How did one Duke's dream transform a town?
Did the Romans really bathe in Buxton water? And why exactly is the well water warm?
Buxton is a brilliant place to spark your student's curiosity and deepen their engagement with the past. Visit the Buxton Crescent Experience and discover how significant historical events and unique geology have shaped a town.
We warmly welcome groups of all ages; from nursery children to primary and secondary school pupils, from home-based learners to youth groups, all the way up to higher education students.
We offer:
- hosted interactive tours of the Buxton Crescent Experience for all ages
- hands-on curriculum linked workshops,
- Early Years Explorer sessions
- bespoke activities to fit your learning outcomes.
- explore Buxton’s Roman roots
- discover the 5000 year geological journey of Buxton’s famous thermal spring water
- learn about medical treatments over the centuries
- identify Buxton Crescent’s Georgian architectural features
- taste thermal spring water straight from the source
To make a booking or discuss the best itinerary for your group’s learning needs contact our friendly Education team at learn@BuxtonCrescentTrust.org or 01298 214577.
If you have an idea or topic you’d like to explore with your group at Buxton Crescent we’d love to work with you to make it possible.
Tours & Workshops
Frequently Asked Questions
A tour is between 60 and 90 minutes long. Workshops are 60 minutes long.
Many school groups choose to make a day of it and do a tour in the morning and workshop in the afternoon with time for lunch in the park or on the historic grassy Slopes nearby. (The Pump Room can accommodate up to 35 people as a lunch space if the weather is very bad) Or alternatively you can focus your visit to a morning or an afternoon.
Tours of the Buxton Crescent Experience are £4.50 per pupil. Early Years Crescent Experience Explore is £4 per child.
Curriculum-linked workshops are just £1.50 per pupil as an add-on to the Crescent Experience, or £4.50 per pupil as a standalone activity.
Young people and students £8.50
Teachers and supporting adults go free.
Get the most value out of your visit to Buxton. Explore vast limestone caves and Peak District geology at Poole’s Cavern, take a walking tour with an expert guide from Discover Buxton. Catch a matinee at the Buxton Opera House, or play and picnic in the Pavilion Gardens – a magnificent Victorian Park, just 5 minutes walk from the Crescent. Visit our Padlet that has more fantasic ideas. We also have a summer activities trolley that can be taken to the part for fun and games.
When in the Buxton Crescent Experience, you’ll be able to access the Crescent Hotel’s restrooms, including an accessible toilet.
Buxton Visitor Centre | The Pump Room is fitted with an accessible toilet.
We have a small indoor area for one class suitable for packed lunches. In good weather, we would recommend a picnic on the Slopes overlooking the Crescent or at the bandstand in the Pavilion Gardens. Our map will show you the best lunch spots in town.
Buxton is easily accessible by road and rail. Visit our handy travel guide.
The Buxton Crescent Experience | Interactive Tour
The Buxton Crescent Experience is a 90-minute fun and interactive guided tour inside the Grade-I Listed Crescent.
We’ll follow rainwater on its 5000-year journey to St. Ann’s Well, dress-up in historical hats and discover what visitors have really thought about Buxton over the years… We’ll fly a hot air balloon across the Peak District in virtual reality, meet an eighteenth-century apothecary and discover how medicine has changed through time.
During the booking process, our Learning Team will reach out regarding your learning outcomes, and we will plan a tour that works for your group. We will ensure that any additional needs are met, so your day runs smoothly and your learners can make the most of their visit.
Teachers are entitled to a free pre-visit to the Buxton Crescent Experience. Click the button below to get in touch and book your free pre-visit.
Facilitated Workshops
We offer three curriculum linked, hands-on workshops for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. If you book a tour of The Buxton Crescent Experience, make a half-day of it and add a facilitated workshop for just an extra £1.50 per pupil.
WORKSHOP 1
TEST THE WATERS
with Mary the Well Woman
Meet Mary, a Well Attendant from the Edwardian era. Carry out scientific tests on Buxton Water, discover why the mineral spring is so important to Buxton, and drink some yourselves straight from the source!
Buxton’s water emerges at the Pump Room at a constant 27.5C at the end of its 5000 year journey. Built to accommodate visitors to the town, the Pump Room was a sociable place to “take the water”. Visitors would pay a penny upon entry and would be served by people like Mary from the marble balustrade.
Length: 60 Minutes
Price:
£1.50 per pupil as add-on
£4.50 per pupil standalone
Curriculum links:
The Water Cycle
Science: Chemistry
Geography
WORKSHOP 2
BUILDING BUXTON
Take a closer look…
Length: 60 Minutes
Price:
£1.50 per pupil as add-on
£4.50 per pupil standalone
Curriculum links:
Art and Design: Architecture
Maths: Symmetry
History
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Spot and sketch the symmetry and Georgian architectural features that make the Grade-I Listed Crescent so stunning. Find out about architect John Carr and make your own Crescent model.
An early example of multifunctional architecture, the Crescent is built in the Palladian Neo-classical style, inspired by Ancient Greek and Roman design. Recurring motifs are arranged perfectly according to the mathematical Golden Ratio, or Fibonacci Sequence, found everywhere in nature from flowers to galaxies.
WORKSHOP 3
ROMAN BUXTON
with Porto the Puppet
Length: 60 Minutes
Price:
£6.00 per pupil standalone
Curriculum links:
Art & Design
History
Interactive puppetry and storytelling performance. Discover the story of how Porto, a Roman soldier from Portugal, journeyed to Buxton (Aqua Arnemetiae) and settled in the Peak District. Handle original Roman artefacts, help repair pottery, play knucklebones, and make a simple piece of jewellery to take back to school.
GCSE KS3 - KS4
Enhance Learning at KS3 and KS4 with the Buxton Crescent Experience
An enriching visit for Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils
Length: 90 Minutes
Price:
From £4.50 per pupil standalone
Curriculum links:
Health
Medicine
Historic enviorinment
Change & continuity
The Buxton Crescent Experience offers an engaging and enriching visit for Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils, designed to support history curriculum goals while sparking curiosity about the past. We work closely with schools to provide a high-quality, immersive educational experience.
Focus Options
• Britain: Health and the People: c1000 to the Present Day
• Alternative Medicine and the Apothecary in the 18th and 19th Centuries
• The Historic Environment: History Around Us
What Pupils Will Gain
• Developing Historical Skills
• Understanding Change and Continuity
Our programs align with key focus areas for learning, allowing teachers to tailor visits to their curriculum needs
EARLY YEARS
Learn and develop well whilst playing, exploring, investigating, experiencing
Igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm
Length: 90 Minutes
Price:
From £4.00 per pupil standalone
Curriculum links:
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design
We recognise that children learn and develop well whilst playing, exploring, investigating, experiencing and ‘having a go’ in environments with quality teaching and support from adults.
We promote an active learning environment, where children can create and think critically, enjoy their achievements and develop their own ideas, building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving.
- Explore how the Georgians dined and took tea with our Crescent Tea set
- Focused tasks using traditional tales
- Wooden building blocks, Use artworks and pictures of buildings to inspire creations
- Music and Dance, The watery floor images in our water story room provide a great space for water inspired movement and dance.
Learning with Buxton Museum
We work closely with the team at Buxton Museum & Art Gallery. We are developing a programme of activities and outreach while the museum is closed. In the meantime, resources about Stone Age to Iron Age life in the Peak District and Roman Buxton on the Padlet links below.
Travelling to Buxton
Buxton is surrounded by the Peak District National Park. There is a coach drop off point right outside the Crescent. Buxton train station, on the Manchester to Buxton line, is a short walk away. You can save money on rail transport by using Northern Rails’ Group Travel discount.
We are proud to be a partner venue for Hyundai’s The Great British School Trip. Register here to apply for a bursary towards the costs of funding your visit.
Contact us
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or queries. We aim to respond as soon as possible.
Alternatively you can always read our FAQ, or contact us directly at Learn@BuxtonCrescentTrust.org
Downloads and Accessibility
Below are some useful documents to help you plan your visit. On confirming a booking with us we will email out copies of the below documents along with further information about each activity.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via the contact form below.
