Stapeley Water Gardens

J16 of the M6. If you are going past, it is well worth a visit. Something for all the family, It is free and if the water gardens are open it is an added bonus. There are plenty of inspirational ideas to help ypu sort your garden out.

a good shopping experience if you are into your gardeing. Also a very good place for getting gifts. The pet section is also very good, especially for cat and dog beds as they have some that you dont often see at pet shops, even though they are a little more expensive.


The fish section is very good and the fish staff are very knowledgable helping with compatability, and also being hapy to help with any health concerns you may have with fish you have already bought.


The garden section is very good, both inside and outside, and if its dry wandering down to the lake is a lovely experience, again to see the fish in the water, but also to the plants and treescertainly gives you inspirtaion for your own garden, if not a a little too grand!


Good for people of all ages

Went to Stapeley Water Gardens. Found a building site instead.

Easy to find following the brown signs, Stapeley is near to Nantwich town centre, if you were feling energetic you could walk one from the other in under 30 minutes and both are worth visiting. On the same site is The Palms Tropical Oasis so don't be confused into thinking Stapeley Water Gardens and The Palms Tropical Oasis the same venue. You have to pay to get into the Palms £4.95 for adults, £2.95 for children. This review is for Stapeley Water Gardens only, which are free to enter.


There's a very large carpark, finding a space is never a problem even in the peak summer season. I think is due to the popularity of nearby Bridgemere Garden Centre which gets very full, and even on early Mnday off season mornings has more cars than Stapeleys peak days. It's worth visiting both and making your own mind up.


Inside there's camping equipment and clothing, then through to indoor plants, plantpots, garden accessories and gifts, wildlife care and seasonal bulb sales. Up a ramp to the left is a little area let out to independent shops, at the moment it's lawnmowers and tents. To the right you'll find gifts for the home, books, world music and gift stationary. Fish sales are at the far back of the indoor centre, which is interesting to walk around and kids love it, and near here is the popular pet area selling rabbits, guinea pigs, quails and hamsters and their accessories.


The staff are helpful and friendly, but in terms of gardening are not very knowledgable in my experience. I do love gardening, and have bought many plants from lots of outlets, but find my self dissapointed by Stapeleys quality- more often than not the plants die of disease and so I've stopped buying them from there. The pricing on the plants is in line with any garden centre in the area. The price of home and giftware is slightly higher, good quality by and large though. I've seen some of the items on sale for £2-3 in pound shops, you do pay a premium fo the setting. The sales are very good, often 50-75% off and worth visiting.


The cafe is inside centrally, bright and open, I've found the quality of food to be on the poor side and the servings small compared to pricing of similar outlets in the area, but the service is very good and friendly. If you need lunch out, try the town centre instead.


The actual water gardens from which Stapeley gets it's name, are small and sparse, situated at the back of the garden centres land. There's lawned paths which you can walk on with natural shaped pools of water, mostly containing fish and plants you can buy in the centre itself. It's a dissapointment for gardeners and pond lovers really, you're far better visiting historic houses for more naturalistic displays, and the flower shows for modern ponds.

We had a lovely day out at Stapeley Water Gardens the last time we visited. There are plenty of fish, reptiles and other various animals scattered about to keep the kids amused, whilst the gardens are nice for the adults to have a wander about in and a quiet sit down. The cafe does decent food, and the entrance price isn't too bad either really. Definitely make sure to pay a visit to the meerkats, as they're certainly the highlight of any trip to Stapely, especially when the babies are about!