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| Peterborough Cathedral |
Welcome back to my blog! With a change of name I feel more relevant, join me on my travels around London and beyond. It's been around three years since I last posted here. So, let's begin with Peterborough, which of course isn't in London, though the way those people who make decisions about boundaries want to widen London outwards, one day who knows what will be included in Greater London! Travel to Peterborough is easy. You can get a non-stopping train from London Kings Cross that will have you in Peterborough in less than an hour.
I had never been to Peterborough before and knew nothing about it other than it has a cathedral, and when I googled it for what it was known for, it seemed mostly to do with industry and food production.
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| Guildhall |
Quaker Oats was mentioned, but I realise now they had a factory in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada! Maybe I was googling the wrong Peterborough!
Anyway, I booked a hotel for three nights close to River Nene and began my explorations. On arrival I went out to get an idea of where things were. Mainly I was in Cathedral Square, a huge pedestrianised area. In fact, most of the city is car-free, making it easy to walk around. It's spacious and has some ancient buildings like The Guildhall, Cathedral, and interesting shop facias. Peterborough has two shopping centres. Queensgate has the usual chain store shops, while Rivergate is more cafes and small independent shops. Beyond Rivergate there is a large Asda supermarket.
Being close to a river is always good for me. In one direction you can walk to Thorpe Meadows and beyond. I think you can reach Ferry Meadows along the river, but I didn't go that far, so don't quote me on that! In the other direction you can walk to Flag Fen, an archeological park. Here the river is straight and the land flat, and dare I say, less interesting to walk, though there are dykes running alongside the footpath. The landscape is broken up with wind turbines and the odd factory chimney as well as a sewage treatment plant.
But let's head back into the City. I discovered Henry Penn and his Bell Foundry close to where I was staying. There is a path named after him along the river, and a walk you can take. Dotted around are information boards and a lovely plaque in the city.
There is a nice article here you can read all about Henry Penn. It comes with the sound of bells!
Peterborough Cathedral is quite spectacular, and bigger than I first thought. As I entered, I was given a card notifying me of the Top Ten Things to See, including Katharine of Aragon's Tomb, The Hedda Stone from 1496-1509, the former burial place of Mary Queen of Scots and St Oswald's Chapel where from 1000-1539 his arm was kept as a holy relic.
There is a gift shop on site, but no cafe, though there are toilets (all important). The burial grounds are interesting to wander around, and looked lovely with the flowers out.
Another place I found fascinating was Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery. While they are having some sort of reorganisation, there was plenty to see. I found the exhibition, New Town Youth 1985 really interesting and it took me back in time. I always find the social history of a place fascinating when I visit new places. The varies galleries were brilliant as I visited different periods times from pre-history through to the Romans and the last century. There is a most excellent cafe in the museum.
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| Museum & Art Gallery |
The Museum and Art Gallery once was a hospital, and above is a photo of what the old operating theatre would have looked like. The room came complete with the sound of sawing!
Before I visited the museum and cathedral, I'd taken a lovely walk along the Nene River. I'm always drawn to rivers and this section had much wildlife to see. I walked as far as Thorpe Meadow and then found a smaller path closer to the river. Although it was muddy in places and a small fallen branch, I managed to negotiate it. It was certainly worth the effort.
I'd set aside my final day in Peterborough to visit Flag Fen Archaeological Park. Without transport this was a three-mile walk along the river. The turning wasn't signposted, and I had to double back a little as I'd gone too far. The day was grey, chilly and windy. Staff were very helpful and gave me map of the site, and I set off to explore this Bronze Age site which has appeared on the TV programme Time Team. The reconstructed roundhouses were fascinating and one smelled of smoke. Flag Fen does a lot of teaching for school groups, so maybe they light the fire now and then. Certainly it looked like it.
The building housing the causeway posts (left in situ) was stunning. Around them they had built a pool and every so often water showers the posts from above. This is so the posts don't dry out and crumble. There is a small museum on site. One section was closed due to problems with lighting, but I did get to see the Soay Sheep. The sheep come from St Kilda in Scotland and are the closest to the breed that would have been around in Bronze Age times. Work still goes on here and there is probably still much to find. And if you, like me, have a fascination for the Romans, there is also a Roman road!
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| River Nene |
I enjoyed Peterborough, and I'd be happy to return sometime. This city is also the home of three Antony Gormley installations - one on top of Queensgate Shopping Centre, one in Cathedral Square and the other on the roof of the Leeds Building Society.
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