{"id":541839,"date":"2025-11-01T10:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T10:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/541839\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T10:30:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T10:30:29","slug":"garden-centre-with-sun-trap-cafe-is-great-for-a-family-day-out-in-liverpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/541839\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden centre with sun trap caf\u00e9 is great for a family day out in Liverpool"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There was an enormous food hall and caf\u00e9, Christmas displays and even a kids play area<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_unnamed-2025-10-29T170729916.jpg\" alt=\"The garden centre in Speke \" loading=\"eager\"  \/>The garden centre in Speke (Image: Ray Bonsall\/Liverpool ECHO )<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">If you&#8217;re looking for a cheap<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/whats-on\/family-kids-news\/things-liverpool-kids-halloween-october-32751550\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\" day out that can please all members of the familyLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> day out that can please all members of the family<\/a> from kids to grandparents, a garden centre can be a surprisingly good option. More than just a place for the green-thumbed, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/whats-on\/whats-on-news\/huge-garden-centre-near-merseyside-32754574.amp\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"a good garden centreLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">a good garden centre<\/a> can be a way to easily spend a few pleasant hours browsing floral displays and sipping tea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">I visited one in Merseyside recently that takes the idea of a garden centre day out even further with an enormous <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/whats-on\/shopping\/went-home-bargains-cafe-best-32280181\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"food hall and caf\u00e9,Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">food hall and caf\u00e9,<\/a> Christmas displays and even a kids play area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Stepping into the store I was immediately greeted with Christmas trees and the festive fun didn&#8217;t stop there with huge Halloween displays and a Christmas selfie display.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_unnamed-2025-10-29T170749592.jpg\" alt=\"Festive display at Dobbies \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>There were loads of gifts, decorations and festive displays (Image: Ray Bonsall\/Liverpool ECHO )<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Clearly a kid friendly space, there were plenty of fun things to be found throughout the store too (even as an adult) and I spent a long time looking at the collection of fish in tanks and stopped again at a mesmerising Christmas scene display with moving parts including a tiny Ferris Wheel that span round.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Having expected just flowers and gardening goods, there was a lot more on offer including clothing with outdoor brands like <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/whats-on\/shopping\/regatta-reduces-changing-robe-thats-32737290\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Regatta Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Regatta <\/a>as well as everyday wear &#8211; plus kids toys, games, books and Christmas decorations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">There was even a food shop selling Waitrose items and other household goods plus small electricals like kettles and toasters.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_unnamed-2025-10-29T171202174.jpg\" alt=\"Plants in the outdoor section of Dobbies\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Plants in the outdoor section of Dobbies(Image: Ray Bonsall\/Liverpool ECHO )<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Heading toward the outdoor section I found myself walking through a huge food hall and caf\u00e9 offering hot drinks, mouth-watering cakes and lunch options like cheese baguettes, soups and jacket potatoes. There were kids meals available too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The seating area itself was enormous and round the corner from the tills it opened out into a large canteen style space where glass walls let the afternoon sun flood in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">For slightly warmer days there is the option to sit outside too.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_unnamed-2025-10-29T171016517.jpg\" alt=\"Part of the huge caf\u00e9 seating area in the 2pm sunshine \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Part of the huge caf\u00e9 seating area in the 2pm sunshine (Image: Ray Bonsall\/Liverpool ECHO)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">If you&#8217;re with kids, there was a children&#8217;s play area and Dobbies also has a children&#8217;s club available called <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dobbies.com\/little-seedlings\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Little Seedlings.Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Little Seedlings.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Children must be supervised at all times in the play area but it does mean that families visiting can allow one person to supervise while another goes to shop for lawnmowers, soil, trellis and flowers or just takes an hour to enjoy a slice of cake and a mooch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was an enormous food hall and caf\u00e9, Christmas displays and even a kids play areaThe garden centre&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,246,11159,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-541839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-shopping","13":"tag-speke","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115473982248456626","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}