Higher Buxton

Buxton has transformed itself into a thriving university town. It has also retained its status as one of the signature destinations for festivals and will very soon be able to regain its reputation for spa, with the reopening of the Buxton's Crescent and Thermal Spa Project. A £70 million heritage led regeneration project is aiming to build on the town's distinctiveness by attracting quality retailers to offer a unique destination for those holidaying in the Peak District or visiting from neighbouring towns and cities.

Higher Buxton is an independent village within the town centre with a diverse and interesting range of businesses, which includes galleries, bars and restaurants, cafes and shops.

The area brings together around 80 independent shops, services and establishments which offer local produce and specialises in fine food. It seems to be going from strength to strength with successful new shops and new services recently opening, to complement the longest established quality businesses who have been thriving in Buxton over the decades.

The area lends itself to quality independent retailers or small national boutiques which trade side-by-side along with respected retailers and the area is home to a number of large car parks that the town and is on the key regional bus route.

Higher Buxton is also home to the station, which is one of the key gateways into the town, both for rail users and those arriving by car. The recently restored station building of Higher Buxton Railway reflects Buxton's stunning architecture and is next to Nestlé's bottling plant, which will move shortly to the new bottling plant at Waterswallows, just north of the town.

The railway station opened in 1894 to the South East of Buxton on the London North West railway line to Ashbourne and the South. It used part of the Cromford and High Peak Railway, which ran from Whaleybridge to Cromford, joining it at Hindlow and proceeding to approach to a branch to Ashbourne at Parsley Hay.

On leaving its bay at Buxton, it turns through a tight 180° curve southwards across a 13 arch Duke's Drive viaduct, 87 feet high over the Midland line and Spring Gardens. The line continued its punishing climb on its way to Harpur Hill and then onto Beswick's sidings, where the gradient eased a little. It was located next to Clifton Road and between it and Dale Road in 1891, and extensive goods yard opened as part of the scheme to hook Buxton to the new High Peak junction near Cromford.

The platforms and buildings were of timber construction like all the stations on this particular line but passenger services finished in 1954 but the station had never been very busy, being so close to the main station and it closed sadly in 1951.

The line is now single and remains open for mineral trains serving the lime works at Dowlow.