What the weather is usually like: about 11°C by day in March, rising to 17°C by May. Nights of 3°C to 7°C, rain on around ten days a month, and more than 16 hours of daylight by late May (Met Office averages).
Blossom around Newgate
By the end of March, petals drift down onto Pepper Street, and the arch of Newgate is framed in pink.
Newgate is the easiest place to see spring blossom in Chester. Trees flower along Pepper Street and around the Roman Amphitheatre beside the gate, and early in the morning the walls above give a view down into the branches.
A turret in blossom 
The Roman amphitheatre in spring
The Roman Gardens, below the walls
In April, new leaves curl around columns the Romans raised nearly two thousand years ago.
The Roman Gardens are a quiet strip of green below the walls, at their prettiest in spring. The columns are real, and so is the hypocaust, the Romans' way of heating a floor, all brought here from excavations across Chester.
Early evening is lovely here, when the paths are usually quiet. Our Historic Chester guide tells the story of the stones.
Roman underfloor heating 
The gardens at dusk
Grosvenor Park in flower
Magnolias open over the lawns, and the formal beds fill with colour almost overnight.
Grosvenor Park is where Chester's spring flowers are at their brightest. The beds are planted for the season, and the magnolias are among the first to flower.
Among the beds stand three old stone arches carried here from elsewhere in the city: one from the medieval Shipgate by the river, one from St Mary's nunnery, perhaps 800 years old, and one from St Michael's Church.
The Grosvenor Park gates stay open later from May, so the beds can be enjoyed on a long evening too.
Wide paths through the park 
A sculpture among the beds
Over the Old Dee Bridge to Handbridge
In 973, so the story goes, eight Saxon, Welsh and Viking princes took the oars and rowed King Edgar up the Dee to St John's church.
Today the crossing is on foot, over the Old Dee Bridge. Wake up at Enjoy the Pause, a calm holiday home inside the city walls, and the bridge is 5 minutes on foot from your front door, so a spring morning can begin on the far bank before the city is busy.
The bridge has stood since the 1300s, on a crossing the Romans are thought to have used before it. On the far side is Handbridge, a village of its own on the south bank. Beside the bridge, Edgar's Field takes its name from the king, and it was given to the city as a park in 1892, with a playground and the red arches of the bridge in view.
May, when the races come back
Hats, bright dresses and sharp suits fill Watergate Street as racegoers head down to the first race of the season.
Chester's racing season opens in early May with the Boodles May Festival, three days on the Roodee, the racecourse beside the river below the city walls. Its main entrance is a 15 minute walk from the house, so race day is a walk there and back, with no car to park.
Race days make the city lively and busy, so the weeks either side suit a quieter spring break. On a showery day in those weeks, the covered Rows keep the browsing dry, and our guide to cafés in Chester picks a few to try.
- 5 to 7 May 2027Boodles May Festival, Chester Races
- 29 May 2027Roman Day, Chester Races
Spring evenings at Enjoy the Pause
Daffodils nod in the planter, and the last of the sun warms the bench.
In spring the evenings stretch out, and by late April it stays light until after eight, so supper can wait while you sit out in your walled courtyard. Chester Market has local food to carry home.
For a treat on your first afternoon, a cream tea for two is on our extras, 10% off when you book direct. The travel cot, high chair and stair gate are free for families when agreed ahead.
For the rest of the day, see our guide to things to do in Chester.
Supper at home after a day outside
Keep exploring
