Buxton Country Park & Woodland Walks
Buxton is blessed with many beautiful woods, nine of which are owned and managed by Buxton Civic Association.
Below are details of some of the suggested walks and routes although, of course, you are welcome to wander.
If you would like a guided tour through Buxton’s green spaces, or are interested in the natural history of Buxton and the Peak District, please see Discover Buxton Tours‘ Explorer Tour.
Buxton Country Park
Head through Grin Low Woods, home to rare flowers and plentiful woodland wildlife, follow the trails and discover the wonderful wooden sculptures on your way up to Solomon’s Temple.
Accessed from Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre and surrounding roads – see the map below for access points.
Grin Low Woods
Grin Low Woods (or Grin Low Plantation) was planted in the early 19th Century by the Duke of Devonshire to screen the quarrying and burning of limestone (to produce lime) taking place on the hillside since the 16th Century. This activity produced a desolate, smokey, stained wasteland – an eyesore to the gentry visiting the Crescent to take the waters and who duly complained to the Duke. Not the natural landscape you may first imagine, the outlines of the quarries, lime kilns and ash spoil heaps can still be seen. Many old kilns were fashioned into cottages and such residences were still being used as late as the mid-19th Century.
Today the plantation forms 40 hectares (100 acres) of mature woodland, predominantly beech, ash, elm and sycamore, which is now home to plentiful woodland wildlife and rare flowers. Wildflower glades with uncommon flora are established on the industrial waste piles throughout the plantation. Along with the altitude and colder climate, Grin Low is a very unusual environment. Due to this, the country park has been designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).
In among the trees, you’ll find grey squirrels, rabbits and a variety of birds but also keep your eyes open for hares, hedgehogs, weasels, moles, wood mice, bats and various other woodland creatures.
Also look out for the wonderful wooden sculptures which line the trails through Grin Low Woods. Trail maps are available from the Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre, as is a guide to the ‘Wild Flowers of Grin Low’.
Grin Low & Solomon’s Temple
Above the Grin Low Plantation you will find Solomon’s Temple (or Grin Low Tower), a Victorian folly built on the top of Grin Low (hill) from which you can see wonderful view of the town and surrounding area. Find out more about the temple here. The land is part of a working farm so don’t be alarmed if you see some cows!
Other Woodland Walks
Corbar Woods & Cross
Towering above the town on the opposite side to Solomon’s Temple, Corbar Cross stands above Corbar Woods offering a complementary view over the town. Buxton’s only semi-natural ancient woodland, renowned for its bluebells in the spring, was planted above gritstone quarries to provide further walks for leisurely Victorian couples. Accessed from Manchester Road or Corbar Road.
Lightwood Reservoir
Accessed from the end of Lightwood Road, take a walk through the atmospheric woods around the old reservoir and works.
Gadley Woods
A small woodland with stepping stones across the River Wye which follows its path off the gritstone moorland to the north of the town.
The Serpentine Walks
The Serpentine Walks criss-cross one of the tributaries of the River Wye on its way into the Pavilion Gardens from Gadley Woods. A place for a pleasant, meandering stroll where you will also discover the Serpentine Community Garden.
Ring of Trees Walk
A walk through the woodlands around the edge of the town. Find out more on the BCA website here.
A guide book to the walk is available at the Poole’s Cavern Visitor Centre.
From November 2025, this website is owned and managed by Buxton Civic Association Ltd - Charity No. 258163.
Buxton Civic Association celebrates the natural and human heritage of Buxton including its outstanding buildings and wildlife. We conserve and enhance this heritage and advocate its importance in making Buxton a special place to live or to visit.
