The Buckingham Hotel Buxton. Three star accommodation in the peak district (Snow in June)

SNOW OR FRIED CALAMARI STOPPED PLAY

While it's true t'say that you're unlikely to resemble yer average pot-boiled lobster after a day out in Buxton, it's equally fair to mention that it won't be a case of March of the Penguins either.

What you've gotta understand is that Buxton's weather's absolutely fine n dandy...given its elevated location. Inevitably there is a unique microclimate typical of any place which ranges from 1,000 to 1,250 feet above sea-level. The mean annual temperature decreases by approximately 0.5 °C for each 333 feet increase In practice this means the mean annual temperature is 2/3 °C or so cooler than Central England. It is when we come to the Sunshine hours that the gap widens - which is strange as I always thought we were closer to the sun at this height. Many places along this south coast achieve annual average figures of around 1,750 hours of sunshine. The dullest parts of England are the mountainous areas, with annual average totals of less than 1,000 hours. The last 3 years annual sunshine averages for Buxton are 1,030 hrs (04), 1,114 (05) & 1,248 (06).

It is important to appreciate that Buxton itself is not windswept or lashed by gales despite its altitude as it nestles in a basin with a protecting fringe of hills to temper the east winds which do indeed blow across the surrounding moors.

The air of Buxton is remarkably dry and this is attributable to the hilly configuration and the rocky limestone subsoil, which allows water to run away quickly instead of accumulating, as happens in clay districts. The low percentage of suspended moisture means that the weather is rarely sticky or muggy. Furthermore the combination this low humidity, absence of smoke, and almost constant interchange with moorland breezes produces air of remarkable freshness and purity. Foggy days are rare though the moorlands may well be shrouded as you approach.

Snow or Fried Calamari?

"But I heard that snow in June in Buxton stopped play in a County Championship Cricket match"...yeah, but so did Fried Calamari, not in Buxton tho'!

Let's clear the Buxton scare story up first. In June 1975 Day 2 of the match 'twixt Derbyshire & Lancashire was indeed abandoned due to snow. But before you start packing your snowboards, 'tis best to understand that this sprinkling was down to a freak climatic hissy fit. To prove the point, here's a report of conditions from Weather Eye

ON THIS date 30 years ago, the weather delivered a shock, it snowed across a large part of Scotland and England.

Conditions had been miserably cold through much of May 1975, and when June arrived a northerly blast of Arctic air brought a biting frost across Scotland. Early on June 2 the thermometer at Gleneagles, Perthshire, sank to 3.3C (26F), a temperature more likely in the depths of winter than early summer. The cold air swept into England and snow fell as far south as East Anglia and London, with sleet reaching Portsmouth. Although the snow quickly melted in the South, it settled on the ground further north.

Famously, snow stopped play at a county cricket match between Derbyshire and Lancashire in Buxton, where snow reached an inch deep. Snow also delayed play between Essex and Kent at Colchester, accompanied by midday temperatures of 2C (36F), and John Arlott reported snow at a cricket match at Lord's.

The cold snap lasted a while, with snow lying on the ground for four days in parts of Scotland. But on June 6 the British weather lived up to its fickle reputation, when a heatwave sent temperatures soaring in northeast Scotland to 25C (77F).

A gloriously hot summer across Britain followed.

The break in play did little to help Derbyshire - after the snow thawed they suffered their 2nd largest margin of an innings defeat (inns & 348 runs); the Scorecard shows that a certain Clive Hubert Lloyd clearly felt at home in the conditions!

"But what of the Sautéed Squid?" I hear you ask, well...

The 1996 Wisden records that "fried calamari stopped play" during a South African domestic match at Paarl in February 1995. Perhaps you'd like to chance yer arm at guessing what happened:

A The fumes from a barbecue made the players feel ill
B The smoke restricted the batsmen's vision
C The ball landed in the frying pan and was unusable
D The fielding team left the field for a snack

Time's Up - C The ball landed in the frying pan and was unusable (Wisden says: "Daryll Cullinan hit a six into a frying pan ... it was about ten minutes before the ball was cool enough for the umpires to remove the grease. Even then, [the bowler] was unable to grip the ball and it had to be replaced").

To check up on the weather at Buxton right now, go to Buxton Weather or for a 5 day forecast visit BBC Weather