Solomon's temple, Derbyshire (Solomon's Temple, Buxton, Derbyshire)

Member Name: micksheff

Product:	Solomon's Temple, Buxton, Derbyshire
Date:	01/07/08 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free to visit, lovely views

Disadvantages: A steep climb to reach it

Solomons Temple is a strange looking monument that overlooks the Derbyshire spa town of Buxton. It has proved to be a popular destination to walk to for both locals and visitors to the area and the views from here are breathtaking.

The walk to Solomons Temple is quite an easy one, even though the climb up through the woods is quite steep. The footpath is of good quality, well walked and it is therefore quite easy going underfoot.

The walk begins at the edge of the town, although there are several possible approaches. There are many signs pointing towards "Solomons Temple" and eventually all of the different footpaths lead to the same place.

One of the most popular starting points for this walk is from the car park of Poole's Cavern. Poole's Cavern is another popular tourist attraction in the town and is well sign-posted.

The Car park at Poole's Cavern is a pay & display car park but it is possible to park for free on the residential streets nearby.

The walk begins within a steep climb up some wooden steps into the woods. This is actually the steepest part of the journey and if you can mange these first fifty or so steps then you should have no problem with the rest of the route.

The footpath winds across the wooded hillside through an area of mature woodland known as Grin Low. This woodland was planted during the seventeenth century by the Duke to Devonshire to hide the scars of limestone quarrying, which were rather unsightly and spoiled the view from his country estate at Chatsworth House.

There are still many remnants of the lime quarrying that took place on this hillside and this is particularly evident in a number of hollows that can be found dug into the hillside. These hollows were originally lime kilns and next to these there were crude wooden houses. By the early 1800's it is believed that there were over 200 different lime kiln families living in these woods.

The distance from the car park to Solomons Temple on the summit is 2km (1.5 miles) and the journey takes you to a height of over 1,440 feet.

Grin Low, from where these woods derive their name is a humpback ridge. The word "Low" is of Saxon origin and often refers to a hilltop that was the site of a burial ground.
Solomons Temple is not actually visible whilst you are climbing up through the woods so as the trees suddenly open up onto an area of open green pasture land the site of this round structure is quite a surprise.

Solomons Temple stands on the site of an old Bronze Age settlement. It was built in 1890 and takes its name from a man called Solomon Mycock who owned this land when this monument was built.

The true purpose of what Solomons Temple actually is, is unclear. It may have been some kind of look out tower but the main theory is that it was mainly built to provide employment for the men that worked on the Duke of Devonshire's estate.

Solomons Temple is a stone built structure that is round in shape. It is two storeys high but stands only twenty feet high. There is a small entrance to climb inside this structure and from here you can climb the round, spiral stone staircase to the viewing platform at the top. It is completely free to enter and it is unmanned but the views from the top are magnificent.

The slopes of Mam Tor, one of the largest mountains in the Pennines is clearly visible from here, whilst there are good views of the town of Buxton below. Looking in the direction away from Buxton the busy A53 trunk Toad winds through the soft, rolling green hills known as The Roaches. This route follows the course of an old Roman road and if you look carefully you can actually see the remains of an old Roman fort on the hillside. This is close to the town of Leek in Staffordshire.

There is something very tranquil about Solomons Temple. Despite its popularity and relatively close proximity to the town of Buxton the air always seems to smell so fresh up here.

The walk from the car park at Poole's Cavern to Solomons Temple should only take about twenty minutes, making it an ideal stroll. I am not sure why Solomons Temple is called a Temple, but it is also sometimes referred to Grin Low Tower.

If you ever find yourself in this part of the Peak District National Park then I would definitely recommend that you set an hour or so aside to make this worthwhile journey.

Summary: A look out tower above the Derbyshire spa town of Buxton