The Highland Hedgehog: March 2nd

Well at last I am back. I don't know why this post about Chester didn't get put on, it was our last stop as we left Wales and headed back home. I think I must have hit delete instead of Post. All the excitement from the trip must have had me "flying in the air".

Robb and I have been to Chester a number of times, but each time you start walking down the streets you feel transported back in time. The original town started as Roman fort back in 79AD and is situated on the estuary of the river Dee. The entire town was a walled city, with about two miles of walls surrounding the fort. It is hard to believe but you can still walk around the town on this wall. There are buildings that are built into the wall and it is a wonder as you walk to realize how very old it is.

The rained continued as we walked around the town so these photographs are ones I found on the net as it was raining and blowing so hard all the ones I tried to take didn't turn out.

These buildings are big buildings and they go back at least 200 yards. At the top of these stairs is a department store called Debenham's. It is like our Nordstroms and once you are inside the store all the beauty and charm disappears. It was sad that they hadn't kept any of the old look. A lot of the little shops still have all the timber on the inside and other than the merchandise looked as they must have when they were built.

Robb took me into a small coffee shop where I had my first scones since we have arrived. It was a busy little shop and the table we sat at was 20 inches wide (I measured it with my little purse tape because I couldn't believe how small it was!). And I don't think there was 20 inches between us and the next table. It seems that all the restaurants here in the UK have small tables and sometimes you are closer to the person sitting next to you than the one you came with. If I had set my tables up like these I would have been able to do 80 covers in my tearoom.

I would say that Chester was one of the first, if not the first, multi-tiered shopping centers. You can walk on a second (first floor here) walk way with shops on the side and these shops are covered so in the rain they get the most traffic. We enjoyed our afternoon as we walked around for a few hours but then it was time to call the trip over and head back home!