This was supposed to be our last mini trip together for the year. I had a bonus trip planned later in the year, but with two larger trips still coming up, the scope for mini trips was very limited. However, within less than a week after this trip, this all changed.
Out of the various mini trips we had taken over the last couple of years, this was by far the one closest to home. This did not make me any less excited. Our destination was Chester, which is a mere 40 miles away. Chester has a great zoo. We had been there once previously, but at the time we had not realised that they have red pandas there. Graham had found out about this and for Christmas in 2024, he gave me a gift adoption for the red pandas at Chester Zoo. Part of the deal was that my name would be displayed on a plague at the red panda enclosure. We had every intention to visit Chester Zoo last year, but this never quite worked out. However, when I knew that I had two weekdays off in a row at the beginning of July, we decided to make some concrete plans for a trip.
We both had to work that day. As the fastest train to Chester leaves from Manchester airport, I slightly managed to change my shift so that I could head straight from work to the airport to catch the train. Graham was going to join me at Manchester Piccadilly. I managed to leave work on time, but the trams from the local tram stop to the airport where delayed. Still, I had nearly an hour to get from the office to the station and I was not too alarmed. I made it in plenty of time. When I arrived at the station, I saw a familiar person standing at the barrier near the platform. Graham’s train had been messed up, and he had been routed via Crewe and ended up on the train there that goes via the airport. He decided to get off there and meet me. This worked well. Our train was a little delayed, but we were on no particular timetable and for once, we did not have to change trains. Therefore, it did not actually matter.
We had a pretty smooth run to Chester. I was a hot day, but the air-conditioning was effective and the temperature on the train was quite pleasant. Some of the scenery that we passed was pretty, too. We arrived in Chester only a little delayed. Our hotel was near the racecourse. I had no clear idea where this was in relation to the station. The distance was not too bad, but as it was so hot, I decided to just summon an Uber. We had a short wait, but the Uber arrived about 10 minutes later and soon we were at the hotel.
We checked in and then headed to our room. At that stage, time had marched on and we were both ready for some dinner. I had a look online about possible restaurants, but all of them seemed to close very early. I did however notice that a lot of restaurants were along a street that was not far from the hotel. We decided to have a wander and see what we could find.
It did not take us long until we found Basement 85. This is supposed to be a wine bar, but they have all manner of drinks. They also do various charcuterie plates. This sounded great as it was pretty hot. We decided to share the Basement Deli Board. This consisted of beef bresaola, cured coopa, which is an Italian ham, Black Bomber cheddar, Pork rillette, Shropshire blue cheese, Peters Yard crackers, sourdough , celery, grapes, balsamic onions, and cornichons. I wondered that this would be enough for two people, but it was plenty. Graham had a local craft beer, and I had a beer that is brewed in Barcelona. I am not a huge beer drinker, but I like this one.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. We knew that we would have a busy day ahead of us. We got ready for bed. Graham was asleep as soon as his had touched the pillow. I was not quite ready to go to sleep and read for a while, but about an hour later, I was ready to call it a night as well.
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