City Guide

Things to Do in Chester

Ben Maples  · Jul 12th 2024
Chester Cathedral and greenery

Chester is historically one of the most prominent cities in the UK. It has a long and rich history, dating back as far as the Roman era and is now considered to be one of the best cities to study in, in the UK.

Location

One of the few walled cities in the UK, Chester is located just a few miles away from the border of Wales and boasts a population of roughly 118,200 according to the most recent figures.


Things to do in Chester

Things to Do in Chester

A good place for students to visit is the Cruise Nightclub, which has long since been a place for a great night out with everything from live music and DJ sets through to student nights and private events.

A student favourite is Rosie’s, a multiroom nightclub spawning three floors of stunning visuals, lighting and sound. The club has a roof terrace, VIP booths, champagne lounge and even it’s own pizza kitchen! On the bottom floor is a Popworld club as well.

Given Chester’s rich history, there are plenty of museums around the city including; the Grosvenor Museum, Weaver House and Stretton Watermill, all of which are accessible to the public and are affordable.

If you’re looking to soak up the latest and greatest in film at the moment, then Chester has a huge variety of cinemas available for you with everything from Cineworld to Vue, both of which come with tiered seating.

The city also has a vibrant arts and festival scene with the Chester Arts Fair (which runs annually at an affordable price) or one of the many small music festivals that are run, in which you can see the newest and greatest of the Chester music scene.

Transport

The city has one train station, Chester General. The city did previously have a second, Chester Northgate, but the station closed in 1969. Chester General travels to a number of different major cities and locally. The train system has been further expanded to reach further cities in the UK, including Leeds, Liverpool and to Liverpool Airport!

There are a number of bus services that run throughout the city. Most buses are provided by Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, with some bus services also provided by Arriva Buses Wales. There is also ChesterBus, which is owned and operated by the local council (formerly known as Chester City Transport). For those looking to travel to Manchester, or specifically Manchester Airport, there is a regular EasyBus service.


Things to do with kids in Chester

Universities in the City

There is one university in the city, called the University of Chester and there is also one of the many campuses of the University of Law in the city too.

The University of Chester was founded in 1839, and was originally a teacher training college, it was eventually given university status in 2005. There are five different university campus sites in and around the city.

The student body is represented by the Chester Students Union (CSU), which also offers facilities and services for students, it is also a member of the National Union of Students (NUS), so students qualify for the TOTUM Card.

There is a bar that is run by the university, called CH1, there is also Bar and Club 2010 which is run by the university, which was previously known as the Padgate Union Bar.

The union runs over 100 different sports clubs and societies, many of them competing in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) League. The union is also responsible for The Cat Radio, which is a student radio station which broadcasts daily from September until July.

Meanwhile, the University of Law, is for-profit private university. The university specialises in providing students with a Law degree and is the UK’s largest Law school.

Though Chester is one of the campuses, there are also campuses in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester and Nottingham, the university also opened an international branch in Hong Kong in 2019.

The university also offers a graduate diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course programmes at:


Things to do with family in Chester

History and Culture

The city has stood since the early Roman eras, when the Roman Legio II Adiutrix, who, during the reign of Emperor Vespasian founded it as a castrum (essentially a military fort). Over the years, a civilian settlement began to grow around the base. Given the city’s size, it was thought that Chester was the original suggestion to be the capital of England over London.

After the Roman troops eventually withdrew and their influence over the country left along with them, the city underwent a number of changes. In 1071, William the Conqueror made the original architect of Chester Castle, Hugh d'Avranches, was made the Earl of Chester. The city became very prominent, especially in the Northwest and was ostensibly referred to as Westchester.

The city was essential during the beginning of the industrial revolution, as it mainly started in the North West of England during the 18th Century. Chester created two train stations: Chester Northgate and Chester General, which meant that Newton (an area in the city) and its cattle market and railway were essential in commuting and in bringing in materials for production.

Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, owns a huge portion of land in the city as well.

Sport

The city has one football club called Chester FC, who play in the National League Premier Division. There used to be a football club in the city called Chester City FC, but it went out of business in March 2010.

The main league in the country for Basketball, is the British Basketball League and the city is represented in this league by Cheshire Phoenix (who used to be the Cheshire Jets). There is also a Wheelchair Basketball team called the Celtic Warriors (who also used to be known as the Chester Wheelchair Jets).

There is also the Chester Rugby Union Club, which plays in the English National League 2 North. The club won the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup in 2008.

For those who are keen on rowing, the city has two rowing clubs, Grosvenor Rowing Club and the Royal Chester Rowing Club, which can be located on the River Dee, there is also a number of local canoe and kayak clubs. The city also plays host to the Chester Raft Race every July for charity.

Who’s from Chester?

There are numerous famous people that come from Chester too, including; Daniel Craig, Emily Booth, Ian Blair, Beatrice Tinsley, Michael Owen and Martin Tyler.

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