GRIN LOW AND BUXTON COUNTRY PARK
PLAN YOUR VISIT
INFORMATION
Location: Grin Low and Buxton Country Park is a short walk south of Buxton. The town is off the A6 from Matlock/Chapel-en-le-Frith passes through Buxton (SK060735).
Visit: The Pavilion Gardens, a Grade II listed park covering 23 acres of superbly landscaped gardens in the centre of the town. Explore the magnificent underground chambers of Poole’s Cavern, ‘The First Wonder of the Peak,’ and witness first-hand the incredible stalactites, stalagmites, and crystal flowstone that have earned the show cave the title of ‘most spectacular cavern in Derbyshire.’ Go Ape provides a worthwhile challenge for the energetic.
Refreshments: The Pavilion Gardens, newly refurbished Café and Art Café. The town also has many other cafes, pubs and restaurants to suit all tastes.
Buxton: Visitors arriving in Buxton for the first time from the bleak moorlands emerge into a town with fine parks and grand old buildings. At well over 1,000 feet above sea level, Buxton is the highest town in England for its size. The marketplace is in Higher Buxton, the older part of the town that rests on a small limestone plateau. Lower Buxton, the newer part, nestles in a river valley. Buxton is a northern town at the southern end of the Pennine Chain, but county boundaries place it in the Midlands.
GRIN LOW AND BUXTON COUNTRY PARK
Looking down on Buxton from the southern side of the town is Grin Low, an attractive area of woodland and upland grassland that is now a popular country park. It was at one time much different! When the lime-burning industry and quarrying dominated the landscape, it recovered over the years thanks to good farming practices.
The focal point is Solomon’s Temple, where you can climb the spiral staircase to the viewing platform and enjoy a splendid view of Buxton and the surrounding area. The tower was a favourite place in Victorian times for visitors who took the waters at the natural baths and walked from the town centre up the hillside to relax and benefit from the fresh air and lovely scenery.
Evidence of man’s activity at Grin Low dates back over 5,000 years to the Stone Age when the hill was used for religious rites. In more recent times, the quarrying and burning of limestone turned the area into an eyesore, with massive white spoil heaps dominating the scene. Fortunately, in the late 1970s, Derbyshire County Council and Buxton and District Civic Society commenced an extensive reclamation project, transforming the site into an attractive country park.
The 6th Duke of Devonshire planted 100 acres of woodland around 1820 to hide the quarrying and limestone burning operations from the town. It is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the wide range of plant life and the many wild animals and birds that frequent the woods. Several trails lead you through the woods before perhaps visiting Solomon’s Temple or Poole’s Cavern. If you are physically fit and enjoy a challenge, Go Ape.
