Notcutts Rivendell Garden Centre
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Click the picture to enlarge it.
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| We visited Rivendell in late October time when they had their full
interior displays for Christmas. This is a large garden centre with extensive indoor
and outdoor sales areas so we were looking forward to reviewing it. |
This is a totally independent GardenAction review of
Notcutts Rivendell Garden Centre in the Widnes area. Click any
picture to enlarge it.
PLANTS AREA
| The outdoor plants area is mainly open to the elements with only a small
area under cover. Some thought has gone into the design of the area to make it
appealing. Few straight paths and a few island displays make it more interesting
compared to many other garden centres.
Specific plants are easy to find with large and informative overhead signs. |
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There was a good selection of plants on offer here although not the 3,000
claimed on the Notcutts website. You are unlikely to be disappointed with the
varieties available. What you will be disappointed with however, is the quality of
some of the plants. The seasonal plants were in excellent condition but many of the
other plants were sharing their pots with an inordinate amount of weeds. Whilst the
picture on the left (click to enlarge) is one of the worst examples, some others
were similar. |
It's simply not acceptable to sell plants in a garden centre in pots containing a hundred
or so weeds. The quality of the hardy plants is not up the standards of most other garden
centres. We noted one row of plants which were dead.
INDOOR SALES AREA
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With Christmas being only 7 weeks away at the time of our visit, the indoor
sales area was understandably biased towards Christmas gifts and decorations. The
range on offer was extensive although the displays were rather boringly arranged.
One of the better ones is shown left.
A full range of gardening accessories is available at all times of year and the
average gardener will find what they want at the Rivendell Garden Centre. |
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CAFE
| The range of food on offer was good. Five main meals were available for
around £6 to £7. They also served paninis at £5, baked potatoes at £4.25 and salads at
£7. The food is on display at the counter which is good.
We sampled the scampi and chips and wished we hadn't! The scampi was dangerously luke-warm,
not a good sign especially for a fish dish. Bizarrely, while we were being served the
assistant was checking the temperature of some of the hot meals. |
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The interior is furnished with cheap-looking laminated furniture and the
unattractive metal ceiling beams were uncovered. Having said that, the whole area was clean
and the staff were pleasant. There were no queues at the time of our visit to the cafe at
the Rivendell Garden centre.
PET CENTRE
The company website claims that Rivendell's have an extensive pet centre. At the time of
our visit we saw none.
AQUATICS
There was a large aquatics centre stocking a large range of healthy looking fish. It also
has an excellent range of fish feeds and aquatics accessories.
GARDEN SHEDS / GREENHOUSES
A franchise is on site selling a good range of garden sheds and a fair range of greenhouses.
WATER FEATURES
There was a reasonable range of water features for sale.
HOUSE PLANTS
When we visited we saw no house plants for sale. This may well have been because the
Christmas displays had taken their place.
SPECIALITIES
None
TOILETS
Well past their sell by date but clean and functional. As well as ladies gents there were
toilets for the disabled as well as baby changing facilities.
CAR PARKING
The car park was flat and well drained with lots of spaces.
DIRECTIONS AND CONTACT
The address is:
Notcutts Rivendell Garden Centre,
Mill Lane,
Widnes,
Cheshire WA8 3UL Tel: 0151 423 2638
Email: info@rivendellgc.co.uk
Website:
http://www.notcutts.co.uk/rivendell/ A map can be found
HERE
Our sat nav
DISABLED ACCESS
There is good disabled access around the garden centre both inside and out. The paths
were wide and flat with no significant obstructions. Wheelchairs, availble at the entrance,
were free.
OPENING HOURS
Monday - Friday 9am to 5.30pm
Saturday 9am to 6pm
Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm
SUMMARY
A well-arranged plants area but let down by the quality of the plants. The indoor sales
area is extensive and unlikely to disappoint.
STAR RATINGS
The lowest rating is 1 star, the highest rating is 5 stars.
| AREA RATED |
STAR RATING |
| Plants |
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| Indoor sales |
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| Cafe |
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| Overall rating |
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