Photo: Leone, Deborah and me on Queens Park Bridge
Deborah and I arrived in Manchester Airport the morning of Thursday September 4th. Leone, our recently discovered half-sister, picked us up at the airport and drove us to our first airbnb in town: 7 Steele Street. It was a charming brick two-story building on a short, quiet street very near the River Dee. This was a great location as it is very near the hub of the town yet it’s far enough away from the more busy center with all the shops, restaurants, and cafes.
The apartment was very spacious with a good size living-dining-kitchen area on the first floor. Loads of light and modern appliances – a full kitchen with a combo washer-dryer (a bit of a learning curve here). Upstairs were two bedrooms and the bathroom. So, we had plenty of space. It was lovely and nice to be able to have simple meals there and not eat out all the time. Plus the location was ideal: we could get to the river in 5 minutes and also to the central part of Chester.
Chester has Roman history – we were very close to the Roman garden that had old stones from Roman ruins found in the area. Chester had been a walled town, and the wall still encircles the old part of Chester. One can walk atop the wall all around the city. We did that one day with Leone and her daughter (my new niece) Charlotte, passing Chester’s famous race track (the oldest in England), as well as many neighborhoods in town. Deb and I took a boat ride on the river which was very pleasant. You can see all the interesting architecture from the water. There is also a walking path on one side of the River Dee that goes for miles, and I did a long walk on it one day.
Leone was amazing and it was fun to finally meet her and her kids Luke and Charlotte – I’d met them only on Zoom although Deb had met them on previous England trips. She took us all over town and we went to many charming cafes: the Jaunty Goat, Flower Cup, and the Architect which is near the race track. There are endless good places to eat and have tea or coffee – coffee seems ascendant now in the UK and it’s good coffee! She also hosted us for dinner at her house – a few miles outside of Chester – and she took us to Wales (a mere hour away) to meet Mathew, her son from her first marriage, and his family...son Jack and wife Elinor. He has a farm with sheep and great dogs, especially the endearing Topsy. It was beautiful there and a memorable evening. We had home-made pizzas cooked in their new pizza oven.
On the Sunday, I took a train to see my friends Mike and Joan who now live in a small village Golcar near Huddlesfield (West Yorkshire). I had met Mike on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2002! It was fabulous to see them. I stayed overnight and Mike took me on a short jaunt on Monday….a 10 mile hike in the countryside! Mike is 88 and still going strong. They have a charming home in the village and made me feel at home right away; so glad to have been able to visit with them. I hadn’t been to England since 2008 when my AT buddy Bootless and I hiked the Coast-to-Coast Path. Mike and Joan were great trail angels then, too. I returned to Chester Monday evening.
Deb and I left for St. David’s by train Tuesday morning, September 9th.