Monday 4 March 2013

Ravenstor, Buxton, Derbyshire

Since November last year, we've have set a target to have a weekend away every month. November was Whitby, December -Wales, January Haworth and February we had a two night stay at YHA Ravenstor, near Buxton. Not having a car at the moment these have all been done on public transport.  
Every weekend we've been away, the weather has been freezing 
and February was no exception.

 
YHA Ravenstor was originally built as the family home of the local mill owner.
On his death it was donated to the National trust and for many years has been on lease to YHA. Set in 60 acres of magnificent grounds with spectacular views, it was here that David Bellamy first got his inspiration, 
on what is now called Bellamy bank.

 

 
On our first full day we went for a walk to the nearby village of Tideswell.






It was barely above freezing for the whole weekend 
and the icicles were everywhere.

 

 


 

 
Tideswell Church - Cathedral of the peak.




We were originally going to walk to Tideswell and then get the bus back, but we weren't very tired and decided to walk back as it was mainly downhill. 
But then Reuben decided we should take a detour up Ravenstor.

So off we set...


Having to almost crawl up the last part!

 
Spectacular views fron the top of Ravenstor, 
with surviving patches from the last fall of snow.

The kids were pleased to see the youth hostel not too distant.
Almost home?
But the slope was so steep we couldn't get back down and from here you can't even see the steep gorge with it's sheer cliff on the hostel side.

So off we had to go in almost the opposite direction to the hostel.

looking for a way down...

and eventually we did!

It was worth the extra miles to see the old mill.

 Back at the hostel, cup of tea and time to enjoy the view back to Ravenstor.
We all slept very well that night!

The next day we got the bus to the spa town of Buxton.

 The pavillion gardens were created in 1876
to add to the attractions and increase the prosperity of Buxton.

The playgrounds are great, but again it was very, very cold!
Luckily there was a toy fayre in the pavilion, so we headed inside.

I was so excited to see this yellow car with two little figures. It brought back lovely memories of playing at my Nanan's house when I was about four or five. She had a china cabinet filled with all sorts of stuff, my three favourites, a silver donkey, a porcelain horse with a wooden cart and a little yellow car, like the one pictured above.

 Slightly scary old mechanical toys.


 At last we found some Barbie things!

Next door were the Buxton winter gardens

 with the added excitement of hidden dinosaurs

  And some beautiful splashes of colour and scent to lift the spirits.





 
In the Elizabethan era Buxton enjoyed considerable fame as a spa. Mary Queen of Scots visited to take the waters on several occasions during the time she was prisoner in England. In 1572 Dr John Jones wrote the first medical book on Buxton waters entitled The Benefit of the Auncient Bathes of Buckstones, which cureth most grievous sickness, never before published'. Many others then wrote on the curative values of the waters and Buxton continued to develop as a spa throughout the 17th century.  Modelled on the Royal Bath Crescent, the 5th Duke of Devonshire financed the building of the Crescent at the end of the 19th Century.  The Crescent has lain empty for a number of years but is about to start being redeveloped as a modern Spa Hotel complex.


 

The Hot thermal baths at the side of the crescent are now an arcade shopping centre.  Built in approximately 1820 the facilities were elegant.  The baths closed in 1963 following a steady decline in the number of treatments from the mid 1950s.



 


 
The baths' heritage was preserved by retaining a small plunge bath 
within the complex as well as the original tiling.  

Here are some of the photos from the boards outside the Crescent, 
showing how it originally looked and how it declined.










When it's renovated I think I'll treat myself to a spa day

 St Anne's well pumping out warm spring water

Revived by fresh air, exercise and sampling the Buxton spring water, 
our batteries fully charged until our next weekend away!

13 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place! Looks like you had fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a gorgeous place! I would love to visit such a beautiful part of the world! I found you on the bloghop, am now following, and can't wait to read more...
    Hoping you'll stop by to say hi sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, beautiful place. The old photos are very interesting.

    It is nice to meet you. I followed you via GFC.

    I would like to invite you to join the fun at Linkin' with my Ladies Bloghop.

    Bloghop Link:

    http://www.pursuitoffunctionalhome.com/2013/03/my-first-ever-blog-hop-with-linkin-with.html

    I hope to see you there.

    Judy
    http://www.pursuitoffunctionalhome.com/
    http://www.kusinaniinday.blogspot.com/





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  4. What a fantastic weekend away. That walk would have warmed you all up on what looked like a freezing day. Great to see they are renovating such a historic and beautiful old building :)

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  5. Such beautiful shots! I like the "weekend away every month" idea!

    Thanks for sharing with us at Eco-Kids Tuesday!! Hope you stop by again today! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/03/nifty-thrifting-at-eco-kids-tuesday.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. You know, I really envy you and your
    family,,, a weekend away each month.
    that would be heaven to me.. Such
    wonderful photos and I'll say it again
    "It's great you all do this"
    Sandy

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  7. Oh the photos are remarkably lovely! I really had a great time here today. Thank you for sharing. You had a wonderful weekend!

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  8. I love that you are creating memories for your family.
    I have four children and we used to have a day out in our birthday month and then one later in the year so we also had a day out every month.
    Great fun

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  9. Thanks for this beautiful and interesting tour ! You are very brave to do such trips despite the cold weather. But apparently it had been very nice ! The landscapes are beautiful !

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  10. how fun! you've inspired me to plan a little weekend trip...

    yippee!

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  11. I just LOVE BLOGLAND! Where else would I get to sit in a warm house having fun watching you freeze while taking wonderful and fun photos of your getaway :) This was such a fun post to view :) Happy Alphabet Thursday...you are making wonderful memories for your children!

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  12. Sounds like you had a great time despite the cold! I'll bet it felt good to be inside when looking at the indoor gardens!

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  13. I love how you really, really live your life!

    You just go and explore and let nothing deter you!

    You are wonderfully inspiring!

    I love how you are making so many memories!

    A+++++

    ReplyDelete

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