Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

Peterborough is a cathedral city on the east of England that was unusually designated as a new town during the late 1960s and probably views itself as a shopping centre.

Although evidence of settlements date back to The Bronze age and Roman times, a monastery was built here in the Anglo Saxon era and was originally known as Medeshamstede (Meadow homestead).  Abbot Kenulf decided to build a protective wall around the monastery during the 10th century as the previous one was destroyed by the Danes. He had no idea that his master plan was eventually going to be dwarfed by a Starbucks coffee shop !! ( see above picture). The name developed at this particular point in history to St Peters Burgh and eventually developed into the current name of Peterborough.

The current Cathedral, originally known as an Abbey was built during the 12th and 13th centuries and later survived English civil war and Henry VIII activities.

The big man closed the door in 1539 and re-opened it 2 years later as a Cathedral

Escape door from the Civil War action 

One of the more unusual facts is that despite Mary Queen of Scots rearing her head everywhere, the Cathedral was her final resting place in 1587.

Wet Square

The Guildhall built in the square in 1671 was used as a courtroom and parliamentary election location. I hope they didn't get the activities mixed up on the appropriate days... well some would argue that they are all criminals anyway !!.......

The town was originally famous for weaving wool and later the manufacture of bricks, the arrival of the railway in 1850 ensured that the products were distributed around England. The railway station was a blessing in disguise as the current journey time to London from here is only 50 minutes.  Without giving too many personal views about the shops that i saw, the place seemed a little empty and I can guess where all the people were !

The town hall council building built in 1930 is in one of the shopping streets which is additionally used as a party function venue....

Council Taxes and party prices are looking up, err or this that .... look like going up !

That's too much for one day so it's time to close the door on the history lesson for for one day and look for more interesting J_on_tour things....

 I take a step back and take a look at Abbot Kenulfs work from the other side and I'm struck with something weird to the the right....

I looked at this for a long time as had me puzzled. At first it seemed like that no bicycles were allowed to be attached to it as there are red rings around the wheels but then I realised the opposite may be true. Then again why would they want to risk hiding or potentially damaging some nice shrubs. It looks like the local cyclists don't know what it's about either as it's an empty parking space.
While I am talking about exercise and sporting activities, I forgot to mention that on my walk back from the Nene Valley railway, I noticed some water sports on the river....

Surfing on the River Nene !!

After my history description in the development of Peterborough, it seemed that the city was still in the process of construction......

... and lastly, Henry VIII gains his place in Peterborough's history on the Pizza Express building in the square, how apt !!  Not that he was a famous Pizza manufacturer .... but rather ..... it looks like the big man might have been a valued customer !!.....

Extra cheese, please !

Wansford and the Nene Valley Railway

Wansford station is the headquarters for the Nene Valley railway and is situated about 7 miles (11 km) west of Peterborough near the terminus.

I booked a train ticket with East Coast trains to Peterborough a few months earlier while the prices were low for todays ( 2nd October ) Diesel Gala event.

Readers of this blog will know that I occasionally follow the Class 37 locomotive for nostalgia and travel variety purposes. I didn't know whether the 'on loan' class 37 was going to operate as the locomotive roster was not available at the time of booking, so I was prepared for a day out in Peterborough (afternoon trip - blog post part 2 ). It so happened that the locomotive in question was elsewhere on other duties but the railway managed to invite another one for the event the Severn Valley railway in Shropshire / Worcestershire. It has since moved to pastures new in Devon.

The small country village of Wansford although a little picturesque in parts, is not that significant with a church and a few hotels. As I was on a tight schedule, I apologise that I didn't have time to walk into the village from the station to photographically document it for you (Google images may satisfy your curiosity on that one). There were however a few nearby houses of interest.

The delightful peaceful scene of relaxation above..... 'dreaming' ..........   about living in a house in the country is matched by........turning my camera 90 degrees to the right and observing the temporary NVR car park !! .....

 The NVR is an ideal location for the production of films involving railway scenes and it's most famous moment, as I was reminded in the booking office, was the making of the James Bond film Golden Eye.

 The section of railway that the NVR now owns was originally opened in 1845. Wansford station grew in importance towards the latter half of the 19th century when more railway lines were constructed nearby and it became a significant railway junction.

Consequently the signal box and station buildings are in various stages of preservation.

Some parts of the building are in good condition whilst others seem to require the services of a structural engineer....

Unfortunately as with most country railways in Great Britain, the line closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and was one of the last railways to be closed by the infamous government assistant "anti train / pro car" Dr Beeching. Freight services continued up to 1972 when the railway was finally closed.
It didn't take long before plans were in place to purchase the railway in 1974 and it took another three years hard work to re-establish a passenger train.

There was initially a problem with purchasing suitable locomotives and coaches, so the railway took an unusual step of using something a bit more continental and the first train was operated by a French and Swedish engine.

As the railway expanded, the scene became a little confused with a mixture of everything European which in a sense became a blessing in disguise as the railway is often chosen for appropriate TV and film dramas such as the remake of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. The railway finally reached Peterborough in the east during 1986 with a short extension west of Wansford to Yarwell in 2007.

I found the morning in Wansford quite photographically interesting as I showed extreme patience in waiting for the specific locomotive on the left to come out of the engine shed and work a train.

Meanwhile, It was an ideal opportunity to get an early lunch and make sure that I spoke nicely to the cook in the station restaurant.

On days like this, I often share my journey with unusual and bizarre passengers but as fate would have it, I was more worried that my destination was not going to be Peterborough !! ...

part 2 Peterborough..... coming soon.....