Roman holiday

On a baking Saturday in May, the tale in two cities 90 miles apart was almost identical. It was about horseracing attracting crowds of nearly 30,000, and thousands more being drawn to their cathedrals, city walls, medieval streets, riversides, classy retailing and the remains of those who laid the foundations for what Deva and Eboracum have become.

If there's anyone in Chester and York who, like the Monty Python team, has to ask "what have the Romans ever done for us?", the answer is all around. The history and modern economies of the cities can be traced back to the legions who established fortresses on the banks of the Dee and Ouse and encouraged subsequent cultures to add their layers

of influence.

If you like York, you'll feel at home in Chester. They are a kind of Romulus and Remus of twinned interests. The attractions of one are replicated uncannily in the other, though the wonders they share are offset by an individuality moulded by landscape, scale and colour.

Compared to its creamy-walled relative, Chester – red-stoned and crowded with black and white Tudor – is more compact. Their racecourses reflect the difference. Knavesmire is an expansive galloping scene well away from the battlements; the Roodee is right under them, a tight-cornered circular track in a former harbour where vessels from the Roman Empire brought wine, figs and olive oil, and carried away slate, lead and silver from North Wales.

You can watch the racing for free from the city wall on Nun's Road, which rather irks the racecourse management having invested 10m in facilities in recent years. Naturally, they'd rather have you as a paying customer especially as Chester is running neck and neck with York to be the most popular Flat venue in the North as measured by average attendance figures.

The Roodee has one unchallenged statistic. The first recorded horse race in the country was held there, in 1539, and a silver bell for the winner was donated by Chester's Lord Mayor, one Henry Gee – hence the origin of gee up and gee-gee, or so they say. Nuggets like that are supplied by Robin March, communications manager at the course and, despite being born in York, shamelessly promoting its opposition.

Someone else who abandoned Yorkshire connections is Stephen Wundke. He's originally from Adelaide, played cricket for South Australia, and had a spell as club professional at Farsley, in the Bradford League. He also has a "what if?" anecdote about how he came agonisingly close to playing in the classic Ashes series of 1981.

Nowadays, the former left-handed batsman and fast-medium bowler is an all-rounder in other fields. On race-days at Chester, he's an announcer and provides tips and behind-the-scenes tours for those in the hospitality boxes. He's also chairman of the Restaurant Association of Cheshire but his main job is Chester City Management Coordinator. Basically he markets the city. There are tougher tasks.

For visitors, a walk on the walls is an excellent introduction. You can use them as an absolute tourist experience and be accompanied by a legionary in the battledress of nearly 2,000 years ago, or as a practical route to the shops – they are more of a general thoroughfare and closer to the city's commercial heart than their equivalent in York. Or meander the walls simply for an elevated view of Chester through the ages.

It has several Roman sites and linked attractions, including the Roman Experience, which reconstructs the sights, sounds and smells of the era. The real thing is close by, such as the remains of the largest amphitheatre so far uncovered in Britain and dating from the first century AD. You may, however, feel that a clever 20th-century idea called the Roman Gardens, provides the best representation of ancient Rome itself.

They were created 60 years ago from artefacts found throughout Chester. There are columns and a hypocaust, or underfloor heating system. On a warm, sunny day it doesn't take much of a leap to imagine the setting as part of the Forum, and a toga-clad Caesar replacing that chap with his Costa coffee and lunch in a Tesco carrier.

Further along the wall, on the opposite side, is a different page from Chester's past, a street of half-timbered buildings, one with the inscription "The Fear of the Lord is a Fountain of Life" from Proverbs 14:27. The next section of wall was closed for repairs, or was it a ploy to direct us straight into the elegant Grosvenor Shopping Centre?

In turn, it leads into Bridge Street and one of the Chester Rows, the city's unique two-tier shopping galleries. There are tours explaining their 13th-century origins and who sold wares there long before the arrival of Hugo Boss and co.

The big names keep arriving in town, the latest being Marco Pierre White with his Steakhouse Bar and Grill. If it goes on like this, it may need Chester's Town Crier, the only one in the country still making midday proclamations (10.30 on race days) to have a quiet word with Eboracum.

As a York resident, I came away feeling that our stylish rival has the edge on presentation. That in some ways, the heirs to the Romans on this side of the Pennines need to sharpen not swords but their act.

Chester fact file

For details of race meetings at Chester, visit www.chester-races.co.uk

Information about Chester and the area: www.visitcheshire.com

There are some excellent rail deals from Yorkshire. A weekend ticket

from York to Chester, on specific trains with a Senior Railcard, is 19.80 return. The journey takes about three hours. National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50.

YP MAG 3/7/10