Walking Weekend in Buxton, Derbyshire
Date: Friday 15th - Sunday 17th May 2026
Leaders: Follett and Libby Balch are leading the weekend with help and support from Bill and Vivienne Blackburne, who have a house nearby.
Contact details - Follett on 020 8749 4279 or email him at follett@thebalches.net
Please contact Follett direct. NOT ON THE GROUP EMAIL
The walking dates are shown above but, for reasons explained below, Follett recommends arriving in Buxton on Thursday 14th May and staying an additional night.
Stay: The hotel selected is The Old Hall Hotel, The Square, Buxton, SK17 6BD. It is a comfortable, three star hotel, centrally and conveniently situated. A selection of rooms are being held for the LWG. The B&B Room rates are dependant on the day of the week, style and occupation but are between £119 - £174p.p. per night dependant on single or double occupation.
Parking is ‘on street only’ and is metered. However 24 hour display passes costing £6 per day are available at the hotel.
Booking: If you wish to stay at The Old Hall –call 01298 808999.
Ext.4 will get you Nicole or Natasha in the ‘Events Team.’
You will have to give card details to confirm your reservation mentioning you are part of the LWG party. Please do this as soon as you can as the rooms will not be held beyond mid January.
Other options: The Crescent Hotel-same ownership and next door but rather more ‘up market’ with Spa facilities (call the same telephone number);
The Palace Hotel Tel. No.01298 767000 is much bigger and has better car parking arrangements but it is a bit of a climb up the hill; or
The Roseleigh Guest House (roseleighhotel.co.uk) is just 5 minutes walk away.
The town also offers many B&B’s.
Follett can email the list provided by the Information Office.
Travel: Buxton is some four hours driving from London -maybe more on a Friday - and a little over 3 hours by train from Euston (change at Stockport.) Buxton station is within easy walking distance of all the Hotels.
Activities: Buxton is, of course, an interesting and historic town ...itself very well worth exploring. For that reason it is planned that the usual Friday afternoon walk will be a guided tour of the town for which a modest charge will be made.
However for those able to stay the additional night on Thursday 14th May, thus avoiding Friday’s traffic, or are otherwise able to join us; an additional walk on Friday morning is being planned.
This will be about 3 or 4 miles -will involve some climbing up hill but, weather permitting, provides a spectacular panorama of Buxton and the surrounding Peak District setting the scene for what is to come!
As this is the Peak District, the terrain is not flat! However,alongside the main walks on Saturday and Sunday, shorter alternatives are being planned to suit those who may find the hills challenging. Anyone seeking something even less strenuous will find both exercise, and interest, in Buxton which has lovely parks and gardens, a couple of golf courses, and the municipal swimming pool close by! The weekend should therefore also suit our ‘slow laners’ and golfers.
We need two actions from you now.
Firstly, if you intend to come, please contact the Old Hall Hotel for a reservation as soon as possible - or an alternative Hotel or B&B of your choice.
Secondly, please let Follett know you intend to come and how and when you expect to travel. Putting together a list of likely attendees, and cars available for lifts, helps in making all the arrangements.
Follett will also need to know whether you plan to arrive in time to join the Friday morning walk.