Trip to Buxton: The 'Peak' Spa

Buxton Crescent, built in the 1780s for the Duke of Devonshire

Earlier in the year, I visited Buxton, one of the UK’s key spa towns. Nestled in the Peak District, it’s smaller than Harrogate, but walking through its streets, I was struck by the similarities—the architecture, the grand public gardens, even the way the town’s hilly terrain shapes its landscape. Pavilion Gardens sits at the heart of Buxton much like Valley Gardens in Harrogate, and its Pavilion echoes our own Sun Pavilion.

But what stood out most was how much Buxton has done to embrace and revive its spa heritage—and how, by comparison, Harrogate has done so little.

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Spa revival

One of the highlights was visiting the recently restored Devonshire Crescent, brought back to life by Ensana Hotels. The restoration has reintroduced spa culture in a contemporary way, much like Thermae Bath Spa in Bath, offering a modern wellbeing experience while still honouring the town’s historic identity.

It’s an approach that feels bold yet sensitive, the kind of thinking Harrogate could learn from.

Within the Crescent, the Buxton Crescent Experience, run by the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust, takes visitors on an immersive journey through Buxton’s spa heritage. Through artefacts, interpretation panels, and digital storytelling, it paints a picture of the town’s past—not as something lost, but as something still shaping its future.

One of the highlights? A hot air balloon simulation, offering a bird’s-eye view of Georgian Buxton as the Duke of Devonshire laid out the town. Then, descending into the Crescent’s cellars, I found myself in a recreation of a Georgian chemist, where a virtual apothecary prescribed spa cures based on historical ailments. It was interactive, immersive, and a reminder of just how deeply spa culture was once woven into everyday life.

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Landscape value

Buxton doesn’t just preserve its spa history—it actively uses it. The Buxton Opera House, much like Harrogate’s Royal Hall, is home to a rolling programme of cultural events, including the Buxton International Festival, which mirrors Harrogate’s own festival scene.

But beyond its buildings, Buxton understands that a spa town is also about landscape. The Buxton Civic Association owns and manages large swathes of open green space encircling the town, ensuring that its therapeutic, natural setting remains intact.

Harrogate still has elements of this—Birk Crag, the Pinewoods, and its historic spa landscape—but there’s no cohesive vision tying these spaces together. With community ownership models gaining momentum and the looming threat of development, could more be done to protect and reimagine these landscapes as part of a contemporary spa experience?

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Why is Buxton doing so much, and Harrogate so little?

For a town significantly smaller than Harrogate, Buxton has managed to do so much more to revive its spa heritage. The main Pump Room, next to St. Anne’s Well, is another example—beautifully restored, with the opportunity to descend into the well itself, all run by the Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust, which still has the Duke of Devonshire’s patronage today.

There’s a sense of stewardship and long-term thinking in Buxton, an understanding that spa heritage isn’t just something to be remembered—it’s something to be lived.

Meanwhile, Harrogate has a richer spa history in terms of its waters, its biodiversity, and its traditions, yet we’ve done almost nothing to bring it to life.

Buxton has proved that a small town can still think big.

The question is—why aren’t we?