Village Squire, 1978-01, Page 15TRAVEL
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While shopping malls may be a relatively new feature In all parts of Canada, they 're really
nothing new in Chester, England. This city has a number of malls dating back to the era of
Elizabeth 1. You'll get the friendliness and courtesy for which the English are renowned, and
the convenience of comfortable shopping at the same time.
Indoor shopping malls are nothing new
in Chester, England
A score or so years ago, urban planners
and architects in North America came up
with a revolutionary new concept -enclosed
shopping arcades and malls.
It was a logical, convenient concept.
Park your car in the vicinity and once
inside. you have protection from the
elements and the convenience of a variety
of stores in close proximity. Somebody
should have thought of it sooner.
Somebody did. More than 200 years ago
a resident of Chester, in Cheshire. almost
on the border of North Wales and just a few
miles south of Liverpool. could have visited
"Ye Olde Chester Tan Glove Shoppe"
established in 1755 and gone on from it to
dozens of other commercial establishments
without exposing those new gloves to the
dangers of a sudden cloudburst.
The shop is located in the "Rows", one
of the distinct architectural features of
Chester, said to be "unique and justly
world famous..." The Rows consist of a
double tier of shops, one at ground level,
the other at first floor level. each provided
with a footway and the higher one set back
and covered by the upper storeys of the
buildings.
The origin of the Rows have never been
adequately explained. They are only to be
found within the'medieval walls which still
exist intact and it is said of Chester "...this
is the only city in England which still
possesses its walls perfect in their entire
circuit of two miles and so remains a
splendid example of a fortified medieval
town."
An examination of the foundations of the
city wall showed that the first defenses
were made by the Roman legion but soon a
stone wall. strengthed at a later date, was
built.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries. when Chester had its great days
of prosperity as a flourishing port, several
towers were added. But fortune is a fickle
mistress and the city began to lose its
standing as a port through the gradual
silting up of the Dee estuary.
Nearly 2000 years have passed since the
Romans built a fortress on "a low
sandstone hill at the head of the estuary of
the Dee and called the station Deva." Its
key position meant that it became a
military and commercial centre and what is
now Chester flourished until the legion
withdrew about 400 A.D. and left the
remaining Britons exposed to the
incursions of marauding Saxons and Scots.
In 615 A.D. the city was totally destroyed
in a fight between the Welsh and
Ethelfrith, pagan king of Northumbria, and
it lay in ruin for almost 300 years until.
Ethelred and Ethelfleda rebuilt the walls
and founded places of Christian worship.
While many additions have been made
in modern times, a conscious attempt has
been made to preserve the flavor and
homogeneity. Thus there are many
instances of tearing down the building
while maintaining the facade.
As a result, the visitor can enter a hotel
which shows a Tudor face to the world, to
find modern rooms equipped with
television, telephone and individual baths.
Yet the dining room may be authentially
appointed with centuries-old artifacts.
Accommodation is plentiful, ranging
from excellent modern hotels to the
bed -and -breakfast homes which the
traveller finds everywhere in Great Britain.
Prices are reasonable. About the most
you could possibly pay anywhere is S33 for
two people in a double room without
breakfast. However, the budget conscious
can find a bed with a hot English breakfast
for about $3.60 per person.
How to cope
with jet lag
If your visions of a trip to Europe or the
Orient are clouded by persistent worries
about jet lag the following medical tips are
for you.
Jet lag is caused by your internal clocks
struggling with a new time schedule being
imposed on them. All your daily rhythms
which tick happily along unnoticed are
suddenly thrown "out of synch" with the
new environment jet travel presents. Not
just sleep patterns, but body temperature,
pulse rate, breathing rate and water loss by
evaporation are disrupted. When these
internal clocks (or what doctors call
"diurnal" or "circadian" rhythms) are
interrupted, reaction time and decision
making ability are adversely affected.
During the past ten years studies in both
the U.S. and Britain have revealed that
the effects of jet travel on diurnal rhythms
are about 50 per cent greater when flying
east than when flying west. This means
that on a trip to the orient you'll feel less
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1978, 13.