England: Chester

We originally had designs for a stopover in Chester on our way from Oxford to Conwy. We had the worst day of train travel, arriving in Chester four hours late, where we got on a train to Conwy directly, completely missing Chester. While in Liverpool we managed a quick trip to Chester.

Chester turned out to be a rather interesting place. Founded as a Roman fortress, the town still has a complete wall. The center features raised arcades known as the “Rows” - we have never seen such architectural features anywhere else in the world. They were built in the medieval period when Chester was the most significant place in Northwestern England. The silting of its river eventually led to the rise of Liverpool.

Welcome to Chester Railway Station!


We walked along the Rochdale Canal towards the Vegan House in Central Market for some vegan fish and chips. We I ordered too much food and we skipped dinner that evening.




Next, to the Cathedral, with its historic monastic refectory, now Cafe 1092, and colorful stained glass windows.




Unfortunately, there was a massive art show that obscured the view of the amazing pre-Raphaelite marble mosaic murals in the north aisle of the nave (look closely at the first photo below). Those mosaics are a singular treasure of England. Sigh. I did manage to get a few photos.






Water of Life (1994) by Stephen Broadbent in the cathedral cloister


The Arcaded, Two-tiered, Chester Rows Shopping Galleries were very cool. We wandered around, in and out, up and down, for quite a few minutes.
















Chester Weir Spanning The River Dee


The Historic Red Sandstone Ramparts of the Chester City Walls, which sit on top of Roman Walls.






The Roman Amphitheatre as seen from the city walls.


The iconic Eastgate Clock, and a view from the clock down Eastgate Street.




Chester Racecourse (aka The Roodee) as seen from atop the city wall.

England: Liverpool With The Beatles

John insisted on including Liverpool on our UK itinerary as he is a big Beatles fan, but he didn't end up going to any paid attractions as most exuded an air of profiteering. He just wanted to be in the same milieu. Apparently many people had the same idea - we saw many Beatles fans happily snapping pics at any and every Beatles monument, location, pub, or shop.

Liverpool itself was much grander than we had expected, with monumental neo-classical buildings sponsored by a highly profitable trade triangle, that took manufactured goods to West Africa, slaves to the Americas, then sugar, coffee, cotton, etc. back to Liverpool.

Its population went up more than 10-fold between 1800 and 1937, a historical peak. Many of the immigrants in that period came from Ireland, just 150 miles to the west. All four members of The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) had ancestral roots in Ireland.

Upon disembarking at Liverpool Lime Street Railway Station, we literally stepped down the stairs onto Lime Street in city center across from St George's Hall, and the Empire Theater where the Beatles played 6 times.






After checking into our hotel, we headed to the Walker Art Gallery whose collection of Pre-Rasphealite paintings is the largest and most impressive we've ever seen.








Not to mention this trio: King Henry VIII (center), The famous "Pelican Portrait" of Queen Elizabeth I (left), and Marguerite d'Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (right).


Most of The Beatles sites are in the Mathew Street area, particularly, the Cavern Club.






And its modern rhyming copycat the Cavern *Pub*, the John Lennon mural in front of the Sgt Peppers Apartments, the Liverpool Beatles Museum and more.










One afternoon we walked to check out the gi-nourmous Neo-Gothic Liverpool Cathedral, one of the 10-largest churches in the world, and then walked home via the busy Bold Street.










From our hotel on James Street it was a 5-minute walk to the Liverpool waterfront / docks. In addition to the so-called Three Graces buildings (1st below), there is the Art Deco George's Dock Building (2nd below) which is part of the ventilation system of the Queensway Tunnel, the spiffy modern Museum of Liverpool (3rd), and a larger-than-life statue of the Fab Four.








The River Mersey waterfront at night.
















The Picton Reading Room at Liverpool Central Library with excellent views from its rooftop terrace.






Historic Art Deco Royal Court Theatre