24 Hours In Chester-le-Street

Chester-le-Street is some name for a town. Don’t let the name lead you to believe that it’s French town. It’s very much an English town with a rich Roman history—located in County Durham. The town came to existence when the Romans decided to build the fort of Concangis on the River Wear. This Roman fort is the ‘Chester’ of the name, while the ‘Street’ is derived from the path, that runs from the north to the south of the town, laid by the Romans. The path is now called the Front Street. Enough about the history, now’s let’s see what you can do while in Chester-le-Street if you're there for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Diggerland
Let’s start with the best part of the English town, the Diggerland. You guessed it right. The place does let you use the JCBs for real and allows you to dig up the place for as long as you want. Located about eight kilometres from the town, Diggerland also offers 20 different types of rides and games, including go karting and a separate section for the kids. One of the star attractions in Diggerland is the Stat Attack, where you get to pick-up, move and stack giant digger and dumper tyres without dropping or knocking over the stack. Sound easy, no? Rest assured it is not! The Crazy Carts allows your children to go for a spin on the all-electric carts, at a maximum speed of 20kph, and create that perfect donut.

Stephenson Railway Museum
With all the talks about hyper-loop and super fast trains coming to India, won’t it be nice to take a back and learn about as to how the railways came in to existence. What better place than the Stephenson Railway Museum, where you can re-live the initial days of the steam-engine powered trains, to start with! The heritage railway at the museum allows you to hop on to a restored steam engine and enjoy the beauty as you go for a ride. The museum is also home to George Stephenson’s ‘Billy’, a forerunner of the world-famous Rocket. Rocket, designed by Stephenson, was an early locomotive steam engine that won the Rainhill Trials held by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1829. The museum also offers workshops for the kids and adults, allowing you an opportunity to learn about the glorious past about steam engine.

Beamish Wild Adventure Park
If you are looking for something to get your adrenaline running, then we would suggest you head to the Beamish Wild Adventure Park, the home of adventure in the North East of England. The park is set on the treetops of ancient woodland and allows the visitors to feel the kick of a adrenaline rush during their—two-hour—high wire adventure course. Feel your heart beat go through the roof as you take a swing through the trees on the high wire adventure course with your family and friends. Use the four zip-wires, rope-bridges, and swinging tires as you climb through the canopy and finish it off with a free-fall. If you are looking for some more fun, then pick up the bow and arrows in the park and shoot your way to glory in the archery course. At the end of the one-hour session, the best archer will be awarded with a medal. Time to put on your competitive shoes.

Crook Hall & Gardens
Located in the centre of the Dunham City’s bustling market place, the Grade I Medieval hall in the city is home to the most spectacular backdrop to the stunning Crook Hall & Gardens. Don’t forget to take your little ones with you while you visit the gardens as they will love the Cotoneaster Meadow maze that the garden has to offer. One advise, accompany your children in the maze as it is a lot more trickery than it looks. Off the eight gardens, we suggest you do not miss out on, the Secret Walled Garden, Shakespeare Garden, Cathedral Garden and the Silver and White Garden. Grab a home-made tea or coffee from the Garden Gate Café, sit next to the moat pool and soak in some sun as you enjoy your dink. For someone looking for a leisure retreat, the Garden has two well-equipped Self Catering Apartments. The apartments offers you entry to the Garden and lets you have some good time away from the noise.

Sri Lanka takes on South Africa in their league stage match of the ICC Cricket World Cup on June 28.