Cathedral tour guide says rooftop views are ‘always astonishing’

As the tallest building in the city, the rooftop of Peterborough Cathedral offers the kind of views superlatives were designed for.

Now you may think that the lucky tour guides whose job it is to take visitors up to admire those top-notch panoramas would be immune to the majesty of the vistas by now.

Not so.

Peterborough Cathedral tour guide Andrew says visitors always have a "Wow" moment when they take in the rooftop views.

placeholder image — Peterborough Cathedral tour guide Andrew says visitors always have a "Wow" moment when they take in the rooftop views.

"I’ve been up here tens of times and the views are always astonishing,” says Andrew, one of the Cathedral’s resident team of expert tour guides.

"It’s never the same twice because the weather is never the same.”

Armed with walkie-talkie, first aid kit and a treasure trove of historical knowledge, it’s Andrew’s job to help visitors make the one or two-hour circuitous ascent that eventually leads to the rooftop.

”When I bring people up here I’m amazed at their reactions,” he told the Peterborough Telegraph. “It’s always ‘Wow!’”

He went on: "There’s always astonishment – partly because it’s the tallest building [in the city] – but if you’re a local you get to see things that you haven’t really seen in that way before.”

Peterborough Cathedral is 144-feet tall; that’s about the height of ten double-decker buses stacked atop one another.

One thing that tends to strike rooftop newbies is the amount of foliage the city is blessed with. "It’s always really green,” he observes.

Andrew believes a trip to the rooftop – which allows visitors to see the inside of the landmark from lofty vantage points – makes people appreciate the Cathedral in a new light:

"The Cathedral itself is never the same,” he muses, “both internally and externally.”