The Roseleigh

Overlooking the Joseph Paxton-designed Pavilion Gardens in the heart of Buxton, this family-run guest house with its comfortably traditional rooms is much loved by Guide regulars, who ‘strongly endorse the excellent B&B’. Maggi and Gerard Heelan’s Victorian home is both richly and colourfully furnished. Public rooms have polished-wood tables, chesterfield sofas, pelmeted curtains, and Victorian prints and curios. Bedrooms are similarly traditional, with patterned carpets and curtains, wing armchairs and fuss-free bathrooms. The best ones are at the front, with views over the tree-fringed lake; there is one single room with a separate private bathroom. Breakfast is a pleasant affair – go down early to bag a window table – with home-made banana loaf and ‘summer pudding’ (layers of fruit and yogurt) plus cooked-to-order choices including scrambled egg and smoked salmon, a full grill, and a vegetarian option. The owners, who were both tour guides, have excellent local knowledge on everything from Buxton’s Opera House, a short stroll away, to longer Peak District walks. (S and PG)