To Boston

July 4, 2022

After coffee and pastries at Caffe Nero (a nice chain, from my sampling so far - better coffee and a better selection of breakfast treats than Starbucks) I turned the corner and visited Peterborough cathedral, keeping my promise myself to see its famous painted wooden ceiling before leaving town.

The current church was constructed in the 12th century, replacing the predecessor that was damaged by the Norman invasion and then destroyed by fire in 1116. Before that the original church on the site, founded in 655 as one of the earliest centers of Christianity in England, was destroyed by the Vikings.

The enormous three arched western facade greets you when you enter the walled grounds through the Norman gate. It’s the wrong time to view it this morning though, in the shadows and backlit by the sun this morning. I’m annoyed with myself for not thinking of this yesterday and making time for it on the way to dinner last night.

In fact, I’m annoyed at myself as well for not taking the time to read up on this remarkable site before visiting it, but then I wasn’t even aware of it’s existence before arriving here. We never planned to come to Peterborough so I hadn’t done any research on it before we picked it for a stay on short notice. If I had read ahead I might have noted more of its exceptional features and looked around for Katherine of Aragon’s burial site; but my attention was focused on seeing its ceiling.

Entering the cathedral through the Norman Gate. The gate is kept locked after visiting hours so you can’t get a full view of the cathedral at night.

The enormous western facade of Peterborough Cathedral, worth coming back to see in the late day light. It’s three arched design is apparently unique in medieval architecture.

The nave, and the wooden ceiling. We’re seeing perhaps 80 percent of it here. It’s 210 feet long, and was built of the finest German oak in 1250. Remarkable that it has survived the ages and wars, and the arsonist-set fire in 2001.

Closer still. It really is remarkable, and we’re seeing it at a fine time, not long after completion of a major restoration and repainting project.

I left the church with a sore neck after staring up and zooming in on individual medallions, each unique in my observation.

The ceiling above the choir is also remarkable and worth straining your neck over.

Leaving the cathedral grounds through the Norman gate. Ahead is the cathedral square, the 17th century Guildhall, and Saint John the Baptist Church.

We’re on the road by ten, after lugging the bikes down the stairs one last time. On the way out we enjoy a chat with a hotel employee who holds the door for us and asks where we’re off to today. We tell him how much we’ve enjoyed his town, and he corrects us, proudly declaring it’s not a town, it’s a city! He the brags on its fine parks and cycle network - he himself bikes to work. I go on to state how much I admired the cathedral this morning, and he informs us that Katherine of Aragon is buried here.

Peterborough really does have a good, well signed cycling infrastructure that makes it easy to navigate safely into and out of town - which isn’t to say we didn’t get turned around a few times this morning, as we did yesterday on leaving town and last night finding our hotel again. You gotta know the territory, as the traveling salesmen in The Music Man insisted years ago. I’m sure once you’ve spent a few days in Peterborough you wouldn’t give a thought to directions.

After four or five miles we leave the last of Peterborough’s suburbs and modest hills behind as we approach the River Welland and drop to near sea level. The Fens again.

Approaching the River Welland, north of Newborough.

In the fens again, just can’t wait to get back in the fens again.

On the dike alongside the River Welland. This is an interesting spot, mapwise. RideWithGPS wouldn’t even draw a route through here, apparently because of a slight discontinuity at the base of the rise. We almost didn’t come this way fearing there might be a real barrier.

Here’s another beef with RideWithGPS. We’re atop the dike, with the Welland just below on the left. According to RideWithGPS this road along the top is unpaved (correct!) but the lower one on the right is supposedly paved. So we dropped down - you can see Rachael there on the right.

Perhaps you won’t be surprised that RideWith GPS is wrong just this once. At least the road on top gave a better view.

Along the Welland, on a wonderful road. Quiet, peaceful, smooth, interesting. We followed the dike along the river for four miles like this before finally dropping off the top. I think only one car passed us the whole time.

The River Welland, one of the major waterways (along with the Nene and the Great Ouse) that empties into The Wash.

Some great crested grebes. Also seen: swans, gulls, egrets, terns, a heron, a few rabbits.

And more than a few sheep, sunning on the top of the dike.

So peaceful. The silence is deafening. Nothing here to offend the ear or eye.

It’s quite windy today, but generally in our favor. Twenty miles into the ride we come to pretty Spalding and stop for lunch on a bench by the river, sheltered from the wind by a large willow. Up until now it’s been an excellent ride, but the best is behind us. let’s pause to rerflect on the best part of the day before moving on:

Video sound track: High Five, by Yasmin Williams

Up ahead we play an unpleasant and at times frightening game of tag with highway A16 for a few miles. If there’s one beef I have with the NCN it’s that occasionally it lands you at a major highway that you have to take your life in and dash across in a gap. At least all of these crossings have a landing pad in the center so you only need to time the traffic in one direction at a time; but still, a well placed pedestrian overpass would make a world of difference.

And then, our pal RideWithGPS has one final surprise in the day left for us.

No, RideWithGPS. This definitely is not paved, here or for the next four miles. Pretty though.

And unfortunately the gravel is deep and loose enough that in spots walking is the safer option and just as fast. What do you think is the appropriate punishment for those misinformants at RideWithGPS? I’m thinking defenestration.

There’s an explanation for the gravel at least - there’s a resurfacing project on and the compactor hasn’t made its way to the whole length yet.

So that’s the day. We’re in Boston for two nights (a fitting spot to spend the 4th of July on!), staying in the historic White Hart Hotel. We’ll look around town tomorrow, but here’s a starter.

The River Witham, and Boston’s landmark structure: Saint Botolph’s Church (the name Boston is believed to be derivative of Botolph’s Town). The largest parish church in England, its 266 foot tall tower (known since it was built as the ‘Boston Stump’) is visible from miles around and was a seafarer’s landmark for years.

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Ride stats today: 41 miles, 600’; for the tour: 701 miles, 25,900’

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 701 miles (1,128 km)

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Jacquie GaudetI’m madly trying to catch up on your journal and others but I have to say: RWGPS errs in the other direction too. We’ve ridden roads expecting them to be unpaved and they weren’t, nor was the asphalt new.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetYou’re right, and we’ve had like experiences ourselves. To be fair I should note the unexpectedly good as well as the unexpectedly poor. I feel bad.
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1 year ago