History
The Discover Buxton Team has had many adventures over the years. See some highlights below.
Where it all began – The ‘Wonder of the Peak’ Tram
In 2012, Discover Buxton (Nick & Netta Christie) purchased an Electricar from local man, Keith Wood. The tram was officially launched on 2nd March 2013 with a naming ceremony and official blessing from the local vicar. The milk float, adorned with period style advertising, took its passengers on a stress-busting, slow-paced, guided tour of Buxton in the Peak District. Licenced as a hackney cab, it only carried 8 passengers at a time so each tour was different, impacted by those on board.
It soon became an icon of Buxton’s landscape, featuring in many pieces of art and photographs, and a must-do for any visitor, receiving 5-star reviews on Trip Advisor.
The tram offered guided tours of the town most days between April and September with special events at Christmas. It also had the honour of transporting many a bride and groom on their wedding day, local young people to their proms or giving private tours on special birthdays and anniversaries. It even did a lap around the town playing ‘We are the Champions’ when local school footballers won a prestigious title.
To the children of St Anne’s, Burbage and Harpur Hill primary schools, it was the naughty little red bus which took them on a short journey around their area of the town. It had the honour of helping to lead out the Buxton Carnival parade, had its own LEGO competition with Brick Corner in 2022 and, over the years, hosted morris dancers, moustachioed men, Fringe performers, celebrities and Santa.
Due to ongoing and costly maintenance issues, which meant it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it reliably on the road and able to offer a consistent service to our customers, we made, with a heavy heart, the difficult decision to send it on to pastures new in July 2023.
There is no doubt that it will be missed but, on a positive note, motorists, who were stuck behind it as it made its very slow journey up Terrace Road and Manchester Road, will once more have the roads freed from a 4 mph milk float with a heavy load.
Thousands of visitors and locals came aboard to have the fascinating stories of the town’s history brought to life by our knowledgeable and enthusiastic drivers.
We thank all those who helped us with it over the years: particularly Keith Wood who built and maintained it; Roy Mycock and family and Duke’s Drive Farm Shop who homed it for 10 of the 11 years; Claire at King Sterndale Riding School and Peter and Branwen Smith for homing it for the last; the Pavilion Gardens for hosting the tram stop, first at the conservatory and latterly on the promenade; the Devonshire Dome and St Anne’s Church for letting its tours through their doors; to all our advertisers; Kev at DS West Recovery who picked it up regularly from various parts of the town; and, of course, our wonderful tram drivers – Nick Christie, Fred Rolland, Michael Clement, Mike Carter, Steve Philips, Chris Smith, Keith Savage and, latterly, Phil Cobham (and almost Steve Rawnsley – sorry about that Steve).
On 20 July 2023, it headed to the South of England where, after some major surgery, it will be able to lead a healthy life and, after a period of convalescence, explore its options: it may retire with a wealthy gentleman on a private estate or embark on a film career.