A spa town located in the Peak District, Buxton is a small historic town of just over 20,000. In this post we’re going to look the various attractions to put on your list if you visit Buxton:

Buxton is thought to date back to the Stone Age, with Mesolithic and Neolithic houses found in and around the area. The area was then later colonised by the Romans before eventually being developed into a spa town tourist attraction in the mid 18th-century and beyond. The 18th-century developments are the focal point of the town today, with architectural sights such as the grade-listed Crescent, a “richly decorated” Georgian construction which housed a hotel, assembly rooms, lodging houses and an arcade of shops. Today, however, the half-circle build is under renovation and restoration.

Opposite the Crescent is the ever-flowing Saint Anne’s Well, which pipes through the geothermal spring that is known nationally as Buxton Water, and free to use, with visitors regularly filling up tanks and bottles at the well. According to records Mary Queen of Scots was taken to the spring in 1573.

The town has featured in a number of literary works including those of Jane Austen, W.H. Auden and Emily Bronte. The town was also a popular annual destination for the Wedgewood family and Darwins and a visit to Buxton reveals why.

Attractions also include the Opera House which has a continual programme of plays, performances and events, situated conveniently near to the Old Hall Hotel, the Crescent and St Anne’s Well. As well as a host of independent shops and cafes, the town also benefits from its semi-rural location with the hills of the Peak District surrounding the town and a number of country parks in and around Buxton.

Pavilion Gardens sits at the centre of the town with streams and ponds fed by the River Wye. The 23-acre space is lush and comprises of well-tended landscaped gardens surrounded by mature trees. The gardens include playgrounds, bandstand, miniature train, boating lake, ice cream parlour and a pavilion consisting of cafes, shops and a Victorian hall holding regular events such as book and antique fairs.

Surrounding the park are understated double-fronted Victorian houses contributing to the overall aesthetic quality of the town.

Buxton is an easy town to visit in a day thanks to its size and centralised attractions. There is a train station in the centre of the town, which is served by frequent trains to the nearby city of Manchester (journeys take less than an hour), which also holds the nearest international airport. The town has a number of hotels for visitors wishing to take a more relaxed approach.

Buxton has a similar architectural style to another Pretty Place and spa town; Harrogate, which is just over 2 hours away by car. View other Pretty Places under the ‘Pretty Places‘ tag.

images: scene therapy, wikicommons