Chester is a blend of Roman history & Victorian architecture

The Eastgate Clock is supposedly the second most famous clock in the UK after Big Ben; it was built for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897

Not much remains from the Chester Castle which was built in 1070; Chester has a population of 80,000 and is just 45 minutes by train from Liverpool

The Chester High Cross at left marks where the 4 Roman roads came together in the center of town; the most famous person born in Chester is Daniel Craig (aka James Bond)

One of my favorite buildings was Chester Town Hall, built in 1869; to the east of the city is Chester Zoo, the UK's largest zoo with more than 11,000 animals in 110 acres of award-winning gardens

Like York Minster, the Chester Cathedral was completed in Perpendicular Gothic style with a wooden roof which allowed for a larger interior; important local figures are buried under the cathedral dating from the early 1100s

Beautiful Victoria mosaics adorn one wall of the Chester Cathedral (1883-6); Chester is 96% white; as of 2013, Chester had the highest home foreclosure rate in the country

Most of the stained glass in Chester Cathedral was destroyed in the English Civil War; now the windows are a mix of styles from 1850 to today

Most of the Chester Cathedral was built between 1283 and 1537 although small parts were built earlier; this Anglican cathedral was formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery

The Chester Cathedral choir stalls date from around 1380; the stalls include 48 misericords, all but five of which are original comprising one of the finest sets in the country

High up on the left side of the nave of Chester Cathedral is a mysterious carving of a diabolical figure bound in chains; no one knows who built it or when it was created but it's unique

The Bear and Billet Pub is Chester's oldest timber-framed building, dating from 1664; it was once a toll gate into the city

This was the largest Roman amphitheater in Britain with a capacity of 7000; some historians say it could be the site of King Arthur's Camelot and that the round table was really this building

During the Middle Ages Chester was the most important port in the NW of Britain but the River Dee silted up over time and Chester fell behind Liverpool in importance

The Grosvenor Museum has the country's most comprehensive collection of Roman tombstones; construction of the city walls began between 70 and 80 AD

The Crypt Building (1858) is built on the site of a medieval house whose crypt is still present; the asymmetrical building has a square stair turret and was originally a department store

Most of the black and white timber-framed buildings date from the mid-19th century; a series of 2 story galleried arcades fan out from the center of town with lots of independent shops - the arcades are called The Rows

Chester is one of the best-preserved walled cities in Britain; you can walk almost the entire 2 mile perimeter which encircled the medieval city