What to do in Northop Hall/Chester?

Miró

Hi everyone, have made lots of notes. It's this weekend we go...many thanks for all your help....much appreciated :T

mynameisdave

I did one evenings waiting on for a Gypsy wedding @ that Travelodge and there was a very pretty girl working there. If you are male, single, hetrosexual and she still works there it would be something to look forward to.

Lots of new bars and eateries in Chester, lots of things already mentioned. If the weather doesn't suit a trip to the Zoo then there is the Aquarium in Ellesmere Port.

FatAndy

Mir! wrote: »

Hi everyone, have made lots of notes. It's this weekend we go...many thanks for all your help....much appreciated :T

As you've been taking notes I should point out that Ruthin Gaol which I suggested earlier closed for the winter on 31st October so don't go there (unless you fancy trying to break in to a gaol!).

On second thoughts I'd follow the suggestion of a couple of others and visit Conwy and Llandudno. This might look a bit of a trek from Northop but it's straight down the A55 so dual carriageway pretty much all the way. You could have a morning of history in Conwy and an afternoon of shopping in Llandudno.

The main attraction in Conwy is the castle which is a must visit. Elsewhere you'll find Plas Mawr which is a renovated Elizabethan town house. The castle and Plas Mawr are both run by CADW and they offer a combined entry ticket which works out cheaper than paying seperately if you want to visit both. Just down the road from Plas Mawr is Aberconwy House which is a medieval merchants house (run by the National Trust) and on the Quay is the Smallest House in Great Britain. You can also explore sections of the town walls which are free of charge to enter, assuming you can find the entrances which in some cases are 'hidden' down little alleyways.

The are also quite a number of nice little independent shops in Conwy as well and Edwards of Conwy of one the best butchers shops you'll find anywhere.

http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/conwycastle/?lang=en
http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/plasmawr/?lang=en
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-aberconwyhouse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallest_House_in_Great_Britain
http://www.edwardsofconwy.co.uk/

Llandudno is more of a summer resort so some of the attractions are now closed down for the winter but it is the main retail centre in North Wales so there are plenty of shops to visit. Parc Llandudno, which is just on the edge of the town centre, is a recently opened shopping park mainly mainly occupied by fashion retailers including Debenhams, BHS, Next, Monsoon, New Look and River Island. The town centre has suffered a bit in recent years like everywhere else but still attracts shoppers on account of the fact it's got two branches of Marks & Spencer (although I'm more of a Poundland man myself).

Elsewhere at this time of year you could visit the Mostyn Art Gallery or the Bodafon Farm Park. Admission to the gallery is free and according to their website admission to farm park is also free at present. The farm park is home to a variety of farmyard animals and is also home to the North Wales Bird Trust who have an impressive collection of owls from all over the world. If you like owls it's a must visit (and who doesn't like a nice owl). I'm not sure if the pier is still open, if it is all the kiosks along will now be closed for the winter, but it's still a nice walk if the weather's good enough.

http://www.mostyn.org/
http://bodafonfarmpark.com/
http://the-pier.co.uk/llandudno-pier

Tabatha_Kitten

Tomorrow they have the Husky dog & sled racing in Delamere Forest.
Not sure what time exactly but I think its usually around dusk.
Its the opposite side of Chester to where the op is staying but still, a bit of free entertainment if they are in that area.

Miró

OMG...Northop Hall Travelodge is as bad as the folks on Trip Adviser said!!!!! Thought I was being a bit OTT taking bleach, disinfectant, anti-bac wipes and room freshener.....really needed them, should also have taken a vacuum cleaner and room heater. It is filthy, mouldy, old, broken and smelly and very hard to find from Chester. This place was by far and away the worst place I have ever stayed. OK so we only paid £10 per night but some people will be paying up to £70....outrageous!

Anyhoo.....we 'did' Chester...shops/Grosvenor Museum/walked a bit of the wall, looked at various Roman thingies and had a very nice meal at 'Joseph Benjamin' on Northgate St. Sunday we went to Bodnant Gardens, (fab) and then on to Conway, (cor, big castle!). Conway is a lovely place to walk around...walked a bit of the castle wall. Plas Mawr was closed tho. Saw the smallest house and had some very cheap drinks in the nearby pub. Sunday night we trekked out to The Boat Inn at Erbistock which I had been to yonks ago and loved its riverside setting. (The fact that Liz Taylor and Richard Burton were there that time sitting at the next table having a blazing, drunken row may have influenced!). Ahem....somehow the sat-nav took us back to Northop Hall via the Horseshoe Pass and Llangollen. I'm sure it would have been lovely in daylight!

All in all...a memorable week-end for some good and some bad reasons. Many thanks to all for the suggestions, very much appreciated :T...wish there had been more time, (just not in that Travelodge!)

Tarry

Glad you had a lovely time apart from where you stayed I'm glad I didn't stay in that travelodge than as I did think about it, but choose the Halykn travelodge close by which was very dated but did the job. At least it wasn't as bad as the Northop by what you said, it was at least acceptable.

FatAndy

I've never stayed in a Travelodge but there are some that seem to have a reasonably good reputation. The one in Caernarfon gets mentioned here favourably from time to time and the one in Colwyn Bay gets decent reviews, although it's been open for less than a year so maybe given time it will become as run down and shabby as some of the others.

kinglewis121

just sit in your room and sing to yourself . if you dont like it book an "expensoroom" somewhere else kettle black

Tarry

Travelodge is fine by me