Buxton

The eagle eyed amongst you may well have wondered how we managed to get the boat to Buxton - there is no canal beyond Whaley Bridge! Well, we opted for a day trip using train and bus. The station is only about 5 - 10 minutes walk from where we moored.

First, we had to walk around the canal basin with a Transhipment Warehouse at the end. It was constructed so that boats could enter directly from the canal and goods transferred to trucks on the Cromford and High Peak Railway at the other side.

The canal and railway were completed around 1832 - a building opposite the warehouse, now known as Outram House, was originally a stables for canal boats and the cottages were for warehouse and canal workers. By the start of the 20C, the first part of this line had already been dismantled.

The station still has many of the details of earlier days - the footbridge for example. The Ticket Office is accessed by a steep set of steps - and yes, the office is still opened although the person serving us did not think that is would remain so indefinitely. Indeed, he apologised that he could not sell us tickets at the same reduced rate that we could have bought on-line!

The half hour journey runs through some scenic open moorland, calling at Chapel-en-le-Frith, but passing through without stopping at Doveholes. (the pictures had to be taken through the train window whilst it was moving so are not perhaps as clear as they might be)

The train terminated at Buxton, now the end of the line, although the original track continues a little further to serve local limestone quarries. There were once two quite grand stations - one has now entirely disappeared following the closure of the line through Millers Dale and the site now used for a splendid blocks of retirement flats not long completed. The other, the one still in use, has largely been dismantled and is a pale shadow of its former self, The Palace Hotel remains as a reminder of how well-to-do folk would arrive by train (the 'in' way to travel) in order to take the waters at the spa baths.

We did not have a plan of what to do or see, just wander and take what turned up! We spent the first hour or so in Spring Gardens, a pedestrianised street with a lively set of shops on either side and a modern precinct off it. We stopped at one of the coffee shops - it was cold outside and cosy inside so we did not rush to empty our cups!

On then to the Crescent, passing Buxton Baths on the way, now a shopping arcade.

The Crescent became a run-down area but has recently been brought back to life and is now mainly a posh hotel with a visitor attraction in one party (£11.50 for self guided tour, which we gave a miss!)

Opposite the Crescent is the Pump House. This is now a small visitor information centre.

Here is one of the earliest mineral water wells - we think that the strange character about to dive into the pool is in honour of Abbie Wood, an Olympic swimmer who hails from Buxton and who was part of the GB relay team that brought home a silver medal.

We took a lunch break at the Old Hall Hotel for lunch - a very traditional style of hotel (as we imagined) but could do with a bit of an uplift. Our lunch choices were a bit mixed although Christine enjoyed her salmon Caesar salad.

Next came the Opera House and Pavilions - alongside (guess!) Pavilion Gardens. 

To the left of the main theatre in the previous photo is a cast iron and glass conservatory which we could walk through. The complex was designed by Frank Matcham (d 1920) who had become famous as a go-to theatre designer.

The Gardens underwent a major restoration in 2004 when a Victorian style bandstand was created. Alas no concert today.

We sat for a while in the park with its several lakes and also a miniature railway.

From here we walked up the steep Hall Bank road to the large, open Market Square where we expected to catch a 199 bus back to Whaley Bridge. We had about 10 minutes to wait before the scheduled departure (it starts its journey to Manchester Airport from here) It is a twice-hourly service and we were a bit concerned when there was no arrival for another 20 minutes. The service comes along a motorway section which, another driver told us, can often cause lengthy delays. Eventually, it arrived at the other side of the square and promptly turned around and came to our stop!

The bus route follows much the same as the train except that it did come through Doveholes so we did see a glimpse of the quarry we referred to earlier, where a long DB train of wagons was being loaded with large quantities of rock. (We do have to say that the train was much the more comfortable, especially legroom-wise but our buss pass meant that the return trip was 'free')

Back in Whaley Bridge (the bus stop was even close to the boat than the train) Christine succumbed to the temptation of a specialist yummy cake shop we had spotted earlier (actually, she was originally looking for a bread shop but nothing so mundane here!)