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The temporary, covered rink will be open from 10 am to
9 pm, from Sunday 18 November to Sunday 17 February,
seven-days-a-week. Each session is an hour long with the first
session starting at 10 am and a 15-minute break in between each
session before the next starts. In total, there will be nine
sessions each day with the last session starting at 8 pm.
“The ice rink will provide the
perfect centre piece for our Christmas celebrations,” said Annette
Joyce, city centre director at Peterborough City Council. “People
will be able to ice skate in the historic surroundings of
Peterborough’s Cathedral, then enjoy a hot chocolate and a mince pie
with family, friends and colleagues, before sampling the city’s wide
range of shops or buzzing night life. I hope everybody will take the
opportunity to book their place and don their skates for what will
be a memorable Christmas on ice.”
Skaters are asked to arrive at
least 20 minutes before their allotted time to allow for skate
fitting. Minimum skate size will be a children’s size eight and the
maximum will be an adult’s size 13. People can bring their own
skates but the rink operator reserves the right not to allow a
person to use their own skates if they are not deemed suitable.
Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Ice skating tickets will cost £7
each and include skate hire; family tickets (two adults and two
children) are available for £25. Bookings will be taken at the rink
and tickets can be booked in advance from Britaly Travel, in
Peterborough, by calling (01733) 313939 or email
sales@britalytravel.com.
There are a wide range of
attractions planned for the run-up to Christmas, including a special
series of Christmas farmers’ markets following the success of
those held during the summer months. They will take place in
Cathedral Square on Thursday 8 November, and then when the ice rink
arrives outside the Town Hall on Bridge Street on Thursday 22
November, Thursday 13 December and Thursday 20 December.
However, there will be a break with
tradition as the Christmas lights switch-on will take place
on Saturday 17 November. In previous years, the switch-on has
taken place on a Thursday night but a weekend event will benefit
parents and city workers, who previously have rushed home from work
or the school run to make it back into the city centre. Further
details will be revealed in the coming days but it promises to be a
fantastic occasion.
Shoppers can also use the free,
Christmas park and ride service, which operates every 12 minutes
between 8 am and 6 pm, on Saturdays up until 29 December. To further
ease city centre congestion, a Sunday park and ride service will
begin on 25 November and operate until Sunday 23 December. All the
services will feature low-floor vehicles allowing easy access for
wheelchairs and buggies.
Cavalier Travel are running buses
every 12 minutes from the Pearl car park at Lynch Wood to Queensgate.
The first bus leaves Lynch Wood at 8.05 am and the last bus from
Queensgate will be at 6.12 pm.
There is also a service to
Queensgate from outside Perkins car park on Oxney Road, operated by
R. Kime & Co. The first bus from Perkins will be at 8 am, with the
last bus leaving Queensgate at 6.13 pm. This service will also drop
off and pick up passengers at Midgate to make it easy to get to the
city market and Cathedral Square. Security will be provided at both
car parks.
November 2007 -
Peterborough UK Community Website
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