An Autumn Cruise: Part 3 - A Day Out in Buxton

In my last post, I told you about our journey along the Peak Forest Canal to Whaley Bridge.  While we were there, our human guardians went to look at the notorious Todbrook Reservoir, which almost flooded the town two years earlier.

The local pub even had a picture of the Chinook helicopter repairing the dam!

 

Whaley Bridge was a very interesting town, which used to have a link across the Peak District via the Cromford and High Peak Railway to Derbyshire.  The route is a walking and cycling route now which we hope to explore when the weather is better.

The day after we arrived, Polar and Grizzly decided to take the train down to Buxton, as Polar still needed new walking boots.  There is a nice railway station here with a long history.

As you can see, we all jumped into the Bear Bag to go with them, as we had never visited Buxton before and Polar said it was very nice.  We enjoyed a very scenic journey through the Peak District and, when we arrived at Buxton, found there was a great model of the station at the station.

The station doesn't have a roof any more but has kept this big window.  We think a roof would be nice, so travellers don't get wet when they are waiting for trains on rainy days.

Buxton is famous as a spa town and for its spring water, which you can drink from some of the fountains in the town centre, though some of them say you shouldn't and have been turned off during the nasty virus.  It has a very long history, as the Romans founded the town and mined for lead and silver nearby, and has a lot of very nice buildings - including a great toy shop where Grizzly got some model "bubble" cars for his model railway.

As you can see, Endon sniffed one out a spring with nice, drinkable water, so we all had a sip, as exploring a new town is thirsty work for small bears.

Buxton has lots of really nice cafes and teashops, so our human guardians had no problem getting a delicious Elevenses, and we tucked in too!

There was also a small bear adoption shop in a pretty arcade, and what Hanley Bear thought was a shop full of cupcakes and macaroons.  He jumped out of the Bear Bag to try and nibble some, but got a shock...

...because they were actually bath things, so poor Hanley got a mouth full of soapiness!

Not far away is the lovely Buxton Opera House and the Winter Gardens next door.  Endon Bear insisted that we all went in to look at the plants and we are glad we did, because it was warm and very pretty inside.

In another pavillion a craft fayre was going on, so we went in to have a look.  Grizzly bought us all fudge, Polar bought some nice cards and Hanley cheered up when he saw these pop-up football stadium cards.  Polar gave him some pocket money to buy a Stoke one for himself and a Liverpool one for our friend Gecko.

There is a gorgeous park here, where we all went for a walk to look at the autumn leaves and late flowers.  It was a big park, so Polar carried us around most of it in the Bear Bag, though we had a little run on the grass where it was quiet.

We were thrilled when we found a miniature railway and a small steam engine.  Although it wasn't running that day, we think it would be fun to come and see it during the summer and maybe have a ride behind it.

You can see what an elegant town Buxton is, with what humans call Georgian architecture, because it was built when someone called George was the king.  Polar says it looks a little bit like a place called Bath.

There is a great town museum too, with an art gallery, a very interesting section about the geology of the Peak District full of wonderful things made from the Blue John mineral - and a very, very big bear!

We all had our pictures taken with the Buxton the Bear, who says "thank you" in Bear when people put change in a little box next to him (although humans who don't speak bear think he is being fierce and roaring at them).

Hanley thought he was going to get a nice afternoon snack of oatcakes in the museum, but unfortunately, they weren't real ones.

Finally, we went to a really nice hiking shop, where Polar got some very comfortable boots and Grizzly got a really good waterproof coat for wearing on Uppie.  

 

Then it was time to take the train home to Uppie, but we are really hoping to visit Buxton again one day.  Perhaps we'll see a show at the Opera House and have a ride behind the little train in the park, have some more lovely cake - and visit our friend Buxton Bear again!