Streuth, don’t your relatives cost you a bomb? When brother in law agreed to come to Chester with us he stated that he didn’t want one of these little sites with no facilities that we favour. He wanted proper showers and toilets and so we booked for Chester Fairoaks site at £17 per night. Was it worth it? Well, we enjoyed the company so it must have been but I am not sure why it was so expensive.
Chester Fairoaks, which takes non-members, is situated just off the M53 so it is very easy to get to but the downside of that is that there is some road noise. The site has 100 pitches and three quarters of those are hard standings. The whole site is maintained to the usual high standard of the Caravan Club wardens and the toilet and shower block were always immaculate. The site was fully booked the whole time we were there but I never saw all the showers in use at any time so presumably the majority of caravanners used their own facilities in their vans. There was also the usual washing up area and a laundry.
The site is situated just four miles from Chester but there is a good Park and Ride only two miles away, and it is only twenty minutes walk to the Chester Oaks Retail Outlet which can seriously damage your wallet. You have been warned as I speak from experience.
Chester is a beautiful old town with a mile and a half walk around the town walls with good views over the racecourse, the castle and the Roman amphitheatre and part of the original Roman wall. There is a 900 years old cathedral and the central shopping area that is on two levels.
From nearby Birkenhead you can take a ferry across the Mersey, where they start and end the river crossing with Gerry and the Pacemakers, to Liverpool. Having looked at roman remains in Chester it was time in Liverpool for Beatles remains. The Cavern Club is boarded up but there is a wall of fame for all the Liverpudlians who have entertained us over the years and for some of the oldies among us it will bring back a few memories. The area around the Albert Docks has been renovated and the Liverpool Tate is based there as well as a statue of another of Liverpool’s sons, Billy Fury.
 From Chester is it an easy drive into north Wales and Llangollen makes a good destination for a walk along the river, a trip on a barge on the canal or a steam train ride. There are horse drawn barges for short canal trips or a longer trip will take you over the aqueduct at Pontcysyllte. The aqueduct was opened in 1805 and takes barges 116 feet high over the river Dee below. The view takes your breath away, bit like the charges at this site really.
Jenny Sargeant |
