Cheshire West and Chester: Roman Walls, Salt Towns and the Dee Estuary
Chester is the anchor of this authority and one of the most complete walled cities in England. The Roman walls still encircle much of the city centre, and you can walk the full two-mile circuit above street level. The Rows — two-tiered medieval shopping galleries unique to Chester — line the four main streets that follow the Roman grid plan. Chester Cathedral, the racecourse (the oldest still in use in England, with the Roodee track sitting on a reclaimed bend of the River Dee), and the black-and-white half-timbered buildings give the city a density of historical interest that draws millions of visitors annually.
Beyond Chester, the authority takes in Ellesmere Port — an industrial town at the junction of the Manchester Ship Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal, with the Vauxhall (now Stellantis) car plant as its largest employer — and Northwich, where the salt industry has shaped the landscape for centuries. Subsidence from salt extraction has caused buildings to shift and sink over the decades, giving Northwich a slightly skewed appearance in its older streets. The Lion Salt Works, a Victorian salt factory preserved as a museum, explains the process.
The Dee Estuary, running from Chester to the sea at Hilbre Island, is an important site for migrating wading birds and is shared with Flintshire across the Welsh border. Neston, Parkgate (once a port for Ireland, now famous for its marsh and ice cream parlours), and the villages of the Wirral fringe give the western edge of the authority a rural character. The population is around 360,000.
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Chester is the anchor of this authority and one of the most complete walled cities in England. The Roman walls still encircle much of the city centre, and you can walk the full two-mile circuit above street level. The Rows — two-tiered medieval shopping galleries unique to Chester — line the four main streets that follow the Roman grid plan. Chester Cathedral, the racecourse (the oldest still in use in England, with the Roodee track sitting on a reclaimed bend of the River Dee), and the black-and-white half-timbered buildings give the city a density of historical interest that draws millions of visitors annually.
Beyond Chester, the authority takes in Ellesmere Port — an industrial town at the junction of the Manchester Ship Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal, with the Vauxhall (now Stellantis) car plant as its largest employer — and Northwich, where the salt industry has shaped the landscape for centuries. Subsidence from salt extraction has caused buildings to shift and sink over the decades, giving Northwich a slightly skewed appearance in its older streets. The Lion Salt Works, a Victorian salt factory preserved as a museum, explains the process.
The Dee Estuary, running from Chester to the sea at Hilbre Island, is an important site for migrating wading birds and is shared with Flintshire across the Welsh border. Neston, Parkgate (once a port for Ireland, now famous for its marsh and ice cream parlours), and the villages of the Wirral fringe give the western edge of the authority a rural character. The population is around 360,000.
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