It’s odd, but true, that the city is the best place to go in the area for a sage and absorbing day out in the countryside.
Adults alone or with children can head for Peterborough’s 500-acre Ferry Meadow Country Park in the confidence that they can wander free in beautiful natural surroundings and find plenty to do, at any age.
Every weekday the plentiful parking is free, but at weekends and bank holidays until Sunday, October 27 you’ll have to pay £4 to park your car for a day.
If you just want to walk you’ll find endless paths beside the lakes or through the trees, most of which are hard-surfaced for pushchairs, scooters and wheelchairs.
Ferry Meadows is a great place to go for cyclists, especially parents who want to get the kids cycling somewhere traffic-free, with cycles, child-seats and trailers available for hire (you’ll be asked for proof of ID) and a map of the park’s cycle trails at the Visitor Centre.
You can link to the Green Wheel Cycle Trail around Greater Peterborough from here too.
Whole families together can join in a game of pitch and putt on the 12-hole course, take a trip on the miniature train, hire a kayak, canoe, rowing boat or pedalo on the lake on join a scheduled boat trip for up to 12 passengers, leaving ever half-hour.
Refreshments aren’t a problem as there are picnic spots galore, two cafes and even set-aside barbecue stalls on a first come, first serve basis, and toilets including disabled toilets open all the time.