At the summit of Grin Low Hill, in the Victorian spa town of Buxton stands Solomon's Temple. It is just a 20 minute walk from Poole's Cavern in Buxton Country Park and has impressive views of the town below and the rolling Derbyshire countryside. A great family friendly walk which is easy to follow and has fun sculptures to fine and a tower to climb.
After a tour of Poole's Cavern we grabbed our picnic from the car and set off for a lovely walk into Buxton Country Park. We picked up a free trail map from the visitors centre which shows three woodland trail footpaths leading to the summit of Grin Low and Solomon's Temple viewpoint.
Top Info
👣 3 Routes to Solomon's Temple
🥾 2.5km Circular walk
🏰 Climb up the Temple
⛰ Brilliant view at the top
👶Suitable for all ages as not a long walk
👣 Easy to follow route
🐻 Woodland Sculpture Trail
🚗 Car park at Poole's Caverns £2 for 3 hours, £3 all day.
☕ Cafe at Visitor Centre
🥪 Picnic Area
🧗 Go Ape
🚻 Toilets in Visitor Centre
🌎 Green Ln, Buxton SK17 9DH
We followed the yellow Geology Trail with fossil sculpture way markers. If you want more of a walk then follow the longer blue quarry view trail.
Starting from the car park keep the visitor centre on your right continue along the tarmac path, up to a carved wooden picture and take the steps to the right. At the top of the steps turn left signed Solomon’s Temple. Continue along this path ignoring the paths that go off to the left. Along this path you will meet Charlie the Limeburner, a wooden sculpture.
At the end of the path go through the gate in the wall and head towards the temple which you can clearly see in the distance. Its a bit of an uneven climb to the temple with uneven ground and no clear path but just keep walking up hill till you reach Solomon's Temple, you cant get lost.
At Solomon's Temple
You can climb up the tower but the steps are quite small, steep and worn so please take care. Once at the top you can enjoy some spectacular views across the High Peak.
On a clear day you can see for 24 km (15 miles). On the horizon, look out for Mam Tor at Castleton, and Kinder Scout, which at 636m (2,088ft) - which is the highest point in Derbyshire and the Peak District.
Walking to a certain point, like this walk, is great for children as they can see where they are walking to for a lot of the walk and they get that sense of achievement when they reach the temple. Its fun to climb up the steps to the top and look down across the hill.
We chose to eat our picnic sat on some of the big rocks just by the temple. It was a lovely spot to sit, eat and rest after our climb.
For our return route we followed the green Nature trail with bird, animal and plant sculpture way markers. If you are stood at the door of Solomons Temple, look straight ahead and you will see a gap in the brick wall, near a bench. Head through here and walk down hill towards the trees. Once at the trees, go through a wooden gate which will have a green marker on. Head down the path on your left, going past a wooden acorn sculpture.
It is a simple and clean path to follow. You pass a number of wooden sculptures of animals which are fun for children to spot on the walk. In the trees you will also be able to spot people enjoying Go Ape and hear their squeals as they go down the ziplines. Then you are back at the car park and Poole's Caverns.
Poole's Cavern has a lovely cafe inside the visitors centre and there are toilets to use so a great place to visit after your walk.
If you would like to read all about our visit to Poole's Cavern Click here
History of Solomon's Temple
The tower itself was built in 1896 to replace an earlier structure constructed by Solomon Mycock a local farmer and landowner. Although not in the true spirit of a folly, that is having no practical purpose whatsoever, Solomon's Temple actually occupies a site of ancient significance. It rises from the centre of an ancient burial mound, and during the tower's construction an archaeological dig here revealed several Bronze Age skeletons from the 'Beaker' period, along with later Roman items.
Press Visit Aug 2024
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