Student Life in Buxton
Buxton is a spa town located in the heart of the Peak District. It is a beautiful, small and friendly place with lots of character that truly has something for everyone. It is just one hour from both Derby and Manchester. Subjects based at Buxton include Outdoor Activity Leadership, Sports Coaching and Tourism Management. As a student there is plenty to do from eating out to places to visit.
Eating out
There are many places to enjoy great food in Buxton with a range of restaurants to suit anyone’s tastes. Here are three of my favourite:
Pizza Express is a popular Italian restaurant in the UK and provides exceptional quality food such as pizza and pasta. It is located right in the town centre near the university campus.
Simply Thai provides you with the finest authentic Thai food prepared from the very best ingredients including, fresh herbs, spices and exotic vegetables sourced and sent over from Thailand.
Lonestar Bar & Grill is a great place to grab a quick bite to eat with friends or in between lectures offering a range of food that is all reasonably priced.
Leisure
The Peak District:
Whether you are a hardened hiker or just enjoy a nice relaxing walk, a cycling enthusiast or a laid back biker, the Peak District offers plenty of opportunities to get active. There are plenty of activities you can take part in such as canoeing, climbing, horse riding and more.
Go Ape:
Go Ape is the UK’s number one forest adventure. Set in the heart of the beautiful Peak District National Park and within walking distance of the historic spa town itself, it is one of the best days out in Derbyshire. You will enjoy high ropes, a zip wire and much more as you travel from tree to tree suspended high above the ground.
Poole’s Cavern:
Take a Journey beneath the earth and explore the vast limestone caverns to see how crystal stalactites and stalagmites have lined the chambers over millions of years. Back above ground explore the beautiful country park woodlands and complete your day with a stroll through Grin Low woods and Solomon’s Temple viewpoint, which features superb views of the Peak District.
Pavilion Gardens:
The Pavilion Gardens is a wonderful historic venue situated in the heart of Buxton. It is a great place to sit and relax with friends in the summer. There are over 23 acres of gardens including lakes and flower beds providing lovely scenic walks throughout the year.
Nightlife
“Buxton has three main night clubs (Level2, Spa Bar now known as Trunk and Myst) which provide some really good deals for students ready to have unforgettable nights out. Many different pubs and restaurants are located around Buxton for people who just want to get some drinks and some nice food before a night out.” Raminta Ramoskaite – University of Derby Buxton student
“Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are the nights to go out around Buxton, as these are the nights that the pubs, bars and clubs stay open late and provide good entertainment. Wednesday night is student night so that is always a good night to go out and the weekend nights are also just as good because the bars and clubs get quite busy.” Billie Rowan – University of Derby Buxton student
Try Something Different:
The Tap House is an ale house located in Buxton town centre providing the perfect combination of food and drink. It has five continuously changing Buxton cask lines (traditional English ale beers), eight continuously changing Buxton keg lines (traditional English ale beers), plus guest beers from other recognised UK craft breweries. They also have a rotating draft cider line and more than eighty different bottled beers from all around the world.
Student Union
The Student Union is run by the students for the students. It is responsible for running various social events at the University as well as organising range societies (see below) and sporting clubs allowing you play a range of sports such as:
Badminton
Basketball
Cricket
Hockey
Men’s Football
Netball
Outdoor (climbing, hill walking, mountain biking)
Rugby Union
Women’s Football
Joining a society is a great way to meet people and to make friends, it allows you take up a hobby and gain new skills as well as making you more employable, looking great on your c.v. At our Buxton campus we currently offer five societies you can join such as:
The Christian Union
Circus Skills
Conservation
Events
Multicultural
Spa
Socialise with friends at the Boilerhouse Social Space:
Whether you are catching up with friends on the bean bags, playing a game of pool, bowling on the Nintendo Wii or rocking it out on the PlayStation everybody can relax and have a laugh.
Always around for a chat or a game of darts are the friendly team of Youth Development Mentors who are there to make your time in the Boilerhouse the best that it can be.
Facilities include:
Nintendo Wii with games
PS3 with games (including Guitar & Band hero!)
Pool table
Microwave
Darts board
Lots of board games
Student computer
SKY TV
Kettle – tea/coffee/hot chocolate
Soft drinks vending machine
Entertainment
Buxton’s Opera House offers a range of performances all shown regularly throughout the year. There’s a good range of things to go and see including the monthly buzz comedy night which showcases some of the UK’s top comedians, as well as fresh up and coming talent. There is also a good range of drama performances available to see also making a good night out with friends if you want to try something different.