Buxton Calling #19 | June 2017
Walking Through Time
The Peak District National Park, bounded by 16 million people within an hour of its perimeter, was the first National Park in the UK and provides what has been described as the ‘green lung’ to the major cities that surround it.
This month on Buxton Calling, we put on our walking boots and celebrate the launch of the new Peak District Boundary Walk, a hundred and ninety mile-long trek set to rival such established endurance walks such as the Pennine Way and the Coast-to-Coast. Julie Gough from Friends of the Peak takes us through some of its history and highlights.
With a difference of only one letter, the words ‘protect’ and ‘protest’ combine in the telling both of national and local stories of the pioneers of conservation. The Buxton Civic Association recently celebrated it’s 50th anniversary and we talk to founding member, Olive Middleton, and play Pooh Sticks in the beautiful Gadley Woods with current director, Allison Phillips.
Breaking through other boundaries, those of accepted convention, Ethel Haythornthwaite battled bereavement and depression during the war to champion our rights to walk unhindered through the National Park that she and her husband Gerald helped to create. We were kindly joined on the tram by Jean Smart who worked for decades with the Haythornthwaites and reminds us of their tireless commitment and campaigning.
Books, ‘The Peak District Bounday Walk’ by Andrew McCloy and ’50 Years of the Buxton Civic Association’ by Olive Middleton and Trevor Donald, are available from Buxton Visitor Centre and selected bookshops.
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