RAF Harpur Hill

The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSE Laboratory or HSL Buxton) is a large 550-acre research site in rural High Peak, Derbyshire, south of Buxton. It researches new methods in industrial safety. It provides training courses in subjects such as Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH) and DSEAR (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, 2002).

Solomon's Temple, also known as Grinlow Tower, is a Victorian folly on the summit of Grin Low hill, near the spa town of Buxton in the Derbyshire Peak District.On 23 February 1894, a meeting at Buxton Town Hall decided to rebuild a landmark tower that had been built by Solomon Mycock, of the Cheshire Cheese Hotel, in the early 19th century, and of which only a few stones remained. The Local Board vice-chairman had talked with the seventh Duke of Devonshire's agent and decided that the reconstruction was feasible if the townspeople would donate sufficient money. Sketches were submitted by architects W. R. Bryden and G. E. Garlick. By that May, the plans were confirmed by the Duke of Devonshire, and it was well known that the site was of prehistoric importance. In June 1894, the seventh Duke of Devonshire subscribed £25 towards building the folly. Buxton had already subscribed £50. The foundation stone was laid by Colonel Sidebottom, M.P., on 31 May 1896, witnessed by a large crowd, and the tower was opened by Victor Cavendish in September 1896. The tower was restored in 1988 by public subscription.The structure is a 20-foot-high (6.1 m), two-storey tower built on top of a Bronze Age barrow, sitting on top of a ridge at a height of 440 metres (1,440 ft) above sea level. From the open top of the tower there are good 360-degree views over the town and the surrounding countryside and parts of the Peak District. The tower does not contain anything other than the staircase to the top. It is a Grade II listed building.

Harpur Hill Quarry is a disused limestone quarry on Harpur Hill, Derbyshire, England. Limestone was extracted there from 1835 to 1952 for lime burning at lime kilns to produce quicklime. The quarry was used by the Royal Air Force as a chemical weapons storage depot during the Second World War, the largest such depot in the United Kingdom. Afterwards a number of captured German chemical munitions were disposed of at the site by burning, which was only partially successful. The RAF depot closed in 1960 and the site is now vacant. A small part of the abandoned quarry has flooded to become a quarry lake. Its water has a very high pH, that is, it is very alkaline, owing to the presence of caustic chemicals that are leaching from the waste left from the lime burning. The lake water has a vivid blue colour due to the scattering of light by finely dispersed particles of calcium carbonate. Despite signs warning of the health risks the lake became a popular tourist destination and swimming spot. The local High Peak Borough Council dyed the water black in 2013, 2016 and 2020 in an attempt to deter swimmers.

Harpur Hill is a small village on the outskirts of Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is in the Cote Heath ward of the High Peak Borough Council. It has a primary school, a park, a pub, a working men's club and a Methodist church. From 1938 to 1969, the RAF Maintenance Unit 28 was based at Harpur Hill and it included the RAF Mountain Rescue Team for the Peak District. RAF Harpur Hill was established as an underground munitions store. Tunnels were dug out to house munitions and ordnance. When the RAF left the tunnels were used as a mushroom farm. When the tunnels closed they were sold to a group of local businessmen and used as a cold store for cheese; a warehouse was built for dry and bonded wines and spirits. A number of local hauliers provided the transport for these goods. One of the hauliers was Lomas Distribution which was bought out by Christian Salvesen and was a major employer in the area; it later sold the site to French transport company Norbert Dentressangle. Many of the bunkers can still be seen in the surrounding hillside.The Health and Safety Executive Laboratory is not far from Harpur Hill. From 1916 to 1918 the site housed The Frith Artillery Range. A railway was constructed with old London Underground Jubilee Line trains which were used to reconstruct the 7 July 2005 London bombings. A red flag is flown at the laboratory when an explosion is imminent.Also nearby is Far Hill Quarry, now flooded, where swimming is discouraged by the authorities as unsafe due to the high pH level of the water.Harpur Hill is the base of Harpur Club & Harpur Hill FC, and of Buxton Rugby Union Club. The tops of the rugby club's goal posts are the highest in the country.

Founded in 1675, Buxton College was a boys' Public School and, from 1923, a grammar school in Buxton, Derbyshire whose site has been expanded since 1990 to be used as the fully co-educational comprehensive Buxton Community School.

Buxton Community School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The school was officially opened on 19 October 1993 achieving the consolidation of four former Buxton schools on the site of the previous Buxton College. The school is a specialist sports college. The headteacher is Sam Jones.In 2010 an Engineering Centre was added to the site and was officially opened by The Duke of Devonshire on the 13th October. A 3G artificial all-weather grass pitch was a further addition in 2012 and this opened by Howard Webb MBE. Previously a voluntary controlled school administered by Derbyshire County Council, in June 2023 Buxton Community School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by the Embark Federation. Academies have more autonomy with the National Curriculum and receive direct funding from the UK Government.

Poole's Cavern or Poole's Hole is a two-million-year-old natural limestone cave on the edge of Buxton in the Peak District, in the county of Derbyshire, England. Poole's Cavern forms part of the Wye system, and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Buxton Hospital is a cottage hospital in Buxton, Derbyshire. It is managed by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust.

Grin Low is a hill overlooking Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The summit is 434 metres (1,424 ft) above sea level.Grin Low was the main location for the early Buxton lime industry. It was an extensive area of limestone quarrying and was licensed for lime burning from 1662 by the 1st Duke Of Devonshire. Demand for lime grew dramatically during the Industrial Revolution. There are widespread remains of over 100 large 'pudding' lime kilns, built of earth and rock, which date from the 17th–19th centuries. The land is also covered in spoil heaps of waste material. Coal came from local collieries at Axe Edge and Goyts Moss. In 1820 the 6th Duke of Devonshire commissioned the 'Grin Plantation' (now the wooded Buxton Country Park) to shield the scarred lime-burning landscape from visitors to the spa town of Buxton. The Cromford and High Peak Railway opened in 1831 and passed by Grin Low. The railway allowed the lime to be transported to canals and generated expansion of quarrying in Buxton. In the 1850s lime production at Grin Low moved to a new large quarry on the south side of the hill (which was operated until its closure in 1952). In 1890 Grin Low produced 90,000 tonnes of lime. The quarry is now a caravan park and campsite. In the 1830s Solomon Mycock (proprietor of the Cheshire Cheese Inn) leased the land at the top of Grin Low. In 1840 he built Solomon's Temple (on behalf of the 6th Duke of Devonshire) at the summit, over an ancient burial mound, providing work to the unemployed of the town. By 1894 the structure of the folly had become dilapidated and the 8th Duke of Devonshire approved the replacement Grinlow Tower. The two-storey tower, 6 metres (20 ft) high, was designed by architects W. R. Bryden and George Garlick. The building was partly funded by public subscription. The new tower was opened by the Duke's cousin (and successor) Victor Cavendish in 1896. The tower was restored in 1987 with a partial contribution by Buxton residents. Grinlow Tower is a Grade II listed building. The structure is open with a spiral staircase inside to the viewing platform. There are panoramic views over Buxton to Mam Tor, Rushup Edge, Corbar Hill with Corbar Cross and in the opposite direction to Axe Edge. Temple Road in Buxton leads from the town to Grin Low. In 1894, local archaeologist Micah Salt excavated the burial barrow at the summit of Grin Low hill, before the tower was rebuilt. He discovered the remains of three burials and two cremations, as well as a decorated bowl, a flint tool and other artefacts.Buxton Country Park is operated by Buxton Civic Association and the park has 100 acres of mature woodland, with a network of woodland trails. The variety of trees include Beech, Ash, Elm, Sycamore, Willow, Birch, Hawthorn and Rowan. The woods are habitat to common birds (such as thrushes, tits and finches) but are also home to nuthatches, woodpeckers and tawny owls. The country park has had a 'Go Ape' tree-top adventure course with zip wires since 2007. Poole's Cavern is at the foot of the hill on the north side, on the edge of Buxton town. This natural limestone cavern is two million years old, formed by underground water dissolving the rock. It has several large chambers with numerous stalactites and stalagmites. Stone Age, Bronze Age and Roman artefacts have been discovered inside. The cavern is named after a medieval outlaw named Poole who used it as a hiding place. It has been a tourist attraction since the 1600s when it was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Peak by Thomas Hobbes (in his book De Mirabilibus Pecci). Mary Queen of Scots is believed to have visited during her stay in Buxton in 1582. A branch of the River Wye flows through the cave system. The cavern is open to the public with tours along its 300m main passage. The temperature is a constant 7 °C.Poole's Cavern and Grin Low Wood are a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).The Dane Valley Way trail crosses the west side of the hill.

High Edge is a limestone hill overlooking Harpur Hill, Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The summit is 472 metres (1,549 ft) above sea level. The lower hilltop (about 400m north-west of the summit) is marked by a cairn.Following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, this hilltop area became "Open Access" land for the public.There are two machine gun bunkers on the hilltop as part of the defences of the former RAF Harpur Hill. From 1938 to 1969, the RAF Maintenance Unit 28 was based at Harpur Hill. The RAF site was established as an underground ammunitions store with an extensive tunnel system to house munitions and ordnance. The site is now operated by the Health and Safety Executive Laboratory, which has had a presence on the site since 1947, when it was the Safety in Mines Research Establishment (SMRE). On the north-west side of High Edge is Buxton Raceway, a modern oval motorsport track. Racing started at the site in 1974 when it was known as 'High Edge'.

St Anne's Church is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Buxton Pavilion Gardens is a Victorian landscaped public park in the spa town of Buxton in Derbyshire. The River Wye flows through the gardens, which are a Grade II* listed public park of Special Historic Interest.