Post It from Chester Fairoaks Caravan Club site, Little Stanney, Cheshire. Tuesday 26th April, 2016.

We chose to go to this Club site so that we could visit the old Roman city of Chester, with the added bonus we could easily get into Liverpool again, and also access the retail park very close by. Chester was about 5 miles away and there was a good bus service every day.

The drive down from Southport took us just over 90 minutes at a steady pace and I managed to time it just right so as not to arrive before noon. The site had a ’Full’ sign displayed but we managed to get a nice location, not far from the almost brand new toilet block, in readiness for the forecast rain we were expecting. Once again the camp site was everything you expect from a Club site but the new toilet facilities were the very best I have seen on a Club site and all the pitches were pleasantly situated amongst mature trees giving it a pleasant feeling, if a little open between the pitches. Our neighbours were spending a year here whilst having to keep within the rules by moving off every 21 days! And our only disturbance was early morning when an unidentified droning noise, the very early morning road traffic and the 0615 flight from the John Lennon airport woke us up.

We were now 7 days into our 13 night tour and were both absolutely shattered from all the walking we had done so far. For some strange reason I had developed an occasional pain just below my knee which I assumed was due to all the walking so between us we decided to spend the remainder of Saturday just relaxing, having a cat nap or two, and trying to recharge the batteries in readiness for Sharon’s retail therapy the next day.

On the Sunday morning we headed off for all the shops. About 15 minutes’ walk away we had the Cheshire Oaks designer outlet village, the largest in the UK, and next door to that was the Coliseum shopping & leisure park and finally adjacent to that was the Largest Marks & Spencer shop in the UK, which looked enormous! Also close by was a Sainsbury’s supermarket and the ‘Blue Planet Aquarium’ so plenty to do on foot from the camp site.

To get there we had a short walk on Rakes Lane from the site to the main road, which had no footpaths, and then crossed the busy roads to get to the shops although controlled crossings were accessible. On the way we passed two eatery style pubs, the closest one being only a few minutes from the camp site on Rakes Lane.

Well we did spend some of our cash, but not as much as I thought we were going to, and everything seemed to be a bargain so I was happy. On the way back we decided to have an early afternoon Sunday lunch in the Rakes pub and enjoyed a large plate of roast meats and vegetables before getting back to watch the TV programme celebrating our Queen’s 90^th birthday using private cine file footage from the Royal family. I am glad we did as we enjoyed it very much.

In the pub there were many photographs of Ellesmere Port, which was on the doorstep. One was of the Vauxhall production line with the first cars coming off it in June 1964. The cars shown were of the same white Viva HA that was our first ever car (1975/6) which had come off that very line in 1966. It made me feel quite nostalgic so I took a photo to post with the story.

Overnight the rains came and Monday morning saw us setting off to the bus stop in the showers with our new very large posh brollies that we had requested as Christmas presents. The 15 minute walk to the bus stop at the Blue Planet Aquarium was easier than getting across the main road to the shops and we were able to travel anywhere locally between Chester and Liverpool for the day by purchasing a £3.90 day ticket. There were plenty of busses too.

We spent the day walking around Chester, firstly walking the 2000 year old walls which are the most complete set of city walls in Britain and stretch for 2 miles. This did have some steps involved so not suitable for those with a wheelchair unfortunately. It enabled us to get a good view of this historic City first settled by the Romans and it was much smaller than I thought it would be, my only other comparison was York which seems much larger by comparison.

We had good views of the 900 year old Cathedral, which was free to enter and a splendid church to visit. I was quite taken with some modern art in the South Transept comprising three figures crucified that were made out of metal wire coat hangers. We hunted out the stone carving of the Devil in chains known as the Chester Imp and also the carving of an elephant that had horses’ hoofs because the carvers had never seen an elephant. Further along the wall we had good views of the River Dee, with its old bridge, the oldest racecourse in Britain and the Shropshire Union Canal which skirted the City walls.

After a splendid lunch in a café on the wall itself we toured the City’s streets where there were plenty of very old buildings, now shops, including one which had been used as a store on that site since 1871. There was even the City Cross where the Town Crier still makes proclamations three days a week, but not that day unfortunately. The Town Hall was also open to view and the building was beautiful and full of history. Chester was well worth the visit and if the weather had been better then a river cruise would have been very pleasant. On the walk back to the camp site from the bus stop we saw what we thought were a number of Reindeers in a field adjacent the footpath, how strange is that?

The overnight rains had been quite heavy and the temperatures dropped considerably but Tuesday was our last day here and we decided to catch the bus once more to visit Ellesmere Port and the National Waterways Museum.

The museum is situated in the old port of Ellesmere and uses the old buildings to house a good collection of mainly canal boat history items and many actual historic boats. It is situated at the start of the Shropshire Union Canal, off the River Mersey and adjacent the start of the Manchester ship Canal which goes all the way up to the Salford Quays where the new BBC news programmes is broadcast from.

The port first started life in 1795 and constantly grew but with the coming of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 it grew more rapidly to become the most important dock along the canal. We had the chance to go inside the remaining 4 of 12 cottages built in 1833 for the dock Porters (Dockers) and their families. Each one was set out as it would have been found in the 1830’s to the 1950’s. The latest one contained many items Sharon and I remembered from our childhood. The visit was very enjoyable and gave me a chance to actually see the Manchester Ship Canal with the River Mersey beyond and the Liverpool John Lennon Airport on the far bank.

We have had a good time at Chester Fairoaks and there are lots more things to do in the area with easy access by public transport to Chester Zoo, The Wirral, Liverpool and much more. A good place to visit with children we think. Sorry about the variation of the photos but I am having to rely on the image size as taken by my phone. All the best ones were too big to upload unfortunately.

Regards, Roy