Chester.

Yesterday we moved on down to Chester and on the way

we saw our first cygnets of the year.

The paddle gear on the locks, 42 turns to lift a paddle and some of them are harder to wind down than they are to lift but Chester is worth the effort.

This is how it looks on the way in, note the old shot tower in the distance.

We moored right next to Tescos amid some wonderful architecture and an hour later all the other boats had gone and left us like Billy no-mates.

Today we had a wander around the city, it has to be the best city on the cut.

The cathedral is impressive,

with some wonderful 14thC. wood carving, remember that the chap who did this would never have seen an elephant.

These are The Rows, double decker shopping, one lot of shops at street level and another row on top, they were originally medieval but are now nearly all Victorian replacements. for shopophobes like us it's a nightmare!

Eastgate Arch and clock, part of the old walls, the clock commemorates Queen Victoria's 80th? birthday.

Claimed to be the oldest shop front in Britain.

How about this for an offie? 14th C. vaulting, 21st C. booze.