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Chester tours & events exploring the places where past and present blur together 🏛🌌
Come and discover CHESTER'S CITY WALLS with me!

www.herethenheritage.co.uk/chesters-ancient-walls-walking-tour

29/10/2026

Look closely at the buildings along Chester’s Rows and you’ll find a whole world of curious faces, strange creatures, and mysterious figures carved into their facades. But what stories lie behind them?

As part of this year's Rowvember celebrations, I'm excited to share that I'll be delivering some 'Folklore & Fantastical Architecture' walks that reveal the old tales and lore of Cheshire using the ornate Rows as inspiration 🌿🧜‍♀️💀🐲

We'll be kicking things off on Sat 14th November. (11am). Legendary beasts and curious customs await!

Plus, there'll be a family-friendly wander on Sat 15th & Sun 22nd Nov (11am), for young folklorists to scribble their very own folk character and miniature tale to take home with them 👹

Cone and join us! Tickets available via the link in my bio.

11/10/2026

Yesterday's 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 was a wander through Chester's supernatural heritage. With a protective bay leaf talisman each in hand to awaken our inner sight, we braved the wild winds to explore the ethereal past together...

Feline familiars, a haunting from envious alternate selves, a spell to mend a broken heart -- these are just a few of the creative ponderings that emerged for attendees as we wandered. And it was only fitting that we finish up our stroll in one of Chester's haunted pubs afterwards!

This session marked the last 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 walkshop of the year for poet Danny O'Sullivan and I. It's been such a pleasure launching this concept series for the first time and getting to head on creative heritage adventures with you all. We're excited to pull together some of your elemental outputs before the year is out... Watch this space!

The backdrops to the photos above are all snippets from our otherwordly walking route 💀🔮
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26/09/2026

The Other World is calling... 🔮 Our 'CITY OF SPIRITS' walkshop (10th Oct) will summon the mysterious fifth element of aether - a strange and supernatural substance - for a creative wander through the weird histories of Chester.

Walkshops are an alternative way to engage with
this ancient city and spark your imagination.
Whether you're brand new to scribbling or an
experienced wordsmith, sessions are open to all
curious souls!

Local-born poet Danny 0' Sullivan with be guiding us through imaginative creative writing exercises while I take you on an ethereal journey to unearth the city's supernatural heritage.

PRACTICAL INFO
City of Spirits' walkshop
🗓Saturday 10th October 11:15am - 12:45pm
📍Meeting point: to be confirmed
(a city centre location)
£15 p/p
12 spaces available

Tickets available via the link in my bio 🔗

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26/09/2026

Today's group of wonderful walkshop wanderers joined poet Danny O'Sullivan and I for a creative heritage journey through Chester using the element of air 🌬

People's scribblings along the way got gorgeously existential: threads of embroidered memory unravelling in the wind; airy particles of thought and feeling; floating out of the Walls and out of yourself; a guardian alligator perched on a rooftop...

Our next and final walkshop of the year, CITY OF SPIRITS (10th Oct), uses the mystical fifth element of aether to summon up supernatural Chester 🌌 Tickets are available via the link in my bio 🔗

17/09/2026

Spectacular 𝗦𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆'𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 in Nantwich | This Grade I listed building, with its distinctive octagonal tower, is arguably one of the most beautiful surviving Medieval churches in the whole country.

Construction got underway in the year 1280, but the devastation reeked by the Black Death in the mid-14th century meant that the church wasn’t actually completed for over a hundred years.

St Mary's gained many further additions over time; but, by the 19th century, it had fallen into disrepair and was heavily restored by the famous architect, George Gilbert Scott.

Inside, the church’s ornate medieval choir stalls, vaulted ceiling, and perpendicular stone pulpit are just some of the incredible features to be found. But you could easily spend many happy hours soaking up its many other architectural delights!

St Mary’s is real treasure of Cheshire.
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16/09/2026

Eyes to the skies! 🌬 Our next walkshop is almist here! 'WITHOUT LIMIT’ channels the element of air, and we'll be heading on a wander to creatively map Chester's elusive identity with some birds-eye thinking. We'd love for you to join us.

The 'Elemental Chester' walkshop series is the collaborative brainchild of Here Then Heritage and local-born poet Danny O’Sullivan. Each unique event pairs an alternative heritage walk through the city with imaginative writing exercises along the way, all inspired by a different element from ancient belief.

Our walkshops are for new and experienced writers alike! You’ll leave with a piece of your own creative musings and a brand-new perspective on Chester.

PRACTICAL INFO

Without Limit walkshop
📅Saturday 26th September 11:15am - 12:45pm
📍Meeting point: to be confirmed
(a city centre location)
£15 p/p
12 spaces available

Tickets available via the link in my bio.
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25/08/2026

Bishop Lloyd's Palace is a Grade I listed beauty in the very heart of Chester. But, for such a well-known landmark, it's early life is shrouded in much mystery...

We know the "Palace" actually starts as two Tudor townhouses, each with only a first-floor storey up on the Rows. In the early Jacobean era, two more storeys then appear, along with a host of rich carvings. The bright line of windows are a Victorian addition from the time of the Arts & Crafts movement.

Across the building's carved façade, fantastical beasts, shields, bibical scenes, and vague inscriptions all hinta at possible links to certain families and organisations across time. However...

We don't get any hard proof of who owns the place until the 1660s. Ironically, it's a little dubious the Bishop of Chester whose name comes to memorialise it ever actually spends time living here.

One of the decorative panels celebrates the Stuart dynasty (image 4), with gold letters 'I' and 'R' sitting either side of a crowned rose. They represent the reign of King James I of England: 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘹 = 'James the King' in Latin. Beneath are the ostrich feathers of the Prince of Wales and the shield of the Earl of Chester. They probably celebrate the moment when those titles pass to the young heir to the Stuart throne, Henry, in 1610. But the prince is never to become king...

Just a few years afterwards, Henrys falls from a carriage and dies. His ill-fated younger brother Charles, goes on to receive the crown instead. But things end up even worse for him... He infamously loses his head on the executioner's block amid the tumult of English Civil War.

23/08/2026

Another wonderful walkshop had with poet Danny O'Sullivan and a group of creative wanderers yesterday. This time, we explored Chester's history using the elemental theme of fire 🔥

Some brilliant imaginings emerged as we strolled and scribbled our way through the city: timber-framed buildings with living roots, voices written in smoke and flames, fiery fondu folk.

Our next walkshop, 'Without Limit' (Sat 26th Sep), will channel the element of air, taking to the skies above to reimagine how we see the city.

Tickets and info via the link in my bio 🔗

The backgrounds of the images above are all textures from Chester's rich cityscape.

21/08/2026

Destruction & renewal | The 'Ablaze' Walkshop explores Chester through the element of fire, using the city's incendiary past to inspire us on a creative writing wander.

How might we respond through creativity when things go up in flames? And how might that help us shape what we build from the ashes? We hope this session is a chance to reflect with imagination on these themes and more as we uncover fiery tales from Chester's rich history.

A collaboration between Here Then Heritage and local-born poet Danny O’Sullivan, each standalone walkshop in the Elemental Chester series pairs an alternative heritage walk through Chester with imaginative creative writing prompts along the way.

Open to new and experienced writers alike!

ABLAZE WALKSHOP
Saturday 22nd August
11:15 am
📍Meeting point: outside The Dublin Packet pub, 27 Northgate St, Chester CH1 2HA

Tickets available via the link in bio 🔗

Address

Chester

Website

https://linktr.ee/herethenheritage

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