Endsleigh Garden Centre
SETTING
Outdoors
WHERE
Plymouth
What it’s like
A garden centre with a free soft play corner in the coffee shop and, come winter, a Santa's Grotto with reindeer food to mix.
This is a garden centre first, so the actual "activity" is small, but it's there: a non-staffed soft play area tucked into the coffee shop, which is fine for half an hour while you have a coffee and they clamber about. It won't fill a whole day, and it isn't meant to. Think of it as something to keep a younger child busy while you look at plants, rather than a destination in its own right.
Where it earns a proper visit is the Santa's Grotto season, when there's reindeer food mixing and a gift to pick out afterwards, the sort of small ritual that sticks in a four or five-year-old's memory more than you'd expect. Sessions run two hours, though the last ones of the day are cut to one hour, so if you're going late don't expect the full run of it.
Food is well covered for a garden centre. There's a coffee shop and a separate restaurant, breakfast until 11.30am in the restaurant (11am in the coffee shop), lunch on until 4pm most days and cream teas going all day if that's more your pace. Parking is free and on site, and the whole place is wheelchair accessible with baby change facilities, so a pushchair or a wheelchair isn't a problem.
Booking is required, worth sorting before you turn up rather than assuming you can walk in. Sundays open a little later and start with a browsing-only half hour from 10 to 10.30am before the tills open properly, and the whole place shuts over Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday, with an earlier 4pm finish on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Facilities
Need to know
- Parking
- Free on site parking
- Food
- Coffee shop and restaurant. Breakfast until 11:30am in main restaurant (11am in coffee shop), lunch to 4pm (3:30pm Sundays)
- Sunday mornings 10 to 10.30am are browsing only, tills open after
- Closed 25-26 December, 1 January and Easter Sunday, with an earlier 4pm finish on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
- Dogs are welcome if you want to bring one along
- The soft play area isn't staffed, so it's on you to keep an eye on things
Plan your visit
Is there anything for kids to actually do, or is it just shopping?
There's a small non-staffed soft play area in the coffee shop, and in season a Santa's Grotto with reindeer food mixing and a gift to choose. It's a garden centre at heart, so don't expect a big activity offer beyond that.
Do we need to book?
Booking is required, so sort it before you go rather than turning up on spec.
How long does a session last?
Two hours, though the last session of the day is cut down to one hour.
Is there parking?
Free on site parking.
What are the opening hours?
Monday to Saturday it's 9am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 4.30pm, with the first half hour on Sundays being browsing only, no tills.
What about food?
A coffee shop and a restaurant. Breakfast runs until 11.30am in the restaurant (11am in the coffee shop), lunch until 4pm, and cream teas are available all day.
Is it wheelchair and pushchair friendly?
Yes, the site is wheelchair accessible and there's baby changing on site too.
Featured in 2 Huddlepin lists
See all Science & Discovery Centres in Plymouth · Things to do in Plymouth
MAKE A DAY OF IT
