Don’t ask us when it happens, but there’s a point in life where you favourite place on earth becomes a garden centre.
And garden centres don’t come much fancier than Bents Garden Centre, an enormous sprawl of a building filled with the obvious stuff (like, you know, garden plants) but also so much more.
The Warrington favourite is never more popular than at Christmas, when it turns into a twinkling wonderland and people from across the north west make the pilgrimage.
There are colourful decorations spilling out from every corner, from themed baubles to fairy lights to festive soft furnishings.
Bents Garden Centre does not hold back on its decorating – this year alone there are Alpine dining scenes, a life-size car with presents spilling out of the boot, and an arctic landscape with polar bears, snowmen and igloos.
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There’s also a winter food market, where wooden lodges sell everything from Yorkshire pudding wraps to bratwurst sausages to beef brisket sandwiches.
In the outside space there are heated dining globes, decorated with plants, blankets and bunting.
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Bents garden centre is so popular, it even had a fairly famous visitor this festive season, when Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury popped in for a day out, documenting the whole thing to her 1.7m YouTube subscribers.
The former Love Island couple, who are expecting their first child, visited to pick up their Christmas tree decorations.
The couple bought a tree togetherTommy Fury at Bents Garden CentreCredit: YouTube, Molly Mae Hague
She proudly showed off a trolley piled high with food-themed baubles, in the shape of cakes, doughnuts, gingerbread men, candy canes, and even a giant pink lollipop.
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She said: “Don’t ask me why we’ve never come here before. It’s SO cosy.”
Molly-Mae added: “This garden centre, Bents, in I think Warrington, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know why we’ve never come here before.
“It’s kind of like a farm shop too, they’ve got food and food stalls. I am so excited to come back here with a baby next year, like it’s so special.
“It is quite expensive I’m not gonna lie, to get all the decorations and things, but we’ll keep them each year and reuse them.”
Featured image: Bents Garden Centre / YouTube
Christmas
A TV channel playing Christmas films 24/7 is now back on air in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Is it too early to say the ‘C word’? Never mind, you’ve already clicked on this article.
We may only be into our second full week of September, but given the fact the weather these past couple of days hasn’t exactly screamed summer, it already feels like the festive season is around the corner – but whether or not you think it’s too early to be talking about Christmas, it’ll soon be too tricky to escape from.
Especially not when there’s a free TV channel showing festive film favourites non-stop now back on air in the UK.
You heard that right – Christmas films, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
A TV channel playing Christmas films 24/7 is now back on air in the UK / Credit: 20th Century Studios | Universal Pictures
If you’re ready to wave goodbye to summer, and welcome autumn and winter with open arms, then there’s arguably no better way of getting into the festive spirit than with the long-awaited and highly-anticipated return of the TV channel that’s charmed audiences for the past three years running.
GREAT! Christmas the UK’s biggest seasonal channel, and it’s now live on Sky, Freesat, Freeview and Virgin Media.
You can expect almost four months of back-to-back seasonal movies.
The 24-hour feel-good and free-to-air channel will be bursting with non-stop Christmas spirit, and will be showing a heartwarming lineup of festive films – including some absolute fan-favourite classics that make it to screens every year without fail, alongside some cheesy Hallmark classics, new channel premieres, and so much more.
Viewers will find GREAT! Christmas on Freeview channel 51, Sky 319, Sky (Glass/Stream) 317, Virgin channel 424, and Freely channel 47.
A magical lantern trail is returning to Gulliver’s World theme park this winter
Daisy Jackson
One of the most glittering events in the North West is returning this winter, when Gulliver’s World is filled with beautiful lanterns.
The hugely popular Land of Lights will this year feature all-new lanterns, each one inspired by the wonders of nature.
With a WonderWild theme, the light trail will have a unique blend of ‘animal-inspired artistry with a fantastical twist’.
The breathtaking spectacle will lead visitors around a twinkling wonderland filled with light and colour.
The one-mile trail will showcase a huge array of lanterns and displays, creating a wonderous, wild, and magical atmosphere suitable for all ages.
It debuted at Gulliver’s World in Warrington last year and drew in thousands of excited people throughout winter.
This year’s lantern trail at Gulliver’s World Land of Lights will have a WonderWild theme. Credit: Supplied
And now it’s back, between 9 November and 4 January, and there’s a chance to save big on your tickets if you act quickly.
Super early bird tickets will start from just £10 per person when they go on sale this Sunday.
Ross Partridge, festival manager, said: “We’re excited to invite guests to experience WonderWild, our most ambitious Land of Lights festival yet.
“This year, we’re taking visitors on a journey through various enchanting realms, including the Jungle of Colour, Frozen Kingdom, and Winged Wonders. It’s an opportunity to see plants, animals, and nature in a whole new light.”
£10 tickets for Gulliver’s World’s Land of Lights are on sale from 10am on Sunday 1 September – you can grab yours here.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd December 2022 
