Things to do in Cheshire West and Chester

The city walls of Chester are the most complete surviving example of Roman and medieval city walls in Britain, a nearly continuous circuit of approximately three kilometres that follows the line of the original Roman fortress wall built in the first century AD and has been maintained, repaired and rebuilt in every century since. Walking the full circuit of the walls on the raised wall walk provides an exceptional perspective on the Roman origins of Chester, the medieval development of the city and the architecture of successive periods visible both inside and outside the wall circuit. Chester was established as the legionary fortress of Deva Victrix, headquarters of the Twentieth Legion, in the first century AD, and the Roman wall formed the perimeter of a fortress designed to house five thousand troops and control the estuary of the River Dee and the approaches to Wales. The characteristic rectangular plan of the Roman fortress is still recognisable in the street pattern of the city centre, and sections of the original Roman wall masonry are visible in the lower courses of several sections of the surviving walls. The medieval development of the walls extended their circuit to include the area of the Roman civilian settlement that had grown up outside the fortress, and the towers and gates added in the medieval period provide the most dramatic features of the current wall walk. The Eastgate Clock, added in 1899 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, has become the symbol of Chester and the most photographed feature of the walls. The Northgate leads to the site of the Roman amphitheatre, the largest Roman amphitheatre yet found in Britain, partially excavated and displayed beside the wall. The raised walkway provides views over the black and white timber-framed buildings of the city centre, the cathedral close and the Rows, Chester's unique medieval covered shopping galleries, creating an urban perspective available nowhere else in England.

Chester Zoo is the most visited wildlife attraction in Britain outside London and one of the finest zoos in Europe, covering approximately 125 acres and housing over 35,000 animals representing some 500 species in naturalistic habitats that represent some of the best zoo exhibit design in the world. The zoo was founded in 1931 by George Mottershead, who was refused entry to a zoo as a child for wearing clogs and resolved to build a zoo without bars where all visitors would be welcome, and that founding philosophy of openness and accessibility has shaped the zoo's development across nine decades of continuous growth and improvement. The zoo's approach to exhibit design has been consistently innovative. The Islands development, which recreated six habitats from the islands of Southeast Asia, won widespread acclaim when it opened in 2015 and demonstrated that zoological gardens can create immersive natural environments that benefit both the animals and the visitor experience. The Monsoon Forest, a tropical rainforest habitat housing Asian elephants in a climate-controlled environment that replicates the humidity and temperature of their natural range, opened in 2019 and represented a capital investment of extraordinary scale. Chester Zoo's conservation work extends well beyond its boundaries. The zoo contributes to the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme for numerous species and manages field conservation projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The zoo's research into reproductive biology, nutrition and veterinary care for captive species has made contributions to conservation knowledge that benefit wild populations as well as those in human care. The Orangutan programme has been particularly significant, with Chester having been a major contributor to the captive breeding and research that supports conservation of this critically endangered species. The zoo's position near the historic city of Chester allows visitors to combine a zoo visit with the Roman walls, the medieval cathedral and the unique black and white architecture of the city.