Discover Peterborough

More Than You Imagine

Welcome to Peterborough – a city where history whispers from ancient stones, creativity fills our streets, and nature weaves through every corner. Whether you’re here for a day or a lifetime, there’s always more to uncover. Explore our quarters, meet our communities, and find your own favourite hidden spot.

Eight Places, One Story

Peterborough is a city of many voices, each quarter and district adding its own thread to a richly woven whole. From the soaring towers of the Cathedral to the vibrant studios of the Creative Quarter, from the working riverside to the quiet poetry of Clare Country, every part of Greater Peterborough tells a story worth hearing — and experiencing.

These are places shaped by centuries of faith, industry, migration, and imagination — where Roman roads meet riverside trails, where medieval lanes open into modern squares, and where ancient landscapes are animated by bold new ideas. Here, the energy of regeneration meets the grounded pride of communities who have shaped, built, and celebrated this place for generations.

To explore them is to walk through living history: past brick kilns and Bronze Age causeways, through bustling markets fragrant with seasonal produce, along meadows alive with birdsong, and under vast fenland skies that have watched over centuries of change. Every turn reveals another layer — a forgotten story, a striking vista, a moment that connects you to the people who have called this place home.

Together, these quarters and landscapes form the city’s true identity — diverse yet connected, rooted in its past yet reaching confidently for its future. This is Peterborough in all its remarkable variety: a place that invites you not just to visit, but to discover, to wander, and to add your own chapter to its unfolding story.

Old Scarlett

Old Scarlett, Peterborough Cathedral’s legendary gravedigger, served the city well into his nineties during the 1500s. Famous for burying both Catherine of Aragon and Mary, Queen of Scots, his weathered face and long white beard were immortalised in a portrait that still hangs in the cathedral today.

Cathedral Quarter

Where faith, heritage, and city life meet in Peterborough’s historic heart

Cathedral Quarter

The Cathedral Quarter is the city’s spiritual and civic anchor, framed by the towering West Front of Peterborough Cathedral and the Georgian elegance of its surrounding streets. Here, heritage markets bustle beside modern cafés, museum galleries open onto civic squares, and visitors can explore centuries of history within a few steps. From the Guildhall to Queensgate, this quarter blends the city’s medieval core with vibrant retail, dining, and cultural experiences.

Creative Quarter

Peterborough’s cultural engine,
where creativity fuels city life

Creative Quarter

The Creative Quarter is the city’s cultural engine, stretching from Westgate Arcade and Broadway to a network of galleries, theatres, studios, and independent creative spaces. This is where audiences meet artists, heritage buildings find new life as performance and exhibition venues, and creative entrepreneurs bring fresh ideas into the city centre.

River & Rail Quarter

The city’s waterfront gateway, linking past industry with future innovation

River & Rail Quarter

The River & Rail Quarter connects Peterborough’s mainline station to its riverside culture, blending Victorian rail heritage with vibrant new developments at Fletton Quays. Visitors can stroll from the train to the River Nene, explore the Embankment events space, or enjoy year-round theatre and leisure at the waterfront. This is where arrivals are welcomed, stories of trade and travel are told, and the city’s next chapter is taking shape.

Old Town Quarter

A living crossroads of heritage, migration, and global flavours

Old Town Quarter

The Old Town Quarter’s heritage streets tell a story of migration and community, from Victorian terraces to the aromatic food markets of Lincoln Road. Independent cafés, bakeries, and street food stalls serve flavours from across the globe, while Central Park offers green respite at the quarter’s heart. Regeneration is breathing new life into historic buildings, making this a rising star for cultural discovery and culinary tourism.

Kiln Quarter

Forged in clay, built in brick — the industrial soul of Peterborough

Kiln Quarter

The Kiln Quarter tells the story of the city’s brickmaking boom, from the towering chimneys of Fletton to the Napoleonic heritage of Norman Cross. Once dominated by kilns and clay pits, these southern districts now mix residential life, riverside walks, and surviving industrial landmarks. It’s a place where making and craft are woven into the streetscape, and where the city’s working heritage still shapes its identity.

Fen Edge

Where city meets fenland in a landscape of big skies and deep history

Fen Edge

The Fen Edge Quarter stretches from the industrial east to the open fenland horizon, where Flag Fen Archaeology Park reveals Bronze Age secrets and the Nene Washes teem with wildlife. Visitors can explore rural heritage in Eye, trace the story of fenland engineering, or cycle the straight, open roads that define the landscape. It’s a place where history, nature, and industry meet at the edge of the city.

Clare Country

The poetic heartland of John Clare, rich in heritage and rural beauty

Clare Country

Clare Country is a patchwork of stone-built villages, historic churches, and wildlife meadows, immortalised in the verse of England’s “peasant poet.” From Helpston’s John Clare Cottage to the Anglo-Saxon treasures of Barnack and the spire of Glinton, this is a landscape that still speaks in the voice Clare knew. Walking routes, literary festivals, and heritage trails connect visitors to the countryside’s enduring spirit.

Nene Reaches

A riverside heritage corridor of national significance

Nene Reaches

The Nene Reaches wind west from the city through meadows, parkland, and heritage-rich villages, linking Roman Durobrivae, early Christian Water Newton, medieval Wansford, and the leisure landscapes of Nene Park. Walking trails, heritage rail journeys, and riverside pubs make this a place for slow exploration, where the stories of empire, faith, and trade flow alongside the River Nene.

From awe-inspiring heritage sites to riverside walks, vibrant markets to live performances, Peterborough offers experiences for every mood and season. Explore the city’s quarters and surrounding landscapes, uncover ancient history at world-class attractions, enjoy outdoor adventures in our parks and waterways, or immerse yourself in the buzz of festivals and cultural events. Whether you’re here for a day or a week, there’s always something new to discover.