Chester was quite busy, the day we were there, but much of the center of town was pedestrian friendly.
Some images of the Victorian black and white buildings.
Chester is unique in that it has many covered shopping walkways called "Rows" which were incorporated in the design of the buildings. You can get an idea of these from the top two photos above, a pretty nice feature in a part of the world that sees quite a lot of wet weather.
The Town Crier came through, and this is the only photo that was not blurred, as he was walking quite quickly down the streets.
Chester has a magnificent cathedral, founded, I think in the early 10th century. As always it is nearly impossible to capture the scale of these churches, but some of the details are amazing, always with exquisite workmanship.
Some of the stained glass windows.
The carved wood was particularly inspiring to me.
Beautiful tile work.
A magnificent organ. We overheard a guide saying there were over 4,800 pipes in total and that the organ is in need of restoration.
We are always impressed with the details in old doors. It is hard to imagine such elaborate hinges being employed or designed today!
As part of the general fund raising campaign, we thought this idea was pretty interesting. A design exists to build a Lego model of the cathedral using some 350,000 Lego pieces. You can buy individual Lego bricks which are then are immediately added to the structural element currently being assembled.
We were told that a British Company created the design beginning with a Google Earth map of the cathedral, and then created the all of the detail, using Lego bricks. The model will be built in two halves, which will swing apart to allow views of the interior, quite amazing.
There is a lovely cloister garden with this fountain as center piece.
Chester deserves a longer visit, as we missed many of it's attractions and historical sights.
Next stop, the Lake District.
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