The Year I Turn 40

Grin Low & Countess Cliff Circular

Starting the Walk – Grin Low Woods

I parked at the Poole’s Cavern car park and started the walk from there, heading straight up into Grin Low Woods. I didn’t visit Poole’s Cavern itself this time — it was just a convenient place to start the walk — but the woodland paths above it make a really nice start to the route.

The path climbs steadily through the woods, with sunlight coming through the trees and occasional glimpses back towards Buxton as you gain height. It’s a gentle start, but you’re always gradually climbing.

As the path leaves the woods, the hill opens out and Solomon’s Temple comes into view sitting on the summit of Grin Low. From a distance it looks small, but as you walk towards it across the grassy hillside it starts to feel like a proper hilltop landmark.

Climbing Grin Low

The ground here is typical White Peak limestone landscape — grassy mounds, uneven ground, and wide open views in every direction.

Solomon’s Temple and the Views

Solomon’s Temple sits on the summit of Grin Low overlooking Buxton and the surrounding Peak District hills. From the top there are full 360° views across the Peak District.

It was an incredibly clear day, and from the summit I could clearly see Mam Tor, Parkhouse Hill, Chrome Hill and The Roaches in the distance, which really shows how good the visibility was that day.

I spent quite a bit of time up here just walking around the summit, climbing the tower, taking photos and trying to pick out hills I’d already walked and hills I wanted to walk later in the year.

Lunch On The Hill

I stopped for lunch on the hill — probably earlier than planned — and had a bagel and a boiled egg while sitting in the sun looking out across the hills.

That’s one of the things I’ve started to really enjoy about these walks. Not rushing. Just stopping when you feel like it, sitting somewhere with a good view, and taking a bit of time.

The Long Way Round Grin Low

Instead of heading straight back down through the woods, I took the longer circular route around the south side of Grin Low. This part of the walk lasted about an hour and was still stunning the whole way.

The route followed farm tracks, stone wall paths, open fields and quiet footpaths. At times I could see the road from Flash on one side and open countryside stretching out in the distance on the other.

It felt surprisingly quiet and remote considering how close it is to Buxton

Countess Cliff

One of the most interesting parts of the walk was stumbling across Countess Cliff. From a distance it looked almost like snow or ice on the hillside, but when I walked down to have a closer look I realised it was a mineral formation.

The water here is rich in minerals and leaves deposits as it flows over the rock, creating white limestone terraces, shallow pools and small waterfalls. The rock looks almost like marble with water running over it, and there are little streams and pools forming all the way down the slope.

It’s a really unusual landscape and not something you expect to find in the middle of farmland on a circular walk around Buxton.

Walk Summary

Solomon’s Temple – Grin Low Circular Walk (Buxton)

• Distance: 5.1 miles
• Time: 2h 58
• Ascent: 737 ft
• Start/Finish: Poole’s Cavern car park
• Route: Grin Low Woods → Solomon’s Temple → Countess Cliff → Stanley Moor → Ladmanlow → return via Grin Low

This is a really good half-day walk with a bit of everything — woodland paths, hilltop views, limestone countryside, unusual geology and quiet footpaths

The Year I Turn 40

This wasn’t a big mountain walk or a long day hike, but that’s not really the point of this year.

Some of these walks are big days, some are small days, some are planned routes and some are just a few hours wandering somewhere new.

The point is just to go.

To see more places, walk more hills, spend more time outside, and do more things that feel like time well spent.

This was one of those days.