Local & Peakland Food & Drink Produce
Find out about some of the foods and drinks produced in Buxton and the surrounding Peakland area.
Buxton
Set in the heart of the English countryside, Buxton is the perfect place to produce a mouth-watering array of food and drink. From local farms and creameries, to bakeries, breweries and artisan kitchens, there’s loads to discover…
There are also monthly markets at the Pavilion Gardens and special food and drink markets on the third Saturday of the month with Buxton Markets.
Buxton Water
The obvious starting point is Buxton’s natural thermal mineral waters. There are about 26 springs throughout the town, where limestone meets shale. Nine of these rise to the surface at the base of St Ann’s Cliff (The Slopes) between the Old Hall Hotel and The Crescent, near where the Natural Baths were located in Georgian times. Over the years, generations have come to Buxton to ‘take the waters’ for their health – including Mary Queen of Scots.
These days, it reaches more people than ever, bottled as Buxton Water by Nestlé Waters UK. But you can fill up your bottle for nothing at St Ann’s Well, known locally as the Lion’s Head, next to the Pump Room. It was decreed in the 18th century that free public access to the waters must be maintained by the local authority after Parliament passed the Enclosure Acts.
Coffee
Hand-roasted, speciality artisan coffee made from ethically-sourced and directly-traded Peang Thai coffee beans, grown in the shade of the rainforest in the province of Chiang Rai, is the offer from Buxton Roastery. Bags of beans are available to purchase at Beer District in the Cavendish Arcade and the coffee is served at Simply Thai restaurant on Cavendish Circus.
Spirits
The Forest Distillery, just outside Buxton, above Macclesfield Forest, is the UK’s highest-altitude distillery and produces award-winning gin, whiskey and rum.
A craft gin distillery is also part of the Buxton Brewery operation.
Chocolate
Buxton has two chocolatiers in the town: Charlotte’s Chocolates, located in the Cavendish Arcade, and Hot Chocolaterie on Hall Bank.
Bread
Bread and other baked goods can be found at the family-run, artisan bakery, Pig & Pepper, on the High Street, and at Fitzgerald’s Craft Bakery on Spring Gardens.
Buxton Pudding
You have probably heard of Bakewell Pudding or Bakewell Tart, but have you ever tried Buxton Pudding? It is similar to Bakewell Pudding, but is made with breadcrumbs on top. The ancient recipe had a sweet pastry base, raspberry preserve and a spongey, crumbly top. Its first known recording was in 1868 but is thought to date back to the 1700s, perhaps made from whatever was left in the pantry.
An updated version, improved for today’s tastes, is available from the Buxton Pudding Emporium on Hardwick Street, along with other long-forgotten and local recipes including Moorland and Ginger puddings. We really love our puddings up here!
Beer
The local brewer is Buxton Brewery. Established in 2009, it has won a range of awards and has been voted in the top 100 brewers in the world for a number of years. In 2018, it reached no. 37 in the world – no. 3 in England. One of the brewery’s most iconic beers is the award-winning Axe Edge: a strong, full-flavoured India Pale Ale with a hoppy aroma. You’ll always be guaranteed to find something different from Buxton Brewery as they are also known for their more ‘creative’ beers. Beers are available at the The Tap House on George Street, in their garden bar in the Pavilion Gardens Retail Arcade, at their Trackside bar opposite their brewhouse at Staden, plus local retailers.
See below for other nearby breweries.
Fruit & Vegetables
Fruit, herbs, teas and vegetables are available from the Serpentine Community Gardens in the Serpentine Walks on Sundays.
Butchers
Geoff Mycock & Son is a family butchers on Scarsdale Place just off the Market Place, the last remaining independent butchers in Higher Buxton. Established in 1958, meat is sourced from their own farm and local auctions. Also find Lomas Foods along Spring Gardens in Lower Buxton and the Buxton Sausage Company on Green Lane in Higher Buxton.
Farm Shops
There are two traditional farm-shops in Buxton. A family-run butchers shop at Coltcroft Farm off Duke’s Drive, behind Lime Tree Caravan Park in Cote Heath and Redfern’s Farm Shop on Burlow Road in Harpur Hill.
Peakland
Derbyshire Oatcake
A soft, thin oatcake, like a cross between a pancake and a crumpet. Made from oatmeal, wheat flour and yeast, these can be served with both sweet and savoury accompaniments. They are available throughout Derbyshire. – try them with honey and seasonal fruits at No.6 The Square Tearooms.
The oatcake became popular as oats were one of the few crops that could grow in the more extreme climate and soils of the Peak District. Records date back to the 1600s and there is strong contention with North Staffordshire–whose oatcakes are thinner and smaller–as to who first came up with the recipe. Both are different from the Scottish, biscuit variety.
Ice Cream
Hill Billy Ice Cream is available at award-winning Blaze Farm in Wildboarclough in Macclesfield Forest ~7miles southwest of Buxton.
Unfortunately, Bradwell’s Ice Cream, in the Hope Valley ~ 12miles to the northeast of Buxton, is no longer making ice cream.
Preserves
Totally Wild UK, based near Macclesfield in Cheshire, produce a range of preserves which are all handmade in small batches and seasonally-dependant; it includes jams, chutneys, cordials, salts, dry herbs and teas. They also run foraging courses and cooking experiences
Cheese
Peakland Blue and Peakland White cheeses are unique to Hartington Creamery, just a few miles outside Buxton. The Creamery is also one of only six companies in the world licensed to produce Stilton. It also produces Shropshire Blue and Global Cheese Award-winning Dovedale Blue. The Stilton and Dovedale Blue, are both covered by Protected Designation of Origin rules. Stilton can only be made using milk from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire or Leicestershire and the Dovedale can only be made within 50 miles of the River Dove. The original Creamery was opened in the 1870s by the Duke of Devonshire and, in 1900, under the ownership of prize-winning cheese-maker Thomas Nuttall, began making Blue Stilton. The current, smaller creamery opened in 2012. Peakland Blue is a close relation of Blue Stilton: a smooth, creamy, yellow-coloured cheese with blue veins. Peakland White is a creamy, crumbly, salty, white cheese. All can be purchased at the Old Cheese Shop in Hartington, online or at food fairs and markets in the region.
Artisan cheesemakers can also be found at Cow Close Farm, beneath Stanage Edge in the Peak District village of Hathersage, who began making cheese in 2013. All are handmade from milk sourced from a single herd of local cows. Their flagship cheese is the Stanage Millstone and all are available at farm and cheese shops throughout the area.
Beer & Gin
Nearby breweries include RedWillow, established in 2010 on the outskirts of Macclesfield, whose beers and gins are available in Buxton at RedWillow on Cavendish Circus; and Titanic Brewery, established in 1985 in Stoke-on-Trent, available at The Cheshire Cheese pub on the High Street.
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