Spooky Night Walk in Chester In Search of Pretty Lights & Ghosts

One thing I fancied doing while visiting Chester was to attend a nighttime ghost walk for frills and chills. However, the local ghost tour company was not operating during our visit. Thus, after a bit of research and my habitual early rising, I decided to do a spooky nighttime walk through the city.

Chester is known to be the most haunted city in the UK from various sources online, which fuelled my interest in walking during the early hours. I found a list of pubs with hauntings and mentions of a legionnaire haunting the city walls near our hotel. The backup plan was to see some of the epic buildings in the centre all lit up.

At 4am I got up, decided not to get the laptop out, and headed to places mentioned in my research. The walk involved aimlessly wandering and enjoying the night while most people were sleeping. There was not much happening in the centre, which added to the vibe. The only downside was that most places were closed until 6 am to grab a drink.

Photos of My Late Night Spooky Walk in Chester

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Some photos of the cool features of the city in the middle of the night, including some nicely lit up monuments. Unfortunately, there were no ghost sightings for me. You can find out about local ghost tours on the GetYourGuide or Viator websites.

The City Walls Near The Newgate

After reading various accounts of a ghost of a Roman Legionnaire that appears on the city walls between the Newgate and the Amphitheatre, I headed here first from the hotel.

I loitered a bit and walked up and down here a few times. The stairs to the city walls and the structures of the gate were pretty interesting at night. The eerily quiet walls were nice, too.

Eastgate Clock

The section of the walls that cross Eastgate St is pretty special at night, and the views are pretty spooky. Additionally, the clock is nicely lit up with changing colours.

The views down Eastgate Street were special when the darkness was combined with the old Tudor architecture. This convinced me to explore the street further once I was done exploring the walls.

Cathedral at Night

Chester Cathedral was also pretty special at night too, especially the views from the walls. The churchyard was dark, and the light inside lit up the stained glass windows.

Sadly, the grounds weren’t open for a night-time exploration. However, the entrance and former abbey gate were nice to see in the darkness.

Eastgate Street

Apparently, there are a few haunted buildings on Eastgate Street; Thornton’s Chocolate has had the most unexplained sightings. I enjoyed walking along the historic street when it was dark and empty. The East Gate is the main sight on the road, which is all lit up nicely with periodic colour changes.

The Chester Rows were next level quiet and spooky, and I really enjoyed taking my time enjoying the views. The darkness combined with the historic timber-framed features hit the spot for me.

I ended up walking along the Chester Rows on all four main streets. One thing I like about these is the balconies that allow you to see the buildings opposite and down the street.

Northgate Street

Northgate street has many cool buildings, but what drew me in for my nighttime walk was the Pied Bull Pub. The Pied Bull is an old, historic inn with a reputation of being haunted. Apparently, the ghost of John Davies, who fell down the cellar stairs with a knife.

He accidentally stabbed himself in the 17th century and has been haunting the building ever since. Anyway, I walked past the pub and had a mooch at the details; unfortunately, they weren’t open for beer or ghost hunting.

The Town Hall, also on Northgate Street, is nicely lit up at night. The gothic features certainly added to the ambience for me. I had a sit outside and enjoyed the lights and shadows of the nearby buildings.

There were two statues that caught my eye while in the area. First were the Roman columns, which are great to see under any light, and the unique statue of Janya, the Baby Elephant.

So Is Chester Spooky At Night?

In the quiet of the early hours, it is pretty spooky, especially after a bit of light research to get the imagination going. I’m sceptical about the paranormal, but the vibe certainly gets the mind going, and low light can play tricks on you.