Buxton Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Описание: Located in the county of Derbyshire, and around 20 miles southeast of Manchester, is the town of Buxton.

Geographically Buxton is surrounded by the Peak District National Park, although technically on the fringes. It is said to be the highest market town in England at around 300m/1000ft above sea level, although this title is disputed with Alston in Cumbria with an almost identical altitude. In circa 80 AD a Roman settlement formed here around the natural warm springs. It was known as Aquae Arnemetiae, meaning 'The Waters of the Goddess of The Sacred Grove'. Is it thought to have been one of just two Roman bath towns in Britain, the other being Aquae Sulis, i.e. Bath.

Buxton's natural spring was rediscovered in the 15th century. Its site became a holy one dedicated to St Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary (n.b. 'Anne' appears to be spelt interchangeably with or without the 'e'), and its curative properties were written about from as early as the 1520s. Among its early visitors was Mary, Queen of Scots, who came in 1573 to 'take the waters'.

In the late 17th century a local man named Cornelius White found what appeared to be the remains of a cistern, effectively discovering the old Roman bathhouse. This was in the vicinity of where The Crescent is located today. The Crescent was laid out in the 1780s for William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and is said to have been modelled on Royal Crescent in Bath. This was followed by the construction of The Square, immediately to its west, which was laid out from 1803 to 1806. Immediately east of The Crescent are the Natural Mineral Baths, dating from 1853.

In 1863 the railway arrived in Buxton. This became both the terminus of the Buxton Line linking up with Manchester Piccadilly, and part of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway linking up to Derby, which in turn links up to London via the Midland Main Line. The second of the two lines, linking it to Derby, was closed as part of the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. The Buxton Line, however, remains in use to this day, making the town accessible via rail from Manchester Piccadilly in around one hour.

The railway brought about further growth in Buxton. Notable buildings that followed include the Octagon from 1875, seen at the end of the walk, the Pump Room from 1894 opposite The Crescent, and Buxton Opera House from 1903, seen just after the 27-minute mark.

In addition to the spa town itself, Buxton is also famous for its bottled mineral water. It is believed that spring water has been bottled from here since the 1850s. In the years prior to the railway station opening, these would have been transported by pack horses to the canal basin at Buxworth around seven miles to the north. In 1987 the Buxton Natural Mineral Water company was bought by Perrier UK, which in turn was acquired by Nestlé Waters UK in the early 1990s.

Famous people from Buxton include actor and comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor, disc jockey Dave Lee Travis and singer Lloyd Cole.

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Filmed: 23rd April 2023

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/f1GZiawiCawRUngU9

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 London Road
1:24 High Street
4:21 Eagle Parade
7:01 Terrace Road
10:28 Spring Gardens
17:46 Terrace Road
19:31 Station Road
20:35 Terrace Road
22:05 The Crescent
25:23 The Square
27:41 Water Street
28:46 St John's Road