Holiday Inn Ellesmere Port/ Cheshire Oaks

Chester's old-fashioned parks and landscaped gardens are perfect for summer picnics and afternoon strolls. A 15-minute drive from the hotel, Ness Botanical Gardens are filled with colourful plants and flowers, and especially worth a visit for the famous seasonal Snowdrop flower walk. A little further away is Tatton Park with its Tudor gardens, Japanese Shinto shrine, native deer and farm animals.

Only eight miles from the hotel, Chester city centre is like an open-air museum of historical architecture. Its city walls date back to Roman times, with a walkway that takes you past ancient amphitheatre ruins and original Tudor inns to the landmark Victorian Eastgate Clock. Beneath the 18th-century facade of Chester Castle you can see traces of its much older Norman motte-and-bailey structure.

From the native harvest mouse to the exotic Komodo dragon, Chester Zoo is home to 12,000 animals spanning 400 diverse species. The Islands exhibit is the UK's largest UK zoo project, recreating a tropical South East Asian environment that brings you closer to endangered species and fills you in on vital conservation work. The zoo's resident animal and plant experts host daily talks and workshops.