Peterborough is a city in
Cambridgeshire, England, situated some 80 miles
north of
London. Until the end of the
Second World War it was a small,
although ancient city: there were
stone age and
bronze age settlements
on the site, and the
Romans established a
clay-mining town nearby.
Peterborough's modern growth began in the 1960s when it was nominated one
of Britain's New Towns. Major expansion followed and the town's population
more than doubled in the following decade. In common with most New Towns,
there is a strange sense of soullessness about the place, although with
a population of nearly 100,000 before the New Town programme began it's not
as obvious here as in some other places.
In 1992 it was designated an Environment City, one of only four cities
in Britain to be given this status. Certainly there is an abundance of
green space in the town, and the cycle route network there is
considered to be one of the best in the country. More of a dormitory town
than a major centre in itself, Peterborough (like most British cities) is
attempting to market itself as a tourist attraction. It's situated close
enough to Cambridge and the East Anglian fenland to be used as a base
for exploring that area, but I wouldn't think many people would consider
going there on holiday.