Buxton

Small, friendly town

Right on the edge of the Peak District National Park, Buxton is a small and friendly town with lots of character. Surrounded by miles of stunning scenery, Buxton with its magnificent architecture, interesting shops and thriving arts scene is a great place to be a student. It is an ideal base for outdoor activities, such as climbing, caving, cycling, walking and riding.

Shopping

In the Cavendish Arcade, you will find shops selling crafts, clothes, antiques, eco-friendly goods and books. In the Spring Gardens Shopping Centre you will also find well known high street names. There are markets every Tuesday and Saturday and quirky little shops in Higher Buxton, as well as a monthly farmers’ market.

For a bigger shopping fix, the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Westfield Derby are only about an hour away.

Eating, drinking and going out

There are lots of good pubs and restaurants in and around Buxton, with well known names like Pizza Express and Wetherspoons, as well as smaller independent eateries offering a wide range of food, including Italian, Indian, Chinese and Thai.

If you enjoy live music, many of the bars host live music nights with bands from the Buxton area, or you could try the Buxton Opera House. It has some great gigs and cover acts for all tastes, from heavy rock to country music. If you fancy a good sing along, try one of the pubs in Buxton – many have karaoke nights, with fantastic student discounts and great value food.

If you want a bigger night out, then you are only about an hour away from cities like Manchester, Derby and Sheffield.

Entertainment and the arts

Buxton Opera House hosts comedies, plays, musicals, concerts and gigs, as well as some films. And you can get great value tickets with your student card.

Festival fever hits Buxton every summer, with the Buxton Festival, International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Fringe Festival and The Four Four Time Festival of Live Music.

Sport

If you enjoy sport, Buxton has two 18 hole golf courses, a golf driving range, swimming pool, cricket, football and tennis clubs, as well as a go-karting track. Just outside the town centre, you will find Poole’s Cavern and the exciting Go Ape tree top adventure.

Getting around

There are several regular bus services from Buxton to the surrounding Peak District towns and villages, such as Bakewell and Ashbourne. Buxton is on a direct train line from Manchester, which is a mainline station with trains to cities all over the UK.

The railway station is only a five minute walk from our Buxton Campus. If you’re living in halls, travel won’t be an issue for you as High Peak Halls is only a few inute’s walk away from both the Campus and the town centre.