Most people will be familiar with the beautiful, historic city of Chester situated on the River Dee close to the Welsh border. A city with a cathedral, once a monastery, dating back to the 11th century; a city enclosed by almost 3k of ancient walls, a construction project begun by the Romans and finished many centuries later (nothing different there); a city with a racecourse and a football team, rowing clubs on the river, great shopping, Roman ruins and of course a very famous zoo. All of these things make the city of Chester a worthy choice for a day out or a weekend break, but we want to introduce a tiny corner of the city, which may be unfamiliar to you.
Hiding away, close to the river and only a 1km walk from the railway station is the beautiful Grosvenor Park. A Grade ll registered, award winning park, which opened in 1867 and is, in our opinion, a delight to visit throughout the year.
Hiding away, close to the river and only a 1km walk from the railway station is the beautiful Grosvenor Park. A Grade ll registered, award winning park, which opened in 1867 and is, in our opinion, a delight to visit throughout the year.
map
video guide
We chose to start our ‘walk’ at the Union Street entrance to the park, which immediately brings you to a map of the park showing all the features you will be able to see. There are nine park entrances in total, so make sure you visit the park website to work out which is the best route in for you. The website offers a wealth of useful information from getting to the park to eating, special events, a map, the park history and much more - click here for the link.
For a change we will not be telling you which route to take, but instead offer you some tips on our ‘not to be missed’ photo opportunities!
The park contains a lovely café and has toilets (always a relief!) – it is the perfect place to while away several hours photographing and enjoying the scenery. If the weather is good don’t forget your picnic and if you plan to take young children with you, you will find a large play area and a fabulous miniature railway.
For a change we will not be telling you which route to take, but instead offer you some tips on our ‘not to be missed’ photo opportunities!
The park contains a lovely café and has toilets (always a relief!) – it is the perfect place to while away several hours photographing and enjoying the scenery. If the weather is good don’t forget your picnic and if you plan to take young children with you, you will find a large play area and a fabulous miniature railway.
gallery
guide
So what should you look for with your cameras?
The shot you will probably immediately see, and take, is a wide landscape of the tree lined main avenue and flower beds. Taken in any direction it offers great scope for a good picture, but while you’re there don’t forget to get down (and probably dirty!) and try some shots through the flower beds, point your camera up to the skies from under the trees or use the bark as a focal point to capture unusual backgrounds. The displays which form part of the main flower beds change regularly and add interesting themes to your images. On our last visit the beds contained willow woven Spitfires, which proved trickier to photograph than we thought, commemorating the centenary of the RAF in 2018. As part of the community driven aim of the park, the sculptures were created by a team of families, schools and veterans under the guidance of artist Sarah Gallagher-Hayes.
The shot you will probably immediately see, and take, is a wide landscape of the tree lined main avenue and flower beds. Taken in any direction it offers great scope for a good picture, but while you’re there don’t forget to get down (and probably dirty!) and try some shots through the flower beds, point your camera up to the skies from under the trees or use the bark as a focal point to capture unusual backgrounds. The displays which form part of the main flower beds change regularly and add interesting themes to your images. On our last visit the beds contained willow woven Spitfires, which proved trickier to photograph than we thought, commemorating the centenary of the RAF in 2018. As part of the community driven aim of the park, the sculptures were created by a team of families, schools and veterans under the guidance of artist Sarah Gallagher-Hayes.
The park is full (not surprisingly!) of trees and it has it’s very own tree trail. Again more details on the park website. Visiting during different seasons will give you the opportunity to capture the bare trees of winter, cherry pink blossoms mingling with evergreen foliage in spring, green, lush full foliage in summer followed by the gold, reds, yellows and browns of autumn. Close up shots of the different features can make beautiful images for you to use as cards or framed art, but my favourite is the shot which has the main focus as a tree in full seasonal bloom with a slightly out of focus background. Just remember to focus on the tree and see what happens!
The park itself contains many features worthy of some camera attention. Try the views of the River Dee from the Belvedere, the imposing statue of the Second Marquess of Westminster, which has been situated perfectly for photographers – peeping over the top of the trees, standing imperiously at the end of the tree lined avenues and if you’re lucky, a haven for a multitude of bird life comically sitting on the head of the Marquess!
You can capture Billy Hobby’s Well and the community garden, photograph the fascinating architecture of the half timbered lodge and look for sculptures and artwork dotted around the park.
You can even try some ‘street’ photography capturing people undertaking the things that people do in parks! If the weather is sunny and warm you may see more than you want to!
From the park entrance we chose, a walk down the main avenue will lead you to a succession of relocated medieval arches in shades of sandstone reds. You could easily spend a long time in and around the arches and the church adjoining them getting photo-distracted by shapes and textures in the walls and structures. Look up to capture the skies through the buildings , look for nature creeping in; small plants growing through, leaves hanging down. Lean against the walls and shoot up or down to get images with unusual angles. (We loved this area!)
The whole of Grosvenor Park is a photographer’s dream offering a wide variety of potential photo opportunities from buildings to nature, views to macro shots, whilst also being an extremely pleasant place to spend time in, sit in the sunshine (hopefully,) eat an ice cream, have a coffee in the café, ride the train, marvel at the history and just get outdoors. But our favourite bit we’ve saved until last…
Grosvenor Park has a population of the tamest squirrels we have ever encountered. They are everywhere around you and don’t seem to mind posing for the inevitable shot for Instagram! If like us you have a pocket full of nuts (we always make sure we have snacks for our photowalks!) and don’t mind sharing, you will be able to get close up shots of the squirrels in the trees and on the ground. They come very, very close so stay still and point and press. Always try to focus on the eyes and hopefully you will get a wildlife photo to be proud of.
So next time you’re in Chester make your way to the beautiful Grosvenor Park and snap away!
We hope you will share your images us on our Facebook page or e-mail them into us and we may feature them here. We look forward to seeing them!
FIRST PUBLISHED 11 MAY 2019
The park itself contains many features worthy of some camera attention. Try the views of the River Dee from the Belvedere, the imposing statue of the Second Marquess of Westminster, which has been situated perfectly for photographers – peeping over the top of the trees, standing imperiously at the end of the tree lined avenues and if you’re lucky, a haven for a multitude of bird life comically sitting on the head of the Marquess!
You can capture Billy Hobby’s Well and the community garden, photograph the fascinating architecture of the half timbered lodge and look for sculptures and artwork dotted around the park.
You can even try some ‘street’ photography capturing people undertaking the things that people do in parks! If the weather is sunny and warm you may see more than you want to!
From the park entrance we chose, a walk down the main avenue will lead you to a succession of relocated medieval arches in shades of sandstone reds. You could easily spend a long time in and around the arches and the church adjoining them getting photo-distracted by shapes and textures in the walls and structures. Look up to capture the skies through the buildings , look for nature creeping in; small plants growing through, leaves hanging down. Lean against the walls and shoot up or down to get images with unusual angles. (We loved this area!)
The whole of Grosvenor Park is a photographer’s dream offering a wide variety of potential photo opportunities from buildings to nature, views to macro shots, whilst also being an extremely pleasant place to spend time in, sit in the sunshine (hopefully,) eat an ice cream, have a coffee in the café, ride the train, marvel at the history and just get outdoors. But our favourite bit we’ve saved until last…
Grosvenor Park has a population of the tamest squirrels we have ever encountered. They are everywhere around you and don’t seem to mind posing for the inevitable shot for Instagram! If like us you have a pocket full of nuts (we always make sure we have snacks for our photowalks!) and don’t mind sharing, you will be able to get close up shots of the squirrels in the trees and on the ground. They come very, very close so stay still and point and press. Always try to focus on the eyes and hopefully you will get a wildlife photo to be proud of.
So next time you’re in Chester make your way to the beautiful Grosvenor Park and snap away!
We hope you will share your images us on our Facebook page or e-mail them into us and we may feature them here. We look forward to seeing them!
FIRST PUBLISHED 11 MAY 2019
