Our Care Professionals regularly take their clients out to places of interest around Chester. Read about some of their favourites in this blog post.
The Roman City of Chester is one of the most historic in the UK, with many great places to visit and enjoy with your loved ones.
Our Care Professionals love to take their clients on trips out, but it’s not just the historic attractions they favour. In this post, we’ve highlighted some of their favourite places in Chester and the surrounding area of Cheshire West. They are listed in no particular order.
The Ellesmere Port Boat Museum is both fascinating and of national importance and it’s well worth a visit.
The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of traditional canal craft, with a total of five thousand items in its exhibit collection. This is the place to come if you want to understand what life must have been like, living and working on Britain’s canals and how they helped shape Britain, long before road haulage and motorways were even thought of. Visitors can even view the renovated dock workers cottages, to step back in time from the nineteenth century, through to the mid twentieth century.
Ellesmere Port Boat Museum is easily accessible from Chester and the surrounding areas of Cheshire West, being close to Junction 9 of the M53 motorway, and it is supported with nearby rail links from Ellesmere Port. There is plenty of onsite parking for cars and coaches.
The museum is open to the public from 10am till 4pm seven days a week.
See more: Ellesmere Port Boat Museum
Chester Cathedral is formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh. Although the cathedral was built between the 10th and early 16th centuries, it is believed that the site may have been used for Christian worship as far back as the Roman times.
A Grade I listed building, the cathedral also forms part of a heritage site that includes the former monastic buildings to the north.
Visitors can learn more about the cathedral’s history by joining one of its tours. There are both ground floor tours, which are complementary, and also there is a tour which provides a more in-depth history of Chester Cathedral and takes in a climb to the top of its tower, which was added in the twentieth century.
In addition, the cathedral regularly hosts concerts and exhibitions, and there is a unique gift shop with a fantastic collection of gifts, books and homeware.
Chester Cathedral is located in the heart of Chester city centre meaning it is easily accessible by road, rail or bus.
See more: Chester Cathedral
With over 2 million visitors each year, it’s easy to see why Chester Zoo is Britain’s favourite zoo. To think that only a couple of years ago during the early days of the pandemic, it looked like Chester Zoo might not have survived through lockdown and at one point it genuinely stared closure in the face. Thankfully, everything worked out just fine, and we still this wonderful place to visit, right on our doorstep.
Set in 128 acres, the zoo has approximately twenty thousand animals on its site, including some very rare species. It also boasts a botanical gardens, which is fantastic. There’s really something to marvel at regardless of your age, making a great place to visit.
Chester zoo is open from 10am although closing times vary depending on the time year, but full details about opening time are available on the zoo website.
The zoo is easily accessible via the A41 near Upton and there are good local transport links via bus and rail links to Chester via Bache railway station.
See more: Chester Zoo
For anyone with a penchant for gardening and flowers, the Grosvenor Garden Centre near Pulford is a must see. Located just a few minutes outside of the city centre, across the river Dee, it is easily accessible by car from the A483 and A55 (Junction 38) on the B5445 (Wrexham Road).
The Grosvenor Garden Centre has a lot to offer including its fantastic range of plants, shrubs and trees, and locally sourced foods in its food shop. If you need a rest from looking at all those lovely plants, you can take a nice lunch at the onsite restaurant or have leisurely browse at the giftshop.
Car parking is free, the site is also dog friendly and there is an outside seating area.
Opening hours are: Monday – Saturday: 8.30am to 5.30pm, Sunday: 10am – 4.30pm (10am – 10.30am is for browsing only).
See more: Grosvenor Garden Centre
Set in the countryside of Cheshire West on the Sandstone Trail, Cheshire Workshops near Tattenhall, is a fantastic place to visit for the whole family.
Originally known as The Candle Factory, the workshop’s owner-family have been making candles for over half a century. The workshops are renowned for making personalised handcrafted candles for every occasion, from weddings to christening and more.
Visitors can join in one of the crafts or candle-making workshops, and make all kinds of things including (obviously) candles. The onsite Chandler’s café, serves a great range of hot and cold food and drinks, and you can relax whilst looking out across the wonderful Cheshire countryside.
If you want to make your visit part of a full day out, there are other interesting places to visit, all within a short drive.
The Cheshire Workshops are accessible via road from the A41 from Chester, heading to Tattenhall and simply follow the signs for the Candle Factory at Barracks Lane, Higher Burwardsley.
See more: Cheshire Workshops