave

Mosaic on the north walls of the Nave

One of the modern windows which I rather liked

Choir

A very large candlestick

The Lady Chapel window

Side windows in the Lady Chapel

Cloisters

Cloister garden

Hollyhocks in the garden

 

We then wondered around town, where we discovered a Hotel Chocolat.  Naturally I popped in and we did not leave empty handed.  Looking forward to some tasty treats later this evening
 

Eastgate St looking towards Eastgate and the city wall

Market Cross

On Northgate St

 

We made our way back after 4 plus hours of sightseeing. I was rather tired by this stage and was hoping to go back and photograph some of the streets and buildings in the late evening but the weather has set in and there is no sun to be seen.

We walked back to the boat via the north gate wall and spied the canal below.  Tomorrow we shall travel along this route, the canal that is, on our way to Ellesmere Port.  I think that we will definitely be stopping here again for 48 hours on our way back as there are more things that I want to see and also walk along the whole city wall.  There are some fantastic views from up there

Looking east with city walls on right

Looking west - city walls on left

Top of Northgate

King Charles Tower

Clock Tower on the Town Hall, seen from the wall

On our travels through town we also popped in to a '3' store, as Tom and Jan had suggested we look into the same plan that they are on.  My current sim provider has put in various software changes so that I can no longer use tethering on my phone.  This has meant using the phone handset for Skype-ing and although that still works it makes it a bit difficult when we both want to be in on the call.  Unfortunately I did not have my phone on me or my debit card, so we will sort that on our way back too.  It will end up being only $3 (read pounds) more a month but there is no issue with tethering and I believe that most people get a much better signal through them than we currently get while out and about. 

Well that is all for today's edition.  Cheers until next time