Let’s move to Chester: is that a tiny bit of mojo hiding among the history?

It’s beautiful, occasionally suffocating, but a little bit woke

What’s going for it? There’s so much past in Chester. It piles up on the streets. It accumulates. Roman amphitheatre, medieval cathedral, Ruskinian town hall, all those Tudor black-and-white, half-timbered buildings straight off a Quality Street tin, all those Victorian black-and-white, half-timbered buildings pretending to be Tudor black-and-white, half-timbered buildings straight off a Quality Street tin, cobbles, ye olde gatehouses, etc. Beautiful. Occasionally suffocating. (I speak as one raised on cathedral cities.) That’s not to say Chester isn’t with it. It’s long had a reputation for middlebrow poshness, all wine bars and pearls. Who knows what they’ve put in the water recently, though, as there’s a tiny bit of mojo in the place. Decent coffee has turned up. The lovely new Storyhouse arts complex has brought contemporary architecture and cutting-edge culture. It’s even a little bit woke: last year Chester was crowned the most accessible city in Europe for disabled people. In Europe! With those cobbles! Onwards and upwards, Chester.

The case against It’s pricey, from the property to the cost of living.

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