Buxton Festival

For two weeks during July Buxton Festival takes over the town and the hills ring to the sound of opera, jazz, rock, pop and orchestral classics.

In the soft summer warmth, amidst pavement cafés and street theatre, the festive holiday atmosphere permeates Buxton and becomes almost tangible. Sunglasses, lotions and ice cream or beers on the slopes are the order of the day for many people, whilst for others it's dressing up to be seen, donning the finery and going to the opera or concert.

Whatever your taste, Buxton Festival offers something for everyone. 36,000 visitors in 2006 would agree that with two other major festivals during the year, Buxton is fast establishing itself as the festival capital of England.

The location is perfect; Buxton, in the heart of the Peak District, is cupped in a bowl surrounded by hills that provide glorious vistas and beautiful country walks – or drives. The town satisfies the need for society and shopping, whilst the great outdoors on the doorstep offers an escape route into nature.

Since 1979 the Buxton Festival has been an annual extravaganza of music, literature, opera, ballet and much more, including talks and tours of the town – even, if you fancy a few late night festival frolics, a Ghost Walk.

The Buxton Festival specialises in producing rarely performed operas that can't be seen elsewhere. Everything from baroque to contemporary, all performed in English, the Festival has been home to many premiers of little-known works of musical art, with operas past including Handel's Hercules and Mozart's Ascanio in Alba.

The literary series, introduced to the Buxton Festival in 2000, presents talks from some of the most respected writers in their fields, taking in biography writers, fiction, politics and personal memoirs. Previous speakers have included Fay Weldon, Germaine Greer, Melvyn Bragg, Rosamunde Pilcher, Gore Vidal and Michael Palin to name but a few.

Centred around the Buxton Opera House where many of the events are hosted, the festival reaches out across the town to encompass local churches, pubs, clubs, hotels and the University of Derby in the Devonshire Dome. It runs concurrently with the Buxton Fringe Festival which organises and produces amateur dramatics, street theatre and performances as well as open-air bands and concerts.

For two weeks in July Buxton Festival throws open the doors to both culture and cavorting, where sophistication and street cred mingle effortlessly in a festive celebration of the arts.

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