#CountryKids Poole's Cavern and Buxton Country Park

On our drive back north from Ashbourne we stopped in Buxton at Poole's Cavern. This is one of Derbyshire's show caverns as it contains stalactites and stalagmites. When we went there when my daughter was a toddler she impressed us all by pronouncing these properly! This time both of mine were old enough to appreciate the cavern:

Amazing looking calcite formation

The river was high enough that a whirlpool formed

The river was very loud

Dip your finger to make a wish

 

Dragon!

Flitch of bacon

Long view

The largest Stalagmite

Formations unique to the cavern

By the end of the cavern tour the water levels were nearly too high for us to finish it:

Calcite pool

After a long time underground at 7 degrees centigrade it was nice to get up and explore the country park which was planted on the hillside by a Duke of Devonshire to hide the damage caused by lime kilns:

Of all the routes this one sounded the most intriguing:

It was lovely walking through virtually deserted woods with the sounds of birds in the trees and fresh green leaves. 

Eventually we reached the top of the hill which still has plenty of lumps and bumps from lime kilns as you head up to Solomon's temple:

And of course my children had to stand in virtually every puddle:

The tower itself looked pretty dramatic against the stormy sky:

The ground floor windows made for interesting frames:

The views from the top across Buxton and the dales were pretty impressive too:

The wind soon drove us back to the bottom of the spiral staircase though:

The children tried to find the most challenging and lumpy route back down:

Going back through the woods they spotted what they were sure was a fairy hole:

A great way to blow out the cobwebs and stretch our legs before a 2 hour plus drive home!