There are walks you do for exercise.

And then there are walks where everybody knows perfectly well that the real objective is coffee, cake, lunch or a pint.

I'm rather fond of the second category.

Peterborough has several places where you can build the refreshment stop into the plan instead of reaching kilometre six and discovering the only thing in your pocket is half a packet of mints.

Here are three different options  from an easy park wander to a longer village walk.

Central Park: for a short walk and coffee

Not every weekend walk needs hiking boots and provisions.

Sometimes you want to get outside, stretch your legs and have a coffee afterwards without losing half the day.

Central Park is good for exactly that.

You can wander around the park's paths, gardens and open spaces, then use the surrounding area for a coffee or something to eat.

This is less about following a strict trail and more about making your own loop.

Do another lap if the conversation is good.

Head for coffee if it starts raining.

Sit on a bench and pretend that was always the plan.

It's also a useful option if you're walking with someone who doesn't fancy several miles or you've only got an hour or two.

Choose it if: the walk is really an excuse to get out of the house and have coffee afterwards.

Thorpe Meadows: walk first, pub afterwards

For a more defined route, Thorpe Meadows makes things pleasingly simple.

Nene Park's Sculpture Trail is around 3.2km and takes roughly an hour, giving you enough of a walk to feel you've earned whatever happens afterwards without requiring a packed lunch and emergency foil blanket.

The trail also has something to look at along the way rather than simply being a march towards refreshments.

For a daytime stop, Thorpe Meadows Café is beside the car park and serves drinks, sandwiches, toasties, cakes and other food.

But if your preferred finish involves a pint, The Boathouse is also in the wider Thorpe Meadows waterside area.

That's what makes this route work particularly well.

You don't need an elaborate itinerary.

Walk. Talk. Look at sculptures. Pub.

A perfectly respectable afternoon.

And at around an hour for the trail, nobody should reach the final stretch asking “Are we nearly there?” every 90 seconds.

Well, they shouldn't.

Choose it if: you want an actual route followed by lunch or a drink rather than making things up as you go.

Castor and Ailsworth: make the pub part of a proper walk

If you've got longer and fancy getting away from the city-centre feel, look towards Castor and Ailsworth.

The villages and surrounding countryside give you scope to put together a longer walk using local footpaths, with a pub stop forming part of the route rather than simply being somewhere you drive to afterwards.

This is the one I'd choose when the walking itself matters.

Think village streets, countryside and a slower afternoon where lunch or a pint comes somewhere in the middle or at the end.

The important difference is that this isn't a single managed park loop.

If you're following public footpaths, plan your route beforehand and check distances rather than relying on a vague sense that the pub is “probably over there”.

That's particularly advisable in England, where a public footpath can occasionally have the visual confidence of somebody trying not to be found.

Check your chosen pub's opening and food-serving times too.

There's something particularly cruel about spending two hours imagining chips only to arrive seven minutes after the kitchen closes.

Choose it if: you want a longer Sunday walk where the pub is part of the occasion.

Coffee, lunch or pint?

These three work because they're really three different sorts of day.

Central Park suits a quick wander followed by coffee.

Thorpe Meadows gives you an easy-to-follow walk with food and a pub option close by.

Castor and Ailsworth suit a longer countryside outing where you're happy to plan the route around lunch or a drink.

Whichever you choose, check opening times before leaving.

Cafés change hours. Pub kitchens stop serving. Weather happens.

And while walking is supposed to be good for us, discovering your carefully planned cake destination is closed does rather take the shine off it.

Where do you walk for food in Peterborough?

We're looking for Peterborough walks with a reward built in.

Maybe you've got a riverside route ending at a pub, a village walk with a brilliant café or a short family loop where there's guaranteed cake afterwards.

Tell us the route, roughly how long it takes and where you stop.

The best reader suggestions could become our next Peterborough walking guide preferably after we've tested the cake.

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