Easter is the perfect time to see the place in all its glory
One of the Easter displays at Birkacre Garden Centre (Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Spring is finally here which means a trip to a garden centre might be on the cards for many households.
We have some lovely garden centres in Manchester that are most definitely worth a visit, but equally there are some great ones just a short drive away.
One of them is Birkacre Garden Centre in Chorley and it was there I paid a visit on a rather sunny midweek afternoon in March.
The place is fully decked out for Easter with cute rabbit decorations and themed decor at every turn.
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Birkacre Garden Centre in Chorley (Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
The prices are quite reasonable compared to some garden centres you come across and there are all kinds of products in store, from cute little pastel coloured lanterns and plant pots, to wicker rabbits, photo frames, cushions and so much more.
Arranging to meet my mum and sister there, our first stop was the garden centre’s restaurant and they’d already found a table by the time I arrived.
It’s a light and airy space and there’s plenty to choose from on the menu, whether you’re after a lighter bite like a panini or quiche, or something more substantial such as fish and chips, a burger or a pie.
The restaurant inside Birkacre(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
We sampled the paninis – a tuna melt and halloumi with roasted red peppers and chilli jam – which are priced £13.95 and come with salad, homemade coleslaw and chips. Also a jacket potato, £10.50, which was piled high with tuna mayonnaise and cucumber.
It was the cakes that really stole the show though and it’s hard to choose from the selection laid out in the display cabinet.
We got there in the end, opting for a scone with jam and cream, £4.65, along with the millionaires chocolate tart, £5.25, and the delicious rainbow cake, which was a bargain at £3.95.
Jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise and cucumber(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Others on the menu included cappuccino cake, a Malteser slice, chocolate brownie, flapjack, lemon drizzle and more.
Fuelled up we were ready to browse the store, which has so much to offer, including a quirky Wonky Willy’s Top Shop with its own elaborate window displays and character outside.
It’s expanded over recent years and now has its own food hall too with a butchers and deli selling fresh meat and pies and stocking all sorts of products from gift tins of tea, coffee and biscuits, to sweets, Easter chocolate sets and even an eco-friendly refill station for things like pasta, lentils, beans and cereals.
The rainbow cake(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
There’s also a frozen food section featuring dishes from award-winning meal and pudding provider Cook, which prides itself on cooking with fresh ingredients and not ultra-processed. Think lamb casserole, shepherd’s pie, beef stroganoff and the like.
Of course you can’t come to a garden centre and not look at the plants and once outside we discovered row upon row of plants and flowers.
It sells the bigger stuff too, like garden furniture and dining sets and I think there’s pretty much a plant pot of every size and colour.
There’s now a food hall with a butchers and deli(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
I’m not sure what was more colourful, the garden centre itself or that rainbow cake. Either way it’s worth the ride out from Manchester this spring.
Do you have a favourite garden centre you like to visit? Let us know in the comments here.
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