It has been years since I have been Stapeley Water Gardens. It is located around 20 minutes drive from where I live in Cheshire and used to be one of those places that I always used to get dragged along to when I was a kid and there was nothing worse than this for me when I was a child, being dragged around a garden centre.

However as I have got older, things change and I start to think as to whether I am getting old when I am going garden centre's myself on a sunday afternoon, however I wasn't actually going for gardening equipment, we have a new hobby that Stapeley accommodates.

Stapeley even has something for kids these days with the Palms Oasis. I didnlt actually go in here as it was pretty late on a sunday afternoon to pay entrance fees and rush around, however it is full of various animal and fish that would be great to keep children entertained either after they have had to suffer the garden centre or before to keep them happy.

Your can pick up some nice gifts at Stapeley, although it is classed as a garden centre, there is a lot more there, with gift shops that sell items that you would not be able to find on a high street, and they also are of better quality than majority of shops.

We have recently taken up camping however not going at the moment until the weather picks up so more than likely six months away but now we have been and are planning to go regularly we have a list a mile long of items that we want to purchase for when we start going again. Stapeley is ideal as they have everything you need for camping from tents to pots and pans and the prices are actually quite reasonable which I was surprised as I thought they would be a lot more expensive than it actually was.

We have also bought a fish tank recently and Stapeley has a great variety of cold water and tropical fish that you can buy and they offer a lot more advise on how to keep than that normal aquarium shops. Everything that you need for your fish is also readily available and again reasonably priced.

Don't forget the rest of your pets, they have something for every furry little creature that people own including specialised foods for dogs which was great for me as my dog is ill and I was able to find food for him which is not easy to get from anywhere.

The gardens are vast and have every variety of plant and bush available, all at reasonable prices, and all gardening equipment including the likes of shed and gazebo's can be bought from here.

I will definitely be going back to Stapeley when I have more time and have a better looks around.