Visit Preston caught up with Jeremy Vine at Radio 2 in the Park

Visit Preston caught up with Jeremy Vine,  one of the most distinguished presenters at Radio 2 in the Park on Saturday, for a quick chat about Preston, music and cycling.

Can you sum up your experience of Preston so far in just three words?

Yes - Black Horse Pub!

That was the place to land, where you engage and (a) meet the customers and staff, and (b) learn about the pub - it's the tallest bar in Lancashire, it's the only pub in the country with three doors onto three separate streets. Suddenly it all comes to life, it's fantastic. The highlight for me - that and seeing Sting!

Have you heard of any Preston foods, and have you tried any yet?

Well yes, as on Friday I was giving out the last two tickets for the weekend. We went on a Tuk Tuk to Preston Markets where Molly, our winner, was working and I tried a butter pie, which was lovely.

What did you make of the taste?

Well, it was interesting, it had no meat in it, and I am quite a carnivore! But they told me the history of the pie where it's made from potato and onions and butter and was eaten on Fridays, as it's a mainly catholic city, so Friday is butter pie day!

What have you made of the city so far?

There seems to be a lot of community work going on, and we talked a bit about that on my show which is why I mention it. I didn't realise until I came here that there's quite strong inter-community bonds, which is the first thing I noticed.

Just walking around in the tropical weather with my daughter though was lovely.

Did you bring your bike with you, have you managed to do any cycling and have you heard of the Guild Wheel?

Well, no, no and no! But what I do do wherever I'm going, I always look at the road layouts as I'm obsessed with the safety of people on two wheels, and it looks good!

So, credit to the Council, you're miles and miles ahead of a lot of cities in this country. And pedestrianising city centres definitely helps too, it makes them so welcoming.

Who are you looking forward to seeing across the weekend?

So many - Sting and Travis and I have a Haircut 100 thing as they're totally my era. Plus Gabrielle, Paul Heaton - Preston for Radio 2 is just fantastic. And the DJ tent was really bouncing.

And I've met the Spud Bros, so I've made it!