Children in Chester
  
Our own children have discovered lots of things to see and do in and around
Chester. Here are some of their favourites.
- Grosvenor Park has a playground and
a miniature railway. Squirrels will take nuts from your hand in the park
(buy nuts from the miniature
railway station).
- The riverside Groves - you can feed the ducks and swans
on the river Dee, buy delicious Cheshire ice cream and take a boat trip.
- The city walls provide a unique circular walkway, mostly
separated from traffic. There are plenty of access points into the city centre.
Please note that some sections have steps and are not suitable for prams,
although we have been around with a lightweight buggy and carried it up
and down the steps without too much difficulty.
- The Chester rows - unique two tier shops and cafes
in historic half timbered buildings. Although most of the access to
the rows is by steps there are some wheelchair / buggy access points, for
example, through the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. Don't miss the model shop
in Bridge Street Row.
- Bus tours - the
hop on hop off open top bus tour can help to stop small legs from getting
too tired. You can also
get a combined ticket for the bus and riverboat cruise.
- Chester Zoo - definitely worth a visit (although it’s
not cheap at around £45
to £50 for a family of 4, so it’s worth checking the
Visitor Centre for leaflets with discounts). You can drive there
or walk in to
the city centre and take a bus from the bus station located next
to the Town hall.
Allow a full day for a trip to the zoo.
- The Grosvenor Museum runs regular hands-on activities for children during
the school holidays. These can be very popular and some may need booking
in advance. Contact the museum for details on 01244 402033.
- Favourite restaurants and cafes include the Shanghai
Chinese Restaurant in Hoole, La
Fattoria (they
like watching the pizza chef spinning the dough), the Blue Moon Cafe (has
toys
for customers
to borrow) and La
Tasca (colour-in
menus). Brown
Sugar cafe in Handbridge does yummy milk shakes and cakes. See
our 'eating
out' page for more details.
Some options for wet days:
We haven't tried the 'Fun4All' soft
play centre but it was recommended by one of our guests. It is at Unit 8
Hartford Way, Sealand Industrial Estate, (CH1 4NT) not far from the large Tesco,
tel: 01244 379458.
Another option is Tenpin
bowling, also on the Sealand Industrial Estate
in the Greyhound Retail Park, CH1 4QG, tel: 0871 873 2450.
The Cineworld Cinema is also in
the Greyhound retail park, tel: 0871 200 2000.
Don't rule out the zoo - there are lots of shelters and indoor animal
houses, just take waterproofs for the bits in between.
Shopping for fashion conscious kids
Chester has several unique shops stocking designer children's fashion - in
Handbridge you will find chic French childrenswear in Chateau
de Sable.
In the city centre there is Keiko, a
designer children's clothes store in Comonhall Street, just off Bridge Street.
(Keiko is near to the Gastro Deli - a nice place to stop
for a snack and slightly off the beaten track so not usually as busy
as more central cafes). Stylish accessories can be found at Octopus on
Foregate Street.
Further afield
- North Wales coastline is easily accessible
by car and train. There are sandy and pebble beaches all along the
coast,
within
an hour’s
drive from Chester. Prestatyn and Rhyl are commercial seaside towns;
Llandudno is a classic Victorian
resort complete
with pier. The beaches do tend to shrink dramatically at high
tide so it may be worth checking the tide times with the visitor
centre before you
plan a
day trip. There are also several ruined castles to explore in this
area.
- Llangollen has a steam railway and horse drawn
canal boat trips. Not to mention the option of a breath taking drive
over a (small) mountain pass to get there!
- Thurstaston and West Kirby on the
Wirral, about 30 minutes by car. There are long sandy beaches, great
for kite
flying, with an island at West Kirby that you can
walk out to at low
tide. There are also various water sports available here.
- The Blue Planet Aquarium is
a great day out - make sure that you catch one of the shows with
scuba divers swimming with the sharks.
More about Chester for children
Check out the Visitor Centre in Vicar's Lane for information
on other child friendly attractions. Telephone 01244 351609.
Kiddiewalks in Cheshire describes short
walks in the area. Read about it on our book
reviews page.
Other related pages
in this web site:
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