There seems to be a tradition in my immediate family of escaping London around Christmas. We select a location around the UK and go exploring. With family dotted all over the country, we have a great excuse to visit beautiful towns and cities like York, Liverpool and Manchester while also seeing relatives. 

This year was Chester's turn. 

I think I was immediately struck by how old Chester is! It seemed like practically everything has its foundations in or inspirations from the Tudor era. An extremely photogenic city, I'm sure you'll agree!

Despite it being Christmas - the one time when shops actually shut in the UK - we did manage to find things to keep us occupied. As with York, Chester is a walled city, so we walked the parapets (both to see the sights and to keep warm). We climbed up to the Eastgate Clock Tower, pictured above, and began our perimeter of the city. 

If there's one way to keep me occupied and happy, it's to suddenly introduce me to an animal. When we approached Chester Cathedral, I spotted a falconry and nature garden in the grounds. I immediately zipped down from the walls and went nosing around. We were too soon to see the birds stretch their wings in flying displays but it's not every Christmas you meet eagles, hawks and falcons...

Back on the walls, we were treated to more views of old and beautifully-kept buildings. Some more stern than others... 

Chester has a lot of pride for its buildings - even down residential streets - which is a thing I feel you don't see all that often. Although it was a very quick break as I had to wend my way back up to Edinburgh, Chester is definitely a very cute city and well worth a weekend break!