Stardate: 11 May 2019 - Under the Dome

Our last full day in Buxton before we head to Ireland tomorrow morning and we spent it on foot, promenading around town.  Partly because Buxton is mostly pleasing to eye but also because parking in our very narrow, two-way traffic street is an absolute bastard.  For inexplicable reasons, parking is allowed on both sides, leaving about 2 metres in the middle for traffic (no exaggeration) and getting a spot is a first-in-best-dressed thing.  More than once we have had to park quite a distance around the corner in a pay-parking lot.  Managed to score a spot an hour after paying 3 pounds up the road yesterday arvo and we haven't budged since! This is probably the only thing we won't miss about our otherwise excellent accommodation.

Our first outing today was to the Dome. There's a story attached to the Dome but I have no idea what it is. Am sure Mr Pants will provide the details.  I do know it was originally built in the late 1700s but is now mostly Victorian and had something to do with the several dozen dukes of Devonshire who seem to have intruded themselves into every aspect of Buxton life for three centuries.  Why aren't/weren't they based in Devon, you may ask.  Not sure, but their family estates have always been based in Derbyshire. 

The outside of the Dome.  We were lucky we got inside at all today and only did so because the University of Derby and Buxton College were having a student Open Day there so we wandered in and made like we were recently-graduated high school students looking to pursue further education.  I think we were convincing as nobody harangued us about our presence.

We also went back to the Buxton Opera House for another gander.  Unfortunately the reception person (whom some might call a door-bitch, but not me) only allowed us to stand in the foyer and not wander around at our leisure. There are designated tours that are booked out until mid-June.  I think Geoff mentioned previously that this was another 'gift' of one of the Devonshires to bring a bit of culture to the town in Victorian times.

While loitering in the Opera House foyer we did manage to snap a pic of a coming attraction that we will miss - the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. They play hits from ACDC, Coldplay, ZZ Top and Queen among others, using guitars, drums, keyboard and bagpipes.  Truly.  And I don't think they're a comedy act. 

They seem to be popular too, with nine gigs on their current tour. 

As it's our last full day in the UK, we're a little sad to be leaving.  But one thing I find odd is how behind they are with credit/debit card Paywave transactions.  While most UK supermarkets use Paywave, many other shops and restaurants do not.  And where Paywave is available, the limit is 30 pounds, about $60.  At home it's $100 and you can still Paywave as long as you provide your PIN.  If you go over 30 pounds here you have to show ID with a signature and then sign a docket.  Pretty sure Australia did away with that nonsense years ago! 

We have enjoyed our week in the English Midlands - an often overlooked tourist destination with some gorgeous scenery and some absolute gems like Bakewell.  [If I could I'd insert a musical note here...] Farewell, Union Jack. I know we'll be back.  xx

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Not sure I have much more to say about the Dome.  It's referred to locally as the Devonshire Dome, owing to its connection to various of the Dukes of Devonshire that Anne has mentioned.  Their main activity seems to have been to build monuments to themselves, of which the Dome is one.  It dates from 1779 but has been refurbished several times since then.

But it is pretty impressive.  This photo shows a section that is about 30 feet above ground level and extends all the way around the inside.  It's inscribed with details of its history, consisting of yet more tributes to those self-aggrandising dukes, just in case you'd forgotten about them.

It's now part of the University of Derby, and seems to be the place where students would meet to drink coffee and discuss matters of state.  Doesn't resemble anywhere that I remember from my uni days back in the dark ages.

We briefly mentioned The Crescent a few days ago, and went to have another look today.  It's basically a smaller scale copy of a renowned street in Bath that is also crescent-shaped. The Buxton version looks kind of like this.

Were it not for the fact that it's now a building site, it would look a fair bit better.  It was built in 1789 as a monument to ... you guessed it ... a Duke of Devonshire (the fifth to be exact).  It was originally hotels and private houses, and would have been a very fashionable address if you could afford it.

The present renovation started in 2003 and will see it converted into a mega luxury spa hotel.  How quintessentially 21st century.  Now nobody other than Saudi oil shieks and Russian oligarchs will be able to afford it.  The only saving grace is that you wouldn't think there'll be a Betfred on the ground floor.

Did we mention the Buxton Bath House the other day, that is now a shopping centre?  I think we did, but here's the outside, mercifully pretty much untouched.  It's impossible to get photos of ancient buildings without latter day intrusions like cars and tourists getting in the way.

And finally ... deep breath ... a long range view of part of the centre of town, dominated at the top by the Palace Hotel (which will no doubt lose its title as the grandest place in town once The Crescent reopens).

Yes, we'll certainly miss it here when we leave tomorrow.  Buxton does have the most extraordinary attractions for a moderately sized town that nobody who doesn't live with a hundred miles or so has ever heard of.  We only knew about it because of an episode of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys.  He came to sample the famous Buxton spa water, and didn't like it.  Never mind; we did.

Passports at the ready, off to Ireland tomorrow.