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| Buxton Railway Station |
Having finally managed to visit St. Peter's church in Thorpe Salvin, as part of my investigation of the mediaeval churches in and around Rotherham, I decided to have a long day out in Buxton - a spa town founded by the Romans under the name of Aquae Arnemetiae that, with an elevation of 300 metres above sea level, is the highest market town in England.
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| A Google Map view of the topography between Treeton and Buxton |
Its geothermal springs were further exploited by the Duke of Devonshire in the late 18th century, who used profits from his copper mines to develop the town into a fashionable resort, and its popularity and regional significance was further enhanced by the Victorians, especially after the arrival of the railway in 1863.
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| A geological map of the area between Treeton and Buxton |
Set on the edge of the White Peak, like Bakewell, the centre of the town occupies low lying ground on the Bowland Shale, where two branches of the River Wye converge and which has since been landscaped to form the Pavilion Gardens. To the north, the high ground comprises the Corbar Grit and the Roaches Grit of Upper Carboniferous age and, to the south, it is formed from the Monsal Dale Limestone Formation of Lower Carboniferous age.
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| A bridge over the River Wye |
Buxton is now a major tourist attraction for its gardens and various fine examples of Georgian and Victorian architecture, but the surrounding area is a major source of industrial limestone in England and the quarrying industry still contributes significantly to the local economy. Although the despoiled parts of the landscape have been excluded from the Peak District National Park, old quarries at Calton Hill and Hillhead are still of great interest to geologists and the quarrying, construction and recycling industries.
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| A view of the landscaping in the Pavilion Gardens |
As the crow flies, the distance from Treeton to Buxton is about 40 km and, according to Google Map, a typical journey by car would take 1 hour and 6 minutes, providing that the weather conditions are good and various roadworks and traffic jams aren't encountered; however, by bus or train it takes no less than 2 hours and 25 minutes.
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| The Crescent |
On a hot and sunny Saturday day in August, I was not to be deterred and being well prepared for an early start and a late finish to the day, I discovered that - like on the No. 272 - a day out on the No. 65 bus provides another great introduction to the geology and landscapes of the Peak District National Park and that it is well worth the effort to make this journey.
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| A view of St. Anne's church in Miller's Dale from the No. 65 bus |
Very interesting article and blog. Hope to travel as a geo-tourist in UK soon with my old map "Roman Britain" :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. Although there aren't many Roman remains in my region - Hadrian's Wall is the best - I've tried to highlight a few interesting places to visit in an area that is not generally very well known by tourists.
Delete"Roman Britain" was, actually, I book I bought in England back in 90's when I was a MSc student at Leeds Univ. The book came with a map with the actual map of GB as watermark (in gray) and the Roman map coloured . There where main and secondary roads connecting cities that came with their ancient name such as Londinium, Eburacum and so on. It was pretty much interesting as you could travel by following old routes existing during the Roman period. My dream was to plan such a travel. As far as I know, GB is plenty of Roman remains and it's quite nice to think about connecting geology and expansion of a civilization: how it was affected by geology.
ReplyDeleteSorry ... I went off-topic but as soon as I find the book I'll let you know