A day out in the damp and northern alternative to Bath

Tom Ough

Updated Sat, September 30, 2017 at 9:00 AM UTC

At 951ft above sea level, Buxton is said to be the highest market town in England. Another Buxton tag is that it’s the gateway to the Peak District, and herein begins the magic. I got off the train at the wrong stop – overbearingly unmagical Macclesfield – and was thus shanghaied into making the final leg of the journey to Buxton via bus.

It was the kind of grey Peak District day when the air feels like a damp pillow being pressed to your face, except with even worse visibility.

We carved into the countryside, the bus crawling around wet green crags, before the mist thickened further and even the sheep in roadside fields were lost to us. Coming down a slope, one side of the road was guarded by a wall of heaped stone. Beyond it we could see nothing but mist.

"It was the kind of grey Peak District day when the air feels like a damp pillow" - Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM — "It was the kind of grey Peak District day when the air feels like a damp pillow" Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM

Then the apparition of Buxton itself, with its Georgian crescent and pump house and various other spa town accoutrements. It’s like Bath, but wetter.

After that slog up the hills, Buxton seemed like a weird place to build a decent-sized town, and indeed it is: until the 1790s it was a townlet of about 2,000 people.

Then the Duke of Devonshire decided he fancied a spa town within a day’s ride of Chatsworth, remembered that the village up the road had some nice springs, and his architect John Carr of York ripped off Bath’s Royal Crescent to begin Buxton’s transformation into the grandiose town it is today.

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But Buxton was already built on a foundation of strangeness and exoticism. Those steep, craggy hills? They’re the remains of ancient coral reefs, coated with solidified lava. Long ago, the museum displays explain, this area was the base of a warm and shallow sea just south of the Equator. “It is difficult to imagine now…” comments the same display diffidently. You’re telling me, mate.

Much insane geological jiggery-pokery was still to come. Take a guided tour of Poole’s Cavern, a hillside cave up the road from the town centre, and marvel at the wonders within. Calcified water has flowed through here for aeons at speeds ranging from whirlpool to trickle, leaving dank remnants such as white spiderweb-ish strands and stalagmites that, for reasons unknown, resemble poached eggs.

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Picking your way through the dank, winding tunnel is much like how I imagine it might feel to be venturing up the lughole of a giant the size of Mercury. What’s at the end? We don’t know! There’s a thick wall of rubble, beyond which are thought to be more caves, more chambers – but it’s so difficult and dangerous to get through the rocks that it’ll be years, the guides reckon, until someone manages it.

So it’s back out into the rain for the intrepid tourist and back into town – or to the Go Ape forest climbing session next door if you have small kids with you; up the hill to walk to the Solomon’s Temple monument if you haven’t – where there’s lots more to see, eat, drink etc.

Speaking of drinking: Buxton was in the news the other week because, to the ire of locals, the free-to-use, generations-old spring water well that’s known as the Lion’s Mouth has been flowing but fitfully. Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink… It’s poor going for a town whose water is flogged nationwide, but for the daytripper at least, if not the drinker, Buxton is a fine thirst-quencher.

Seven good reasons to visit Buxton

1. The pleasure gardens

Buxton has 23 acres of pleasure gardens, known as the Pavilion Gardens and featuring sculpted waterways, play areas, a miniature train, and a large, tourist-friendly greenhouse that contains tropical plants.

The Pavilion Gardens - Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM — The Pavilion Gardens Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM

2. The cavern

Visit Poole’s Cavern if you can. Tours last about 50 minutes. You can walk there from the town centre, or take the bus.

3. The shops

The Cavendish Arcade used to be a set of public baths, and it retains the tiling and fragrant air. Homewares, clothing and gifts can all be found here.

The roof of the Cavendish Arcade - Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM — The roof of the Cavendish Arcade Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM

4. The museum

Free to enter, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery is a modern and well-curated way into the geology, archaeology, art and history of the Peak District.

5. The opera house

Yes, Buxton has one of its own, designed by Frank Matcham no less, with a busy and varied programme. Next week there’ll be performances of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, hot from the West End.

6. The café

Upstairs At Charlotte’s is good for snacks – particularly its homemade baked goods – and lunches. And chocolate, of course – the original Charlotte’s is a chocolate shop. Both are in Cavendish Arcade.

Upstairs At Charlotte’s - Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM — Upstairs At Charlotte’s Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM

7. The walk

You are yards from the Peak District, so there’s walking galore out here, but if you are after a shorter trek then the 19th-century folly at the top of Grin Hill affords a spectacular view of town and country.

There's countryside on its doorstep - Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM — There's countryside on its doorstep Credit: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM

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