The Chester walls are the only complete circuit of city walls left in Britain. They’re free, they’re always open, and walking the whole thing takes about an hour and a half if you don’t dawdle. Most people don’t walk the whole thing. They get on at Eastgate, do the pretty bit by the cathedral, get bored, and come down.
You can do better than that.
This guide breaks the walls into four segments, going clockwise from Eastgate. Walk one segment if you’ve got half an hour. Walk all four if you’ve got a morning. The whole loop is roughly two miles, and the elevation is gentle apart from a few flights of steps at the gates.
A Few Things Worth Knowing First
The walls are open twenty-four hours a day and there’s no admission charge. There has been a section closed between Newgate and Eastgate due to the 2020 collapse near the Eastgate Clock, and at the time of writing the temporary scaffolded walkway is still in place there. You can walk through it. It just looks less romantic than the rest.
There are steps at every one of the four medieval gates, some of them steep. If you’ve got mobility issues, the southwest section between Bridgegate and the castle is the flattest and the easiest to access via ramps.
Cycling isn’t allowed. Dogs on leads are fine.
The four main access points are the four gates: Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate, and Bridgegate. There are smaller access points all the way round. You can get on and off pretty much wherever you fancy.
Segment 1: Eastgate to Northgate, the Cathedral Side
This is the segment everyone walks. It’s pretty, it’s busy, and it’s the shortest of the four at about fifteen minutes.
The Eastgate Clock
Start under the Eastgate Clock. The clock itself was put up in 1899 to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, sixty years late. It’s the second most photographed clock in England after Big Ben, which is the sort of fact every guide repeats and nobody fact-checks, but it’s plausible enough. Get the photo from the street, then climb the steps to the walls.
Eastgate Clock The cleanest starting point for the clockwise circuit.The Cathedral and the Canal
Walking north, the cathedral is on your left almost immediately. You’re looking at the back of it from above, which is a view you don’t get from the street. The cloisters and the old monastic buildings sit below you. If the cathedral bells are ringing, this is where you’ll hear them best.
Past the cathedral, the wall opens out and you can see the canal on your right, well below the level of the wall. The canal was cut into the old defensive ditch in the 1770s, which is why it sits so low. It’s a clever bit of reuse.
Chester Cathedral Worth visiting properly after the wall circuit if you have time.King Charles’ Tower
You finish this segment at King Charles’ Tower, the northeast corner. Charles I supposedly stood here in 1645 and watched his army get beaten at the Battle of Rowton Heath, two miles away, which more or less ended his hopes in the Civil War. The tower has a small free exhibition inside if it’s open. It often isn’t.
King Charles Tower A good marker for the end of the busy cathedral stretch.Segment 2: Northgate to Watergate, the Canal and the Railway
This is the segment most tourists miss, and it’s the most interesting one.
The Roman Foundations
Heading west from King Charles’ Tower, the wall runs along the top of the old Roman fortress wall. You’re literally walking on Roman foundations, two thousand years old in places. The Northgate itself sits over what used to be the Roman north gate. Until the early 19th century the gate also contained the city jail, which is a detail worth pausing on if you’re standing where condemned men were held.
Morgan’s Mount and the Canal Cutting
Past Northgate the views open up properly. On the right, the Shropshire Union Canal runs alongside the wall in its deep cutting. On the left, you’re looking down into the back gardens and rooftops of the old town. There’s a section here called Morgan’s Mount, a small platform that was used as a gun emplacement during the Civil War siege.
The Ugly Bit
This stretch is also where you’ll hit the only real ugly bit of the walk: the 1960s concrete footbridge at St Martin’s Gate, where the Inner Ring Road was driven through the walls in the most brutal piece of post-war planning the city ever suffered. The footbridge was built in 1966 to maintain the circuit. It’s listed. It’s still ugly. Walk over it briskly.
The Water Tower
You finish this segment at the northwest corner with two towers: Bonewaldesthorne’s Tower, genuinely the name, and the Water Tower, which sits in a small park. The Water Tower used to stand in the river. Then the Dee shifted course and now it sits on dry land surrounded by grass, which feels like the whole story of Chester in one building.
Segment 3: Watergate to Bridgegate, the Racecourse Side
This is the easy bit. The wall here is flatter than anywhere else on the circuit, the views are some of the best, and it’s the one section that’s properly accessible by ramp.
The Roodee
From the Water Tower, the wall curves south along the western edge of the city. On your right, below you, the Roodee. This is the racecourse, and it was a Roman harbour before it was anything else. The Dee silted up, the harbour became a meadow, and in 1539 they started racing horses on it. It’s the oldest racecourse in Britain still in use. From the wall you get the full view of the course laid out below you, and on a non-race day you can see right across to the western suburbs.
Chester Racecourse Best viewed from the walls on a non-race day, when the whole course opens out below you.Chester Castle
The wall passes Chester Castle next. Most of the medieval castle was demolished in the 18th century to build the law courts and the barracks that sit there now, which is one of the great architectural crimes of the Georgian era. The Agricola Tower is the one bit of the medieval castle still standing, tucked behind the courts buildings.
Chester Castle: Agricola Tower and Castle Walls The surviving castle fragment sits just off the wall route.Grosvenor Bridge
You come down the southwest corner near the river, where the modern Grosvenor Bridge cuts through the walls. Grosvenor Bridge was built in the 1820s, passing through the walls at the southwest corner. When it opened it was the longest single-span stone arch in the world. The walls pick up again on the other side.
This segment ends at Bridgegate, by the river.
Segment 4: Bridgegate to Eastgate, the River and the Amphitheatre
The home stretch. This is the segment with the most going on per minute of walking, so don’t rush it.
The River and the Groves
Coming up from Bridgegate, the wall runs along the south side of the city above the River Dee. On your right, the river and the Groves below. The Groves is the riverside promenade, lined with benches and ice cream sellers in summer. You can drop down for a walk along the river and rejoin the wall further on. We’d recommend you do.
The Wishing Steps
Back on the wall, you’ll pass the Recorder’s Steps and the Wishing Steps. The Recorder’s Steps were built in 1720, and the Wishing Steps in 1785 on a steeply inclined section.
Local tradition says if you can run up and down the Wishing Steps twice without drawing breath, your wish will come true. We’ve never seen anyone manage it.
The Roman Amphitheatre
The wall then turns north, away from the river, and you arrive at the amphitheatre. Half of it is excavated, half of it is still buried under the buildings opposite. It’s the largest Roman amphitheatre in Britain. You can see most of it from the wall, but it’s worth coming down briefly to walk the floor of the arena. It’s free.
Chester Roman Amphitheatre Drop down briefly from the walls. It is free and takes five minutes.Back to Eastgate
From the amphitheatre, the wall takes you past the Roman Gardens, a pleasant collection of Roman columns rescued from various excavations and arranged in a small park, and back up towards Newgate. This is where the closed section starts. The temporary scaffolded walkway carries you over the gap and back to Eastgate, where you started.
Chester Roman Gardens A useful final stop before the route returns to Eastgate.A Practical Loop, End to End
If you’re walking the whole thing in one go, start at Eastgate, go clockwise, allow ninety minutes including stops, and bring a coffee. The cathedral side is busiest first thing and after lunch, so if you want it quiet, go late afternoon. The light on the river side is best in the hour before sunset, which is when you’ll get the better photos.
That’s the walls. Two miles, two thousand years, and no admission fee. The best free thing in Chester, possibly the best free thing in any English city.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to walk the Chester city walls?
The full circuit is approximately two miles and takes ninety minutes at a slow pace, including stops. A brisk walk without stopping takes about an hour. Each of the four segments takes fifteen to twenty-five minutes.
Are the Chester walls free to walk?
Yes. The walls are open twenty-four hours a day and there is no admission charge. They are run by the council as a public amenity.
Where can you access the Chester city walls?
The four main access points are the four medieval gates: Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate, and Bridgegate. There are also smaller access points all the way round, including at Little Roodee car park and the cathedral.
Are the Chester walls accessible for wheelchairs?
The southwest section between Bridgegate and the castle is the flattest and is accessible via ramps. The rest of the circuit involves steps at the gates, some of them steep, and is not fully wheelchair accessible.
What’s the best section of the Chester walls to walk?
For first-time visitors, the segment from Northgate to Watergate gives you Roman foundations, canal views, and the Water Tower, and is the bit most tourists miss. For photos, the segment from Bridgegate to Eastgate has the river, the Wishing Steps, and the amphitheatre.