Peterborough Cathedral

We really felt welcome here - from the Beckett restaurant where we enjoyed a light lunch, to the enjoyable, informative conducted tour and later on at Evensong with its glorious singing and organ accompaniment, where we were privileged to sit in the Choir.

We felt especially fortunate in our guide, Brian. As there were only the two of us taking the tour, he made us feel really special providing us with lots of detail where it mattered. Brian had to cope with some competition as there was a remembrance ceremony going on at the Catherine of Aragon tomb, where some local school children were laying wreaths - all handled flawlessly - in this impressive working cathedral.

We would highly recommend a visit to Peterborough cathedral and especially urge visitors to take advantage of the excellent conducted tours, which are not to be missed!

The first thing that I can say about this stunning piece of architecture is wow.

I came here with my boyfriend and unfortunately this was just before the quarantine of COVID so it was a little on edge with not touching things and staying away from people etc but they were still very happy for us to come in and view the cathedral. However, this also meant that there were a few things not open so we only saw the cathedral. However, that shouldn't take away how absolutely stunningly beautiful this place is. The stain glass works are breathtaking and each one of them are different and tells a story. For those history buffs out there, here is where Catherine of Aragon was buried. So here is a good place for us history nerds.

In any case, I would recommend people visiting Peterborough to make the cathedral one of there spots for visiting.

I did the Moon with a View walk and loved it. Gives you a snapshot into the walls and rafters of the spectacular building and a great view of the moon floor. There are railings all the way round the walk but you do need some level of fitness as the steps are quite steep and narrow. Also great views of the city from the top. Barry was our guide and was very knowledgeable on the history of the building and regularly checked we were all ok with the heights😀Would highly recommend this or the full tour which is 1.5 hours long.

I've lived in Peterborough for many years and have visited this fabulous cathedral many times but this was the first time I've been on a highlights tour (prompted by having visitors over from the USA). Our tour guide, Steve, had loads of interesting stories to tell us as we walked round the cathedral, and was able to answer all our questions too - a very knowledgeable local historian.
These tours run daily Monday to Saturday at 11am and 2pm (check website), £5pp, take about an hour and you don't need to book in advance.
There are also occasional tower tours and you need to book in advance - but well worth it. (We went on one of these a few years ago).

Unfortunately, a downpour of biblical proportions a couple of days earlier meant our tour of the tower had to be cancelled. Instead, we strolled around inside admiring the C12th cathedral from the nave and side aisles instead. Entry was free but we were politely asked if we’d like to donate.

The cathedral is stunning, we went there yesterday as we were staying nearby for
the weekend. My grandaughter Ella (13) is very keen on Tudor history, so when I told
her about Katherine of Arragon`s tomb, she was very keen to visit.
Because of Covid, we followed the route marked out, and after we had seen the whole building, we went over to the gift shop. The shop was unattended, but there
were volunteers chatting over by the main doors. There were signs asking you to
seek assistance if you wanted to buy, Ella being excited, picked up a bookmark, at
which point a lady volunteer arrived, being annoyed at us touching the item. Since
the counter was unattended, and we had no idea who was supposed to be attending, the snotty attitude of this lady was not appreciated. She took the item off us, and all the time I was paying, she kept sarcastically mumbling about needing bigger signs, as we were clearly unable to have seen them.
Since she handled the item without first cleaning her hands, I thought their system
needed to be changed, she must have served others before us, and so we would have been safer by us taking the item, and then all she had to do was keep stock
numbers at the till, after all, there was a very limited stock, this would have been
a simpler procedure. This spoiled our visit, it seems wearing a high viz jacket gives
even little old ladies too much of a sense of power.

What a stunning cathedral; having lived in Peterborough for most of my life it’s the first time I’ve been on the Tower tour. What an amazing tour, the knowledge of the tour guide volunteers, Paul and Phil, was top class, so informative and delivered as though they were chatting to you as friends in an easy to understand style. The tour lasted 90 minutes and was worth every penny, if when visiting Peterborough you only have time for 1 tour then this is a must. Thank you.

The excellent views inside (and from the tower if you are lucky), are amazing. The guided tour is fascinating and the whole cathedral interior walk round gets you places you cannot see on you own. Narrow paths and twisty stairs are not for the feint-hearted though. With so much great information to impart it was a bit disappointing that our guide had half a dozen places where he “didn’t know why that was” or “wasn’t sure about something” - I would have thought that after 10 yrs of doing it that he might well have found out the answers to these (surely) frequently asked questions. The other annoyance was that the second guide kept chatting to one of the elderly tour visitors and it made it hard to hear what the primary guide was saying especially in the areas we were all cramped in one space or spread out in a thin line. Other than that, good value and very enjoyable couple of hours.

First of all I have got to mention Peterborough Railway station, without their passenger assistance scheme and exceptional accessibility I couldn't have possibly visited and although the assistance at my point of departure was very good Peterborough is worthy of the highest praise both for accessible platforms and willing staff.

The Cathedral is beautiful, we each had a different part we wanted to visit. My daughter wanted to find Edith Cavell's grave. I was seeking Mary of Scotland's original resting place before her son James 6th of Scotland/1st of England removed her to Westminster. Our friend was looking for Catherine of Aragon's resting place, a simple marker with tributes of candles and pomegranates it was sad but sweet. It's nice to see active Cathedrals such as Norwich and Peterborough holding events of interest out with religion but sadly the 'Moonwalk floor' event made my visit uncomfortable having to walk back against the directed flow of people as well because my mobility aid couldn't traverse the surface and it left only one side of the cathedral accessible to me. However my companions loved the experience. It's just sad that the Cathedral couldn't have had a layout which left both side aisles accessible to wheelchair/walker users.
The Cathedral and its grounds are vast and once again there wasn't enough time to take in everything so I hope for another opportunity to visit in the future.

Just a quick visit. All friendly greaters and no insistance on paying to get in. All in all a relaxing 20mins with some nice architecture and surroundings - one plaque was to a vineyard owner near the city in the 1800s so not just a recent thing!