Chester Roman Amphitheatre

It is a genuinely odd thing to come across in the middle of a shopping city: a Roman arena, half dug out, sitting below street level with the traffic going past. English Heritage looks after it, entry is free, and there is nothing to book and nobody to pay. You walk down, walk round, read the panels and let the children work out how big the whole thing must have been once you add the half that is still buried under the buildings on the far side. It works best as a stop. Half an hour, maybe less on a cold day, and the grass around the edge is a decent picnic spot when the weather cooperates. The path circling the excavated area is level and easy with a pushchair; going down into the arena is another matter, with steps and unfenced drops, so it needs a hand held. The real value is where it sits. The Grosvenor Museum, the Cheshire Military Museum, the Roman Gardens and the walls circuit are all within about ten minutes on foot, so a free half hour here plugs neatly into a day that costs very little. Parking is the only real expense, and English Heritage sensibly declines to guess at the city car park rates on your behalf.

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