Mothers Day Surprise!…read more We wanted to take the Mothers somewhere nice and out of town and had seen The Garden Kitchen had been visited by a number of our friends and family on Facebook, all giving great reviews and I can see why! We arrived for final service at 6pm and as you can imagine it was very busy on Mothers Day. The maître d' came straight over to us to let us know how long it would be until we were seated and continuously gave us progress updates. Whilst waiting we perused the small shop of local produce, had a drink and soaked up our surroundings. The Tea Room is a new addition to Holden Clough Nursery being built in the last few years, but looks like it should have always been there! It is beautiful and sympathetically designed to its surroundings. So, the food....WOW! I'd seen pictures but when our Afternoon Tea arrived on a mini picnic bench I felt like clapping!! (In fact, I think I did!!) Such a great idea and adds a little bit of originality and quirkiness to your experience. Everything on my picnic bench was delicious. The Mushroom soup was silky, creamy and full of flavour. The mini Roast Beef Dinner served in an individual yorkshire pudding was beautiful and of course came with a little jug of gravy and beef was tender and pink. The scone was fresh and light with jam that had just the right sweetness and fruit mix. My other main highlight was the Rocky Road, I'm not usually a fan because its too rich and sweet but O-M-G this was amazing. I still find myself thinking about it now two days on. The chocolate melts in your mouth to find small nuggets of biscuit and mini marshmallows.....all washed down with a great cup of coffee. John & Kate who own and run The Garden Kitchen have done a fanstastic job transforming Holden Clough Nursery over the last few years. The service, quality of food and surroundings are 10/10. We will be coming back during the day to visit the nursery (and no doubt the Garden Kitchen too). Thank you for a fantastic evening...and the Mums loved it!! : )

I seen this place on facebook so I added them and I kept seeing them put pictures on of the…read moreafternoon tea which looked amazing so I finally decided to book. I went with my mum, sister and partner for the Valentine's afternoon tea, it was great it was so different from traditional afternoon tea you got soup in a tea cup, two open top sandwiches and a mini quiche which was a nice change from just sandwiches. The cakes you got was a scone. A mini red velvet cake, a heart biscuit, marshmallows with chocolate, profiterole with white chocolate and a mini love potion in a glass boot. We got a glass of pink proseco it was £19.99 each which is a little expensive for the place as its a tree nursery but they do a different theme for different seasons so it's well worth a visit. I would defiantly go

Very pleasant tea room and cafe close by the heritage sites of Worsley. There is a garden and…read moreindoor seating. Staff are accommodating and although advertised to close at 1600 ( too early) I had a cream tea at 1600. All good, recommended. They do light lunches too, I am sure that they are good.

Now, what would be nice? We'll start with raspberry ice, and then some cakes and tea…read more.. I love Mary Poppins, and when I saw that Poppins Tearooms was soon to be opening in the heart of Horwich, I couldn't wait to give it a try. The tearooms occupy a former shop unit, which in turn is part of a house, so I was curious how they could make it feel less of a house and more of a venue, but that's the clever part... they intentionally don't! Split into two rooms, the tearooms intentionally feel like an Edwardian parlour, complete with pretty glass sconces, flock wallpaper, and lace tablecloths. The room to the rear of the building is cute, comfortable and (like the rest of the place) cosy. I chose to sit in the first room, but the rear parlour would be ideal if you want a little peaceful intimacy. My initial impression walking in was very pleasant. I walked in from the drizzle and cold wind into the warmth, where golden oldies were playing gently in the background, and a few ladies sat around happily chatting away, laughing and enjoying afternoon teas. A member of staff, complete in Edwardian service uniform welcomed me, and after I hung my coat on the coat stand beside Mary Poppins' hat and parrot handled umbrella, took me to a table and gave me the menu. The menu has some really tasty options both in the delicious sounding food menu, and the impressive tea offerings. I opted to go for the mature cheddar and ham toasted sandwich, and a pot of Assam Bari tea, provided by Ronnefeldt Tea, who are more well known for providing tea to five star hotels. Lucky little Horwich! The loose leaf tea was delicious, and came served in cute vintage crockery. Although this time I chose a toastie, I liked the look of "Tea with Bert", a traditional cream tea which I'll be partaking in next time! My toasted sandwich arrived on doorstop toast, lovingly crammed with ham (no miserly single slices here!), and melting cheddar and served with a bijou dressed salad, and a pot of coleslaw. It was a delicious lunch, and the coleslaw was lovely and crunchy too. The price of this lunch complete with tea came to less than £6, which is very good value! Sadly, Poppins doesn't currently accept card payments, but they plan to in the future once they get a little more established. The owner also told me that she had great plans for the future, not just continuing the Mary Poppins theme (there was talk of a mural and even an upside table on the ceiling!), but other ideas such as tea tasting evenings, and hosting private parties in the rear parlour. Poppins Tearooms is a lovely place and really good value for what is being offered, in such a pleasantly cosy, warm and quaint setting. Whether you fancy a pot of tea and a slice of chocolate cake, or a bowl of warming soup and a glass of rose lemonade, Poppins is somewhere I would happily recommend.

An adorable hidden gem. This traditional tearoom is set up in the lovely home of the former mayor…read more Booking is required but the food is home cooked by the lovely chef Alan, and is delicious. It's an older crowd so the atmosphere is very peaceful and relaxed. The service is quick but never rushed. The staff are so attentive- Linda, the hostess, was friendly and very helpful. This is a great place for a Sunday dinner with family in the countryside! Top tip. Save room for pudding!

Great place to take a friend or to arrange to meet. The staff are helpful and friendly…read more All on level for our less able friends. The food is well presented and tasty from Breakfast to burger i recommend this place!

This really is a hidden gem - stuck away in Wheelton near Chorley…read more It has a lovely design and a proper homely feel to the place. Great sitting area and they also have free wifi if you ask for the code! Fresh cakes are made each day and there's a good selection of coffees so you can choose the blend for you! Definitely worth the drive to switch off for an hour or two!

April 1st - Certainly not an April Fool!…read more For our wedding anniversary we attended The Village Tearoom's first evening opening as a bistro. The first of three I believe, as test evening events. Well if the Tapas Takeover event was a taste of things to come then we can't wait for the next ! Congrats to local chefs Mark Long & Matthew Agass for the tremendous food, Liz Singleton for the amazing entertainment set, the hard work of the staff during the evening , not to mention the hosts Jackie & Martyn for their warm welcome and letting it all happen. All in all a great evening, good luck for the future and hope it takes off for you all!

This place is amazing. Just about everything is homemade including the pies, cakes and desserts…read more Probably the best chips I've ever had - and the prices are rock bottom. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

Rivington is a wonderful place to experience the Great British Outdoors. There's acres of space to…read morerun about in, or play ball games, or walk the dog, or cycle, or whatever takes your fancy. The area encompasses some gentle hills as well -- the views from the top of Rivington Pike are well worth the climb. There's even a ruined castle there -- though it's not a real one! The Liverpool Castle in Rivington was built 120 years ago as a replica of the real Liverpool Castle in Liverpool -- I suppose that's the sort of thing you did if you had money in those days. There's also a Visitor's Centre and refreshments are readily available. Rivington Hall Barn can be used for functions (I've been to a wedding reception there) and has its own entry in Qype. The only slight drawback is car parking: there isn't enough. The area is heavily used by friendly bikers, although the lack of parking certainly isn't their fault! All in all, Rivington is a great place to explore for a day or half a day -- well worth a visit.

Rivington is a large area of greenery, nature and wooded trails and there is also a walk up to the…read morefamous Rivington Pike where you have a fantastic view of the surrounding area, on a clear day you can see for miles, sometimes you can make out coastline.quite exhilarating. Whether it is rain or shine a walk around this scenic area will lift the spirits, there are gardens and old buildings eg Pigeon Tower, really interesting and there are posts with information on them at certain points of interest. Cyclists enjoy the area too and also horse riders. Rivington is a popular place for families, walkers, ramblers, school outings, cyclists, photographers, horse riders, birdwatchers, nature lovers etc it is an inspiring place to visit. The area is well maintained and has some signposts too. there is a replica castle (Liverpool castle I think)too that faces a body of water, that is a nice place to visit, it is in ruins and has a nice atmosphere about it. There is a little barn shop in the area that serves hot and cold drinks and snacks and has a small shop. Toilets are nearby the small barn and also a gallery. On Sundays and Bank Holidays the larger Barn is open and this facilitates a bar area and hot/cold food which is of a high standard, also on site are a few small interesting stalls. Rivington is one of my favourite places to be and I do Highly recommend it, I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

Really great tea room. Themed Alice in wonderland cafe with cups, decor and music to suit…read more Definitely worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing. Staff are polite and food is good quality.

We were in Blackburn town centre for a street festival of food. We had an enjoyable bit of lunch,…read morethen spotted flags outside of a shop declaring it was Mad Hatters Cupcakes and Tea Room, which had me floating over like a moth to a flame for a little dessert! It has a nice big window allowing the tearoom to be well lit, and seen clearly from the outside, making it all the more inviting. The first thing you see as you walk in is the fantastic blackboard wall full of hand drawn chalk images of quirky scenes from Alice in Wonderland, and various picture frames containing images of cupcakes, signs saying "eat me" and the such. A really nice touch. It's nice that despite being Mad Hatter/Alice in Wonderland themed, they haven't gone absolutely crazy with colour and made it gaudy and horrid, but have gone for some vintage touches, and soft varying pastel colours and bunting, to take the Mad Hatter and soften him a little into a vintage English tearoom. As expected, the space is light, bright and relaxed as various mirrors bounce light around the room. Large and impressive cakes sit on cake stands and bell jars dotted around the space, and on the counter sits a display stand of delicious cupcake varieties. Staff are friendly and welcoming, and happy to reel off the various tea flavours when I asked what was available. The menu has both hot and cold drinks, and offers breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and light lunches, as well as a full afternoon tea. In this instance, we can't stop looking at a large salted caramel cake which seems to be giving us the eye from a stand on one side of the room, and decide to have a slice each, and share a pot of tea. The cake was delicious, and we were offered cream with them too should we want it. It was marvellously sweet and tasty without veering off into "sickly" territory, and naturally it went perfectly with a big pot of tea, which was served with traditional vintage china. Staff were friendly and social, and informed us that they have only been open for around 5 weeks, so everything was still settling, but from what I can see, they're doing very well, and should hopefully continue to do so! Although this was only a fleeting and unplanned visit, we enjoyed it, and agreed that we will definitely pop back in whenever we are next in Blackburn, especially as I had my eye on a strawberries and cream cake that was flirting with me from a cake stand on the opposite side of the room, in all its lovely pink splendidness... I shall be trying that one next time! Well done, Mad Hatters! I wish you luck in your new business! :)

Excellent little coffee shop beautifully decorated in Alice in Wonderland. The staff are very…read morecourteous and welcoming. Food delish and plentiful has a Ploughman's salad which very filling indeed. Well be calling back soon