Often hailed a “hidden gem”, this garden centre is tucked away out of sight but serves up everything from afternoon tea and cheese and onion pies, to Sunday roasts with all the trimmings
07:26, 09 May 2026
The roast dinner comes with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, mash, a meat of choice and is topped with a large Yorkshire pudding (Image: MEN)
On a sunny spring afternoon there’s nothing better than taking a trip out in the car and stopping off at a picturesque spot. Whether you park up just to admire the views or close to somewhere where you can have a stroll and bite to eat, there’s something about a spring day out that helps you dust off the cobwebs.
One such place combining all these aspects is Lymefield Garden Centre in the village of Broadbottom. Located in Tameside, it’s not far from the border with Stockport, and lies close to the River Etherow, which separates Tameside from Derbyshire.
This family-run garden centre boasts a farm shop and tearoom where they sell local and farm shop products and serve breakfast, daily specials and afternoon tea. Often hailed a “hidden gem”, its tearoom features stunning views of the fields beyond, where, at this time of year, young lambs gingerly roam about and the daffodils begin to bloom.
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The gorgeous spot has been trading for almost 30 years, starting as a garden centre at the former dairy farm. Recognised for excellence in the Countryside Alliance Awards, brothers Robert and David Pryce decided to diversify the offer starting with a “couple of polytunnels” on their land and later adding the small tearoom.
Lymefield Garden Centre, Farm Shop and Tea Room(Image: MEN)
It continued to grow, with a purpose-built extension added to house the farm shop and a larger tearoom with outdoor terraces. Despite its growth though, it retained its charming, countryside feel and also boasts nurseries full of seasonal plants, compost, paving and even Lymefield turf – the latter is grown directly on the Lymefield farm.
Over the years they’ve worked carefully to supply trees and plants that suit the climate in the North West. Whether this is summer bedding, perennials, or fruit trees they make them available throughout the year so you can stop off come rain or shine.
There’s a lot to like about Lymefield. Its carefully curated and well-stocked farm shop – which boasts a variety of cheeses, charcuterie meats, seasonal fruit and vegetables, artisan bread and ‘every cut of meat’ from its locally produced butcher’s counter – is great for stocking up on special treats, delicacies, and gifts.
Lymefield Garden Centre, Farm Shop and Tea Room sells a range of seasonal plants, summer bedding, perennials, or fruit trees(Image: MEN)
That said, my interest lies in the tearoom with its gorgeous views. Open seven days a week, it’s been praised for its freshly baked cheese and onions pies as well as its strong selection of cakes and bakes – we’re talking classics like carrot cake and fruit scones, alongside cherry and almond slices, blueberry and apple pie and banoffee cake, to name just a few from their counter.
As you might expect with such a strong selection, they also serve an afternoon tea, which can be enjoyed from the terrace looking out onto the farm and down toward the river and rolling countryside. Their chefs use ingredients from their own butchers, deli and farm shop and all the meat used is from their butchery department. Many also flock for the breakfast, which is served until 11:30am and includes a hefty Full English as well as lighter options, breakfast wraps, pancakes and children’s options.
The garden centre boasts stunning views over Tameside (Image: MEN)
Heading there not long before closing on a Sunday afternoon I’d scanned the main menu, which offers classics like their Lymefield Platter with a selection of meats and cheeses from their deli counter, as well as the aforementioned cheese and onion pie and the classic soup and sandwich combo. But what really piqued my interest was the Sunday roast.
I’ve got a slight penchant for garden centre roasts. It might be the novelty of it, or perhaps it’s that it tastes like proper home cooking, but there’s something quite unique about it.
I’m all for the posh, gastro pub-style setup, but sometimes you just need something a little more down-to-earth. During my visit, the roast options offered were ham, rib of beef and nut roast. Priced at (£15.95) for adults and (£9.95) for under 14s I didn’t find that price too offensive, especially given that some city centre options are closer to the £25 mark.
Lymefield Garden Centre, Farm Shop and tearooms in the pretty village of Broadbottom in Tameside(Image: MEN)
Of course those prices are dictated by external pressures on hospitality and the increasing costs of running a business, from ingredient price rises to higher wage bills, but £16 for a roast dinner in this climate is pretty decent. Speaking my gluttonous language, it came with two types of potato – creamy mash and roast potatoes alongside seasonal vegetables and thick homemade gravy.
Going all out we ordered a side of pigs in blankets and a cauliflower cheese for £3.45 a pop each. Intended to serve two each, we managed to stretch it so all four of us tried the sides – the mammoth pigs in blanket chopped up among us and devoured without taking breath.
The roast dinner comes with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, mash, a meat of choice and is topped with a large Yorkshire pudding (Image: MEN)
It’s not my first choice usually but something about the ham was calling out to me. Two thick cuts of ham were positioned carefully above a hidden canopy of greens and sea of deliciously indulgent gravy. Like a game of Jenga I began by trying to carefully dissemble the roast, though when the Yorkshire pudding almost found the floor beneath me, I quickly gave up and just got stuck in.
The meat was a lot more flavoursome than expected, a moreish saltiness that made me want to make sure every forkful included it. The broccoli and carrots were cooked al dente, which I’d always take over mush, but maybe a pinch more seasoning wouldn’t have gone amiss. The mash was a delight while the roast potatoes reminded me of how my gran used to make them for us – in the best possible way.
The pigs in blankets and cauliflower cheese at Lymefield Garden Centre (Image: MEN)
Those hefty sides meanwhile were worth the extra splurge. The sausages looking like they were about to free themselves from their snug bacon coat were juicy, flavourful and the perfect addition to our plates.
No matter what anyone tells you, cauliflower drenched in copious amount of hot cheese is always a good idea. If the vegetable itself is almost unreachable from the cheese matter, then all the better. Lymefield’s portion was testament to this belief of mine and rounded off one of the best garden centre roasts I’ve had in a long while.
Lymefield Garden Centre is located at: Lymefield, Broadbottom, Hyde SK14 6AG.
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