I worked in Peterborough on a couple of occasions back in March and August 2016. It’s a historic market town with a famous cathedral so I stayed overnight to get to know it a bit better.
My Google map is here.
From the train station, you’ll see some nice street art if you take the pedestrian subway under the Queensgate Roundabout (click on the pics to enlarge).
I arrived in town around 4pm which meant I had time for a very quick tour of the cathedral which closes at 5.
The Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew was founded in the Anglo-Saxon period, but the architecture is mainly Norman. It’s one of the most important 12th-century buildings in England to have remained pretty much intact.
However my favourite part is the fan vaulting in the “New Building” around the end of the Norman eastern apse, which is a rare example of Perpendicular Gothic. Fan vaulting are an architectural feature peculiar to England (again click on the pics to enlarge).
The old market hall in the centre of town is another nice old building.
The Charters Bar www.charters-bar.com is a pub on an old Dutch barge. My friend Matt who is a football journalist told me about it. He’d stop off here for a pint before going to the London Road stadium which is just down the road.
The Leendert-R was built in 1907 and is apparently the largest continental barge in the UK. The lower deck is a real ale pub while upstairs is a Thai restaurant. My pint of IPA didn’t have much of a head and was a bit pricey at £4 but the surroundings made a change from the usual.
The Draper’s Arms at 29-31 Cowgate, www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk is a big old pub with a lovely polished-wood interior. It’s a former 19th-century draper’s shop with floor-to-ceiling windows.
When I was there in March 2016 I ate well at Clarkes on Queen St in the centre. It was the best restaurant at the time as far as I could make out. It has since moved to The Fox in Folksworth just outside Peterborough. www.foxatfolksworth.co.uk