Despite its many flaws and hurdles — we’re talking about the possibility of delays, cancellations, strikes, expensive fares and convoluted ticketing systems — Britain’s rail network is still, for me, by and large, more often than not, the best way to travel around this island, especially if you’re going inter-city.

Venturing between London and Edinburgh by car, for instance, would take you about eight hours. It’s almost half that duration on the tracks, and you get to enjoy some sterling scenery along the way. But it’s not all about speed.

Another thing I like about the rail travel here is that you sometimes find yourself at stations and places you’d otherwise just breeze past — and you end up surprisingly rewarded. Take Peterborough. Located by the ultra-flat Fens of eastern England, it lacks the quaint reputation of its not-too-distant neighbours, Cambridge and Ely, and always sat in my mind as just a handy rail hub, on the London King’s Cross-Edinburgh line, and with services to a host of other cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Norwich.

But with time to kill before a connecting train, I have an excuse to leave the station and have a look around, following the signs to Peterborough’s historic core (seven minutes away, they say). Initially, it’s not that promising as I walk through a graffiti-scrawled underpass, with traffic clattering above. But after climbing a short flight of steps, I’m on Cowgate, one of the city’s centuries-old arteries. Lined with food and drink spots, barbers and estate agents, it leads past the handsome St John the Baptist church, built in the 1400s, and behind it, to an attractive pedestrianised square, where events and markets (farmers, craft, vegan etc) are regularly held.

Today youngsters are skateboarding about, their pals watching them from the shaded arches of the Guildhall. A handful of establishments with outdoor seating fringe the square, including Franco Manca — a chain that started in London’s Brixton. Tempted by one of their reliably good sourdough pizzas, I’m instead drawn to a striking gateway. Passing beneath it, I’m cheered by the sight of tidy, grassy lawns and the beautiful, hulking Gothic facade of Peterborough Cathedral. A board shaped like an oversized book reveals the history of a building that sits on the ruins of a monastic settlement founded by Anglo-Saxons in the 7th century.

Construction for the cathedral began under the Normans in AD1118 and took 120 years to complete. Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, was buried here, and so, too, was Mary Queen of Scots, before her son, James I, moved her remains to Westminster Abbey. The cathedral has since survived damage from the English Civil War, World War II air raids and a fire in 2001, and looks immaculate inside and out. I’d love to linger, perhaps take a guided cathedral tour, but time is running out.

With my train due in about 15 minutes, I return to the station via backstreets lined with neat Georgian houses, including an elegant neoclassical one that houses the city’s museum and art gallery. Back on the underpass, I see another sign, veering off in a different direction. It’s advertising the Nene Valley Railway, a heritage steam railway that opened in 1845 and has appeared in a couple of James Bond movies (Octopussy and GoldenEye). Telling myself I’ll ride that next time I’m in Peterborough, I stop dawdling and daydreaming and dash to catch my connecting train.

fact file

+ For more details on Peterborough, see visitpeterborough.com

+ For more information on planning a trip to Britain, see visitbritain.com