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Chester City - Shropshire Union (Chester) Canal

The Shropshire Union Canal runs right through the northern area of Chester City, east to west, skirting the outside of the northern Roman defense wall passing by King Charles Tower, North Gate and Water Tower to the Chester Canal Basin where the canal turns northwards to Ellesmere Port and the short Dee Branch that connects the main canal to the tidal River Dee goes westward.

Initially we moored at Christleton a couple of kilometers to the east of Chester city as we had picked up talk from other boaters that the Chester section of the canal was 'bandit territory' - We spoke to a British Waterways patrol / enforcement officer we met in Christleton and he assured us that under normal circumstances the Chester section was as safe as any other city centre canal section, best avoided on Friday and Saturday nights for mooring but providing you moored sensibly the rest of the time 'no problem'. We took this on board (on Friday) and stayed at Christleton. We had family visiting on Saturday so would cruise back eastwards to the Waverton winding hole, turn and return to Christleton again to moor up on the Saturday night, ready to enter the city of Chester on Sunday to visit the (Free Entry Museum) Grosvenor Museum - renowned for it's thorough coverage of Chester City history.

Friday we walked from Christleton, along the well maintained towpath to Frodsham Street where we walked the eastern Roman wall to Eastgate and entered Chester city there at the point where Queen Victoria’s Clock, the most famous Chester landmark stands proud, straddling the wall walk on the Eastgate bridge, making our way to Princess Street 'Lower Bus Exchange' where we picked up the open-topped 'City Sightseeing Chester' tour bus - taking advantage of the hop on - hop off service and the discounted River Dee Boat Cruise tickets.

The City Tour takes just over an hour if you stay on the bus and listen to the (informative) live commentary. During the Chester tour bus trip we saw: The Roodee Racecourse, The Military Museum, Grosvenor Museum, Chester Cathedral (Free Entry), Chester Roman Amphitheater and Gardens, Chester Railway Station, Eastgate Clock, Chester Visitor Centre, The Shot Tower and the Groves amongst many others.

The River Boat trip takes about half an hour on the navigable, non-tidal section of the River Dee above the Chester Weir, with taped commentary for about half the time. From this floating vantage point you get views of the Old Dee Bridge, Suspension Bridge, The Groves, Earl's Eye (Eyot), and many splendid (and not so splendid) properties and landmarks. The commentary was informative and we recommend this riverboat trip as an extension to your sightseeing tour.

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