It recently won a big national award
Barton Grange Garden Centre has two cafe’s, with one offering scenic views of the River Brock(Image: Barton Grange Garden Centre)
A garden centre near Greater Manchester which has become known for its tearoom and farm shop has been given the title of one of the best in the country.
Located an hour’s drive away from Manchester, Barton Grange Garden Centre, situated in Preston, was recently named Garden Centre of Excellence for 2026 by the Garden Centre Association (GCA). The award recognises those displaying an ‘outstanding dedication to delivering excellence’.
Independently run by the Topping family for over 60 years, the centre, on Garstang Road in Brock, was taken over by the Blue Diamond Garden Centres group last year, who are also behind over 50 sites including centres in Cardiff, Birmingham and Guernsey.
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Ranked as one of the biggest garden centres in the UK, the Preston space – which also took the coveted Destination Garden Centre of the Year prize in 2025 – includes a 23-acre nursery, as well as an expansive selection of homeware, fashion, books, cookware and gifts available to purchase.
For those lured to a garden centre for its choice of food and drink, Barton Grange has two cafes for visitors. The Riverside Café, set amongst the beautiful surroundings of the River Brock, offers a choice of breakfast and lunch dishes, as well as a range of homemade cakes.
The garden centre is less than an hour’s drive away from Manchester(Image: Barton Grange Garden Centre)
The lunch menu, served 12-2.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm-3pm on Sunday, features a choice of Atlham’s Cumberland sausages in an onion gravy, a fish pie, a Mushroom, Feta and Spinach lasagne, as well as a Sunday Roast of beef or parsnip, mushroom, chickpea and cashew nut loaf served with seasonal vegetables, a Yorkshire pudding and gravy.
Meanwhile, The Willows restaurant, which is open from 9am to 4pm throughout the week and 10am to 4pm on Sundays, is also available for breakfasts, lunches and cakes. It also serves an Afternoon Tea, at £20 per person, which features an unlimited amount of tea and coffee, as well as a selection of freshly-made cakes, scones, sandwiches and soup.
The garden centre was named one of the Garden Centre of Excellence for 2026(Image: Barton Grange Garden Centre)
The garden centre also has a well-stocked farm shop, which includes a popular cheese counter, featuring the likes of Garstang Blue and Lancashire, as well as freshly-baked cakes, breads, pastries and desserts made by local suppliers. There is also a choice of deli goods, spirits, wines, sweets and ice cream, as well as a counter from the family-owned and local Honeywell’s Butchery, as well as selections of award-winning deli goods, spirits, wines, sweets and ice cream.
Barton Grange also has its own pottery studio, The Potting Shed Studio, which allows visitors to create their own masterpieces during one-hour sessions five times a week and can host up to six people at a time.
It is considered to be one of the biggest garden centres in the UK(Image: Barton Grange Garden Centre)
The centre also hosts a regular and varied calendar of events, with the likes of BBQ grilling courses, wet felting, and 3D floral embellishment workshops coming up over the next couple of weeks.
On select weekends between May and October, the Lancashire Hawks and Owls organisation, which rescues and looks after birds of prey which cannot be returned to the wild, will host chances for people to meet the people and birds behind the organisation.
Barton Grange Garden Centre is on Garstang Rd, Brock, Preston PR3 0BT
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