Cathedral

History

If you are interested in Peterborough’s history you should visit Peterborough Cathedral towering majestically above the city centre. The Norman building – constructed on the site of a Saxon abbey – is famous for its stunning west front and its painted nave ceiling and contains the tomb of Katharine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII.

Flag Fen is the most important Bronze Age archaeological site in Europe and includes a modern visitor centre and museum.

Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery is a treasure house of the area's heritage with exhibits charting developments from Jurassic pre-history, through Roman and medieval eras to the 20th century, together with a new multi-media art gallery.

For attractions nearby try visiting Burghley House at Stamford, the finest Elizabethan stately home in England; Elton Hall, the ancestral home of the Proby family for over 350 years; Thorney Abbey and Heritage Museum; or the birthplace of 'country poet' John Clare at Helpston.

Other attractions worth visiting include the medieval Prebendal Manor at Nassington and Rockingham Castle just north of Corby.

Tallington Lakes

Sport

If sport is your thing, there is plenty to do – from golf to adrenalin-fuelled activities such as skydiving.

We have an athletics stadium, sports centres, a parachute centre at nearby Chatteris and a dry ski slope and water sports centre at Tallington Lakes. Peterborough City Rowing Club is one of the UK's leading centres for rowing. The selection of public and private golf courses includes Orton Meadows and Thorpe Wood.

We have clubs for participants in sports and activities from aerobics to yoga and from archery to windsurfing.

If your idea of sport is to spectate rather than participate, you could watch football league club Peterborough United (The Posh) who play at the London Road ground in the city centre, the Peterborough Phantoms ice hockey team who play at Planet Ice and the Peterborough Panthers speedway team, who race at the East of England showground.

If you fancy a little betting along with your racing – and maybe a drink and a meal as well – why not try the greyhound stadium?

The annual Great Eastern Run provides opportunities for everyone from serious road race enthusiasts to charity-sponsored fun runners.

Ferry Meadows Country Park

Parks, walks and open spaces

You can enjoy more leisurely activities such as walking or cycling in one of the city’s parks or on specially designated routes that run from the city centre to rural villages and countryside.

Peterborough’s Central Park in the city centre has been awarded Green Flag status for quality.

The 500-acre Ferry Meadows country park within the 2,000 acre Nene Park is a popular centre for an array of outdoor pursuits, including walking, cycling, sailing, fishing, bird watching, horse riding, camping and family picnics. The Nene Valley Railway is a major attraction for steam preservation enthusiasts.

The Peterborough Millennium Green Wheel is a continuous network of cycleways, footpaths and bridleways that provide safe, continuous routes around the city built by Peterborough Environment City Trust.

Work is now in hand to create new parks and a ‘green grid’ linking the city’s open spaces.

The Key Theatre

Theatres and cinemas

If you prefer more passive entertainment it is readily available in Peterborough at the theatre or cinema.

The Key Theatre is situated near to the city centre in the idyllic surroundings of the embankment of the River Nene. The theatre's aim is to provide a wide and imaginative programme of events and productions throughout the year.

The Cresset at nearby Bretton maintain exciting programmes of stage performances from the classics to contemporary productions and from pantomime to stand-up comedy, together with a wide range

of music concerts.

Tolethorpe Hall is host to performances by the Stamford Shakespeare Company in the outdoor amphitheatre during the summer months.

The multi-screen Showcase Cinema offers all the latest movie releases while the small John Clare Theatre at Peterborough Central Library stages a range of live and filmed entertainment. The Lady Lodge Arts Centre hosts cultural workshops and a range of stage productions.

City centre pub

Pubs, clubs and restaurants

The city’s selection of pubs and nightclubs offers high-octane music and dance entertainment into the early hours – as well as more relaxed environments with quality local ales.

There are also plenty of quiet restaurants providing peaceful, intimate dining – and many country pubs in the surrounding villages.

East of England Showground

Festivals and events

The East of England Showground is the eastern region's premier outdoor events centre and hosts a number of events throughout the year including Truckfest, The East of England Country Show, the British Motorcycle Federation (BMF) Show and the National Adventure Sports Show.

During the summer months, the city hosts the annual Peterborough Festival of art, music and drama, featuring a wide range of cultural activities for residents and visitors, and the Peterborough Beer Festival which is the second largest event of its kind in the country.

There is a list of current and future events at visitpeterborough.com/todo.

Sacrewell Farm

Environmental and wildlife sites

Sacrewell Farm and Country Centre at Thornhaugh is well worth a visit, as is the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve at nearby Welney.

There is also the Butterfly and Wildlife Park at Long Sutton and Rutland Water near Stamford, Europe's largest man-made lake.

The local Wildlife Trust maintains a number of nature reserves throughout the area and the reserve at Hampton contains Europe’s largest colony of great crested newts.

Horse Riding Clubs

Hobbies clubs and societies

Peterborough has a vast range of clubs and societies for enthusiasts for all types of hobbies and pastimes. Peterborough City Council keeps a list of most of them.