Guide books can help you to plan your holiday, find your way around and also
become souvenirs when you return home. Here are our reviews of some of the
books available
for visitors to Chester.
Chester... more than a guide
a City-Break guide, £4.79
At
under 100 pages this guide is an easy to read introduction to the city. You'll
get a taste of Chester's rich and varied history.
Plus information on all the essential tourist activities such as exploring,
shopping,
eating out and relaxing. Published in 2004
it
is
starting
to
get a bit out of date - for example it shows the cathedral as free, although
they now charge an entrance fee. However, it does include phone numbers for
all
of the places it mentions so if you
are
planning
your
day
around a particular venue you can phone first to check it out. It contains
a street map, some walk routes and full
colour photos that give a flavour of the city.
You'll want to carry this around with you and it's easy to do as it's a good
pocket
book
size
of 12cm
x
17cm.
Follow this link to buy "The
Chester Citybreak Guide" from Amazon.co.uk.
Chester inside out, a souvenir guide
by Gordon Emery, £5.95
This book focuses on four walks around the city with maps and historical facts
and figures. I found that the quirky handwritten style quickly became hard
to read and the hand drawn maps are sometimes difficult to follow. The size
at 25cm x 18cm is also just a bit too big for a walk book that you would usually
want to carry around with you.
If you are interested in historical detail then this book has plenty, however,
for me, the writing style and black and white line drawings don't quite
capture the unique character of the city.
Best Tea Shop Walks in Cheshire
Clive Price, £7.49
This book describes 28 walks from 3 to 7 miles in length, all of them including
at least one recommended tea shop on the way. They are all within an hour or
less drive of Chester, including one in the city centre itself. Directions
include information on getting there by public transport as well as by car.
There is plenty of information including maps and opening hours and phone numbers
for the tea shops.
Follow this link to buy "Best
Tea Shop Walks in Cheshire" from Amazon
Pocket pub walks - Cheshire
David H. Pill, £4.99
This book describes 15 walks within an hour or less drive of Chester. They
vary from just under three miles up to six miles in length and they all start
at a recommended pub. Some of the walks also feature other pubs on the way.
There are maps and plenty of information including opening times and phone
numbers. Three of the walks can be reached by train, for the rest someone will
have to drive (there isn't any information on access by bus).
Follow this link to buy "Pocket
Pub Walks - Cheshire" from Amazon.
Kiddiwalks in Cheshire
John and Anne Nuttall, £7.99
This book describes 20 circular short walks suitable for families with children.
They are around 1 to 3 miles long and some are level enough for buggies.
The descriptions include 'fun things to see and do' both on the walks and in
the
local area.
All the walks include picnic sites, cafes or family friendly pubs.
We've done
the Chester city walls walk with a 3 year old and a 6 year old and on the
whole they enjoyed it although they were flagging towards the end! We've also
tried the walk at Aldford which includes a 'magic tree' and ends near the excellent
Grosvenor Arms. If you are based in
Chester then the farthest you'll have to drive is about an
hour
away.
We're looking forward to trying out some more of these walks.
Follow this link to buy "Kiddiwalks in Cheshire" from
Amazon.
