Wandering around the rows of Chester

Wandering around the rows of Chester – December picture post

The last time I was in Chester was back in March of this year and it was nice to spend a few hours there again especially in the midst of the festive season.

It’s easy enough for us to get to, as it’s less than 50 miles from our home in Manchester.

The origins of Chester go back to Roman times when it was originally established as a Roman fortress way back in the 1st century A.D.

It’s a pretty impressive place to visit and amongst other things is well known for it extensive Roman walls that run around the town

The covered arcades

The Rows is actually a shopping district in Chester. Without doubt it is worth seeing. It’s a real contrast to most any other high street you might wander along or do your shopping on.

Not only are there shops on ‘street level’ but there are also shops built as a second tier above the street level shops in the magnificent Tudor buildings.

The shops are formed into half-timbered galleries, which make a second row of shops above the shops at street level. As far as I am aware they are unique to Chester.

No single view

I’m not so sure there is any single definitive view about why they were built this way, some folk say that the only way was up due to the constraints for ‘outward’ growth due to the boundary’s of the city walls. Maybe you can research and find out more?

If you are thinking of heading to Chester there is plenty of useful and unto date information on the Visit Cheshire web site.