Grosvenor Park

Grosvenor Park is a 20 acre Victorian recreation area in Chester, sitting right next to the banks of the River Dee. It’s split into many zones, each offering something different, and as such, this park offers something for everyone! It was created over 2 years before being opened in 1867 and its name comes from the man who provided the money, Richard Grosvenor the 2nd Marquess of Westminster. His statue now has pride of place amongst the features in the park. There are map boards like the one above dotted around the park, but it’s still easy to miss some of the best bits of the park, so we’d recommend walking every path if you have the time.

The area we enjoyed the most was the Quarry Garden (pictured above). It mixes planting with stone structures which have generally been moved from other locations in Chester. Each arch has its own story – look out for St Mary’s arch which is thought to date back to the 13th century and formerly stood in St Mary’s Benedictine Nunnery. There’s also the Old Shipgate arch which formerly stood at the Bridgegate and was taken down in 1831 and the third arch used to belong to St Michael’s Church.

Also in the park, look out for the Rose Garden, the outdoor theatre and of course the miniature railway which was added in 1996. The track winds for around a quarter of a mile around the park and lake and operates both steam and diesel trains. The trains operate on Wednesday’s, Friday’s and weekends in the summer months and weekends only in the winter. The adult fare is £1.50 with children travelling for £1 (2024 prices).

There are several gateways into the park, but the most striking is the one by the beautiful Lodge Cafe, which is great place to sit for a drink or snack. The lodge used to be the former park keeper’s house. Grosvenor Park is open from 8am to 8pm each day.in the summer and 8am to 6pm in the winter.