//
Photo: Nadia from Sydney, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Believed to have been the site of the largest wooden structure amphitheatre in the Roman Empire outside of Rome for its time, with a larger stone amphitheatre later built on-top of the foundations
Chester Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre in Chester, Cheshire. The site is managed by English Heritage; it is designated as a Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument. The ruins currently exposed are those of a large stone amphitheatre, similar to those found in Continental Europe, and although it was long believed that a smaller wooden amphitheatre existed on the site beforehand, excavations since 1999 have shown that the wooden grillage is the base of the seating. Today, only the northern half of the structure is exposed; the southern half is covered by buildings, some of which are themselves listed.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Chester's former cathedral was saved from the reformation under Henry VIII by Queen Elizabeth I. It has Norman masonry dating back to around 1075 AD and an Elizabethan-era ceiling which saved it from destruction after the Reformation. The organ was commissioned and built by William Hill and Company in London and was used for Queen Victoria's coronation before being sent to Chester by barge.
It is claimed to be the second most photographed clock in the UK. The gatehouse from 1768-9 and the clock dating from 1899.
The Groves is Chester's own riverside promenade running alongside the River Dee from the Grosvenor Park to the Old Handbridge (which gave its name to one of the suburbs on the other bank).
Interactive museum about Chester's Roman history, with hands-on exhibits. If visiting in term time worth waiting until after 3PM to avoid parties of schoolkids.
Grosvenor Park is a classical, 19th-century designed park with a typical Victorian layout that includes formal avenues lined with trees, large sweeping lawns surrounded with ornamental shrub beds and bedding plants, which provide a colourful display throughout the spring and summer months. It includes a pond, miniature railway, open air theatre and children's play area. The park is near the River Dee and with views across the river to the meadows and Queen’s Park and out towards the south of Chester.