From the bustling and noisy shopping centre, it is barely two minutes walk to a haven of calm - the Precincts of the Cathedral. Although the Cathedral itself is well known and attracts thousands of tourists, its old monastic site, tucked around the back, is almost a secret!  | | Graffiti from 1789! |
The Tourist Information Centre just inside the Norman Gatehouse offers a free trail leaflet which numbers each stopping point and describes the former activities at each place. Whether it's the dormitory for the Benedictine monks - advised to remove their knives at night for fear of wounding another Brother - or the Necessarium (lavatory to you and I!), you'll discover a world that existed before shopping malls and take-aways. For lovers of old buildings, it's a delight, with dwellings built in between the Gothic arches of the medieval infirmary; and if some of this looks familiar, the Cathedral Precincts were the setting for the BBC dramatisation of Barchester Towers. For more information about the cathedral, including visiting times, events and a service schedule, visit the website:
Peterborough Cathedral >
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Flag Fen | | A roundhouse at Flag Fen |
Not far from the city centre, in the vicinity of the Eastern Industrial Estate, some handiwork was discovered which turned out to be around 3,000 years old. Flag Fen yielded up an ancient man-made track across the fen, a system of posts and platforms which enabled Bronze Age farmers to move their livestock over the inhospitable ground. It is estimated that some 60,000 posts were used! Today, the site offers an enjoyable learning experience for all ages, with reconstructed roundhouses and old breeds of livestock, as well as a balcony-view of some original posts, which are saturated in water to ensure their preservation. For nature-lovers, the site is full of wildlife, with swans breeding amongst the reeds, dragonflies darting about, and numerous species of small birds. There is so much to see and do in Peterborough but our tourist-listener chose these as her two favourite places. For information about other attractions in and around the city, visit the council's website. As they say: "Peterborough will surprise and delight you!"
Peterborough City Council >
Visit Peterborough >
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