Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Peak District


In a handsome Victorian building, the town museum has records of fossils found in the Peak District, photographs, fine arts, bric-a-brac covering the town's social history, and curiosities from Castleton's Victorian-era 'House of Wonders', including Harry Houdini's handcuffs.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Peak District attractions

1. Slopes

0.08 MILES

Opposite the Crescent, aptly named park the Slopes rises steeply in a series of grassy terraces. Climbing them provides the definitive view over Buxton's…

2. Buxton Crescent & Thermal Spa

0.15 MILES

In Victorian times, spa activities centred on Buxton's extravagant baths, built in Regency style in 1854 and fronted by the Crescent, a grand, curving…

3. Devonshire Dome

0.22 MILES

A glorious piece of Victoriana, the glass Devonshire Dome, built in 1779, is the largest unsupported dome in Europe. It's home to a training restaurant…

4. Pavilion Gardens

0.24 MILES

Adjoining Buxton's opulent opera house are the equally flamboyant Pavilion Gardens. These 9.3 hectares are dotted with domed pavilions; concerts take…

5. Poole's Cavern

0.74 MILES

A pleasant mile-long stroll southwest from the town centre brings you to Poole's Cavern. This magnificent natural limestone cavern is reached by…

6. Cathedral of the Peak

5.99 MILES

Dominating the former lead-mining village of Tideswell, the massive parish church of St John the Baptist – aka the Cathedral of the Peak – has stood here…

7. Blue John Cavern

7.6 MILES

Up the southeastern side of Mam Tor, 2 miles west of Castleton, Blue John is a maze of natural caverns with rich seams of Blue John stone that are still…

8. Speedwell Cavern

7.68 MILES

Just over half a mile west of Castleton at the mouth of Winnats Pass, this claustrophobe's nightmare is reached by descending 106 steps for an eerie boat…

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