Report - WILLOWPOOL GARDEN CENTRE -lymm jan 16

[scotty markfour]

HISTORY- also known as "wilowpool garden centre and baron antiques " , the site is aprox 4 acres in size and houses a variety of greenhouse type structures , brick building , various wooden constructions and a selection of little sheds .
for many years people from cheshire raved about this place , saying what a great day out it was seeing all the varied and strange items for sale , the excellent food ,the quirky atmosphere of the place and the friendly staff . sheds were packed with assortments of goods like old fashion bicycles , ploughs, baths , lamps , statues and a variety of other stuff that would look good stuck in a typical cheshire middle class garden ....lol
it is rumoured that the place was slowly wound down by the new owners so it could be sold onto a housing developer ! this sounds familiar to a lot of sites us explorers visit !
a story also appeared in the WARRINGTON GUARDIAN ., the co - owner attacked his business partner during a psychotic episode , the 66 year old attacked his business partner and choked him before attempting to topple a statue on top of him !.... he also took the manageress against her will on a speedy car ride for 10 minutes round the country lanes which caused her much stress and anxiety ! because of his age the courts decided not to put him in prison , his mood swings are now controlled by medication and a restraining order has been put into place !
the garden centre ceased trading in july 2013 , people were still turning up to visit the place only to be greeted by padlocked gates.
THE EXPLORE- we found the place with no hassle at all , it even had the old rusty sign post outside (minus actual sign), with a quick check of the perimeter we soon gained access !
my fellow 28dl explorer @Cazel#HT knew the place from its magical heyday when she had spent many happy carefree hours there with her family , her happy memories helped me a lot to visualise the place in its prime , even though there is a large house next door to the property ! we enjoyed a couple of hours mooching about with our cameras with no attention from anybody ! there are loads of little places to stick your nose into !... there was also the managers house which had a bog n shower in pristine condition !!! if you are knocking about at other derps in the vicinity ?? then stick this place on your list too !!!
THE PHOTOS - as usual i took the pictures using a 10-18mm wide angle lens to give you the viewer an idea of the layout n scale of the place ....i leave it to @Cazel#HT to do the ARTY FARTY pics !.....enjoy the pics

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[tigger]

Nice. Drove past there this afternoon. Never really a 'garden centre' it was really a reclamation yard (there was a garden centre years ago just up the road (and across the opposite side were the greenhouses and growing area). Willow Pool was run by a Dutch chap for years...and yes, the food was pretty good until the place got too popular.

Good to see it again even if there isn't a six foot high seated budha any more.

 

[coolboyslim]

Something a little different and it's actually quite interesting. Thanks for the report and pics matey

 

[WildBoyz]

I wasn't expecting that, nice report

 

[scotty markfour]

Nice. Drove past there this afternoon. Never really a 'garden centre' it was really a reclamation yard (there was a garden centre years ago just up the road (and across the opposite side were the greenhouses and growing area). Willow Pool was run by a Dutch chap for years...and yes, the food was pretty good until the place got too popular.

Good to see it again even if there isn't a six foot high seated budha any more.

just gave the site its official name @tigger

 

[scotty markfour]

Something a little different and it's actually quite interesting. Thanks for the report and pics matey

just glad our efforts are appreciated @Coolboyslim

 

[Colliewobbles]

We used to go to Willowpool Reclamation yard many times, always seemed to full and a fantastic place to go in its hey day, i have lots of pictures of Willowpool at its best and the cafe although very expensive was fantastic, and then all the animals on the pond, so sad to see it in such a state now.

 

[tigger]

It's actually fairly tidy now. Went past a couple of weeks ago and it's being levelled

 

[scotty markfour]

It's actually fairly tidy now. Went past a couple of weeks ago and it's being levelled

thanks for that feedback @tigger , they will probably build posh houses there now

 

[Moose1]

So sad to see the former garden center in such a derelict state
I have happy memories of working here
Such charm and character

 

[tigger]

So sad to see the former garden center in such a derelict state
I have happy memories of working here
Such charm and character

Charmless overpriced hutches now. No more fairground ride enclosures in which to eat the wonderful hutspot or omelletes.

 

[Moose1]

Charmless overpriced hutches now. No more fairground ride enclosures in which to eat the wonderful hutspot or omelletes.

My daughter's worked in the tea rooms while I was garden center sales and maintenance assistant...lunch times by the duck pond ....and hours in the green tunnels putting garden furniture together ...happy days.
it was Sonny's (Mr brundsfeld) dream place he addorded it ..so sad