I’ve always wanted to spend 36 hours in Peterborough. Said no-one, ever.

Still, with some normality returning to the world, and pubs open again, that’s exactly what we decided to do.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, parked up and checked into Travelodge. It’s fairly basic, with no bar or restaurant, but the rooms were clean and spacious.

First stop was the Sir Henry Royce.

The staff were great, the drinks were decent, but the food was horrendous. One meal was cremated whilst my chicken wings were raw! Unfortunately I’d eaten a few before realising and was rather unwell for the rest of the evening… not that it stopped me.

Next up, due to a booking error, we had reserved a table at Berneliu Uzeiga.

This Lithuanian restaurant was so much fun, we ended up staying for the rest of the night. Simonz and Marius were excellent waiters and plied us with local beers and schnapps. Our fellow guests were incredibly friendly and bought us snacks as the night went on.

The highlight was the live music. I didn’t understand a single word all night, bit it didn’t seem to matter. The energy and enthusiasm of the duo on stage kept the place rocking for hours.

We finally crawled home for a few hours sleep. It was a bit of a blur.

Next morning, after a coffee, we headed to The Brewery Tap.

This is a really spacious pub with a nice beer garden and it’s own brewery. We spent a pleasant couple of hours here sampling home brewed beers and building up an appetite.

By lunchtime we were ready for 2020 World Buffet.

Now, buffets can be hit and miss. This place was a definite hit. The food was mostly Asian, with a wide variety of Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi and Philippino dishes. Alongside this was Mexican, Italian and European offerings as well as make your own pasta and burger stations. The desserts were outstanding… fresh hot waffle with mango ice cream being my favourite.

Late afternoon and time to head to our final reservation at The Ostrich.

The best pub in Peterborough, in my very limited experience. Welcoming and well organised with plenty indoor seating and a cosy beer garden. They had a huge range of craft beer and cider and a great gin selection. Unfortunately I was not hungry as I’d have lived to try their snack menu which included Scotch pies and bridies.

We were entertained by a local keyboard/guitar duo called Salmon Dave. They played for over 2 1/2 hours covering many genres of music… though many songs evolved into a Chas ‘n’ Dave style knees-up by the end. Their funny comments both during and between songs was always entertaining.

After leaving there, we had final drinks at FortyTwo. It’s a bit pretentious. They try hard to be something classy but it’s a Poundland version of a Las Vegas lounge bar. The saving grace was the cocktails. My Old Fashioned was genuinely the best I’ve had in the UK.

And so, back to bed for a few hours before an early start for home the next morning.

Thanks Peterborough. On the whole, it exceeded expectations and I’d definitely return for another buffet and afternoon in The Ostrich!

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