Dobbies Garden Centre in Northumberland

Newly reopen great selection and reasonable priced.

Had the carvery in April and what a fabulous meal it was. Choice of meats fresh vegetables and homemade Yorkshire pudding excellent service and good value. Called in today for Afternoon Tea for two and what a bargain as it was on offer. Great taste and choice of savouries and cakes, the service was excellent and Stephanie who greeted us and looked after us and checked everything was alright made the afternoon tea perfect for us and other customers who were near us. Highly recommended you give the restaurant a try. Forgot to mention it is a fantastic garden centre where we’ve bought excellent plants etc.

much better then dobbies .Good prices and well stocked

Lovely products but customer service staff disappointing. Hung up several times on me & failed to return with an answer to my enquiry.

Great. Much better now it has changed hands

This is now British Garden Centers and has improved. The cafe restaurant area has been totally revamped and some of the concessions have moved into the main building. There are quality goods for sale and the plants are also good quality.

Good stock, nice to look around and very good cafe.

We took the family to the Dinosaur Golf although it is still enjoyable after going for many years it is definitely in need of refurbishment to restore it back to how it used to be.

Very expensive but bend over and take it like a inmate

Lots of choices of plants, flowers, indoor and outdoor, pots

Nice garden centre with a good choice of plants

Great variety if garden products and gifts. Nice spacious cafe. Very dog friendly

Great fruit and vegetable stall

Absolutely amazing garden centre! Best one I've been too! Loads to look at, flowers and plants are well taken care of so you know you are taking quality plants home! Even had a dinosaur mini golf which was entertaining!

Good place to stop off, toilets quite dirty and car park a bit chaotic but good selection of items

Staff amazingly rude. Resturant, after advising they were closed, did not know if the cafe was open or what they were serving. Do not trust online opening hours. Advised that the resturant and cafe would be open until 1730 however both were closed with ‘ovens off’ by 1645. Staff as unhelpful as possible and clearly did not want to be there or to have custom. Bathrooms amazingly unhygienic, especially the disabled bathroom which has the only baby changing facilities. Poo was smeared all over the loo (not just the bowl) and the loo was blocked; not flushing. Clearly not been cleaned for a while. Avoid.

Nice to see the site open again - under new ownership. Plants all looked to be in good health and well presented. Layout very similar to before, prices seemed reasonable. But the restaurant was disappointing, got our order wrong, charged us incorrectly and the (packaged) cake was past its best before date - we'll try the cafe in the main building next time!

Great gardening centre. Everything for your garden & more. New ownership & a few of the in-store shops have gone. No more Butchers or Costa coffee & the Sainsbury "supermarket" all gone. Shame but I suppose " it is what it is" 😂😂

New owners and what a difference great variety and better layout staff great

Been a few times since new ownership. One of the most expensive garden centres in the area. Restaurant is very lacking and ordering system very slow. £10 for some bread with half a slice of ham and one piece of cheese. Dry cakes with no taste. No water bowls for the dogs.

Carvery lovely but served a vetatarian a ham omelette waited hour and half for food

This review is purely based on the cafe alone. We arrived at around 12pm and found a seat and went over to the till to order our food. It was our first time at heighley gate for a good few years and during that time it had changed management twice. The old lady on till at the time called us over and was nothing more than miserable, she seemed agitated that we were not prepared with our table number which we didn't know we needed. After we gave her our table number she then started a conversation with another colleague on till and even though at this point a queue had started to build she still wasted time chatting. After an unpleasant time ordering we sat down and waited for our food, this took a while. We then called over a waitress who informed us that it was a half an hour wait for food and we should have been told, however we had not. When the food finally arrived it was satisfactory and not great; my chicken wrap for example had soggy veg in and some of my chips were raw. It's such a shame as the restaurant is well decorated and has good. Also to add a positive the kind chef on the carvery section gave us some free pigs and blankets.

You would hope under new ownership that the cafe would’ve improved, unfortunately not the case. The decor now is much better than what it was, I like that the seating is sectioned off and a bit more private. However, the food was not as good. Got an egg mayo sandwich and the bread was stale. Expensive prices for the portion sizes. The coffee came cold. I had the chicken bites which were extremely tough. A shame.

Under new ownership. So much more stock. Good prices. Enhanced restaurant. Good concessions selling a variety of goods.

Under new ownership of British garden centres and what a transformation (just seems to have much more choice of everything). Excellent site with items to suit everyone as well as an excellent range of plants. prices very competitive in fact are lower than previously under dobbies wing. Extensive range of presents and 3rd party stores within the main building. Great play area for the young ones, next to the cafe. Worth a visit!!

Very disappointed in the cafe in the new heighley gate can't select your own scones all table service for tea and scones not practical for the time wait also given butter no choice of low fat spread and also tea water didn't taste boiled all this for £16?!!! Unlikely to be back

Lovely place, so much for kids too, soft play, Dino crazy golf all the variety of plants and lovely things to buy.

Highly recommend this garden centre - it is big! If you can't find what you're looking for here then you won't find it anywhere else! Lots to see and is a wonderful day out.

Just called in to see what the new garden centre was like, well garden wise it was well stocked and reasonable prices with quite a few deals , not much in the way of vegetables plants but I suppose it is early just now , what lets it down is the cafe and the Prices ……. WOW £9 for a sandwich , I think not , and we had a caffe and scone still cost £13 for two , the scone was probably the worst I have ever had it was so stale and dry it was awful, most people were asking for more butter because they were really that dry they fell to bits , coffee was ok but I wouldn’t dream of going back in the cafe without a massive upgrade on freshly baked good and tell the staff to cheer up, I tried to make a friendly comment about it being busy because the sun was out but all I got was a scowl and ignored , not great if you’re trying to attract customers back after Dobbies have left , so for now I reserve my comments to a good garden centre but poor staff and cafe needs a good upgrade of attitude and fresh good , never tried the restaurant because I expect if the cafe is that pricey god know what the charges are for meals , I’ll stick to looking at plants in future , as we also have Azure and Wansbeck garden centres close by and I can vouch for their food being very good

Great garden centre good quality plants and garden equipment

What a fantastic place, so clean, well stocked with healthy plants. It's gorgeous everything you need for the garden. A couple of great coffee shops/restaurants on site. Brilliant staff all who were very friendly and polite. It's a huge car park with overflow one as well. Very dog friendly, with dog menus and treats, also a large outside space to walk them. Highly recommend this place.

Large free car park, choice of refreshment outlets. Garden centre is under a new operator as of March 2025. Some concessions remain and there are some additions. Restaurant has noticeably been upgraded but I find the food a bit expensive.

Now highlighted garden centre there's lots of choice

Helpful staff. They were very quick to open tills when the queue lengthened. Good quality, inexpensive plants as well.

Called in today to get a few plants decided to have a coffee well coffee far to strong and charging £8.49 for a cheese savoury roll that is absolutely ridiculous.

Good choice of plants, a small selection of shops, with a cafe attached. Liked everything about this place except the price. Slightly expensive.

Enormous but lovely place. Good choice of plants and goods to buy.

So so so much better then when it was Dobbies! They actually have plants, plants which are cared for! They have a huge selection and well priced It's a shame they haven't done out the childrens soft play .. which was since desperate need of a refurb but hasn't been touched hence the 4*

Nicely laid out, but i found it to be just as expensive as Dobbies, which was disappointing. Also found alot of the staff quite miserable ( especially in the restaurant). I worked in retail for 20 years, and a smile goes along way. At one stage there were 5 of them behind the counter, having a chat amongst themselves whilst I was waiting to be served! Don't think I'll be returning.

On website “Restaurant closes 30 minutes before the garden centre” - no hot food being served at 4pm (closes ay 6pm) only cakes & drinks available. No clear info on the website or signage at the restaurant or in the menu. Purposely came to have hot food and wasn’t aware it wasn’t even serving food until we went to order. Serving cold cakes and drinks isn’t a ‘restaurant’ surely?

Coffee Haven (the café at the front) was unfortunately one of the worst experiences I’ve had in quite some time. I initially asked for a filter coffee and was met with a sigh from one of the staff members. He turned to a colleague and asked, “Can you explain why we don’t have filter coffee?”—followed by an unnecessary and condescending explanation. Honestly, if it’s not available, that’s perfectly fine—I didn’t need a full commentary, just a polite “we don’t offer that.” We then waited for our pot of tea, during which we noticed other customers (who arrived after us) receiving their drinks. A third customer was already being served when another staff member abruptly asked, “Can I help you?” It caught me off guard, and I explained that we were still waiting on our order. In contrast, the service at the back restaurant was absolutely amazing. Friendly, attentive, and welcoming—truly a different atmosphere. The rest of the store’s staff were also great and pleasant to interact with. Sadly, Coffee Haven didn’t feel like a haven at all. If you’re after a good cup of tea and a relaxing experience, I’d recommend heading to the restaurant at the back instead—you might even enjoy a slice of cake while you’re there.

Went for lunch and the soft play with my Grandson , was very very busy for midweek so was half an hour delay on food but was nice still

I have visited numerous times since the soft opening , it’s very impressive restaurant has improved over time , staff are friendly and welcoming , lots of choice in relation to gardening , home decor and food department with a wide selection of cakes , sweets , crisps , frozen ready meals , etc my only minor issues is there is no allergen information for the sweet fridge in the restaurant , it’s worth the visit and so happy it’s busy and thriving

Apparently under new ownership / management.. very well stocked garden centre... And all plants ☘️ looking very healthy..However, no discount for blue light card holder's, even when spending a significant amount of money.... 🤔

At last, Heighley Gate back to a proper garden center. Good food too.

Just visited the newly opened/owned garden centre. Very well set out with lots of products. Went into the restaurant, which is now table service, lovely food. Not keen on the open dog seating area in the restaurant, a few dogs yapping and fighting which really spoilt our lunch,also is unhygenic. Having an open dog seating area seems unfair for those that are allergic to, and or have a fear of dogs, and wish to eat in the restaurant. Maybe a room closed off like the soft play, would be better,then everyone can attend & enjoy.

Went today for opening day under new ownership. I remember visiting when it was Dobbies and it gave a cold vibe. However British Garden Centre have transformed this. Affordable prices, nice staff great experience.

Went for soft opening then last Friday when restaurant was open...we used to go when original then dobbies. Now it's better than ever before ....11out of 10. Excellent

If I'm paying £3.45 for a small Fentimans, I expect a glass with ice with it. No ice

Loved it but its now closed, another garden centre taking over soon

Not a lot to say about what was formerly Highly Gate Garden Centre, unfortunately the current owner (Dobbies) is now closed down.

Highly expensive unless you caught closing down sale. Look forward to new venture plus always get my fruit & Veg from the family shop outside - lovely people

It was a good garden centre but it's closing down very soon

Shame Dobbies is closing but did make use of the 50% closing down sale

Sorry to see this place is closing down

As the garden centre is closing and they have a half price sale on,the shelves were virtually empty.

Love this place ..great cafe ...big selection of plants and seeds and lovely gifts. Staff always very friendly. Shame it's closing down.

First visit but won't be my last. Large choice of things available from plants to jewellery. Also food available, butchers, greengrocers etc

Wide range of products in addition to garden-related products, including food, and pet-related items

After braving the storm yesterday, we had a lovely festive afternoon at Dobbies, Heighlygatee. All credit due to Scarlet, Sam & her team who looked after us in the restaurant, - the afternoon tea was excellent. Equally Hazel & all the elves in the grotto - Santa Claus was the best- so overall a happy day for three generations!

I booked Christmas lunch for two. The staff were welcoming and friendly and the table was set with crackers and Christmas decorations. Unfortunately the dinner was dreadful. Probably the worst meal I have ever had. The food was lukewarm, served on cold plates, the vegetables were soft and soggy, the turkey was dry and tasteless. The whole thing was swimming in congealed gravy! It was quite obvious that the food had been cooked before (maybe days before!) and reheated. We just could not eat it. It was very obvious to staff that there was a problem when they collected the plates. We opted to have the Christmas pudding and asked for ice cream as an extra. It was not great but edible. When we came to pay we were told we would just be charged for one meal - £17. I pointed out that I had paid £10 deposit so was then charged for two teas and two puddings £10.25 a total of £20.25. Instead of a nice pre Christmas treat, it was a really bad experience.

Meh. Picked up a John Lewis order and went to the "Restaurant" for lunch (on a Sunday). Two of us, plus 11 month old. £35 for two meals, two coffees and two bottles of water. For some reason the food was out under lights and in gastronorms but they still took our order and brought the food over, which took 10 minutes after paying. Layout and menus were literally all over the place and queuing system was insane. Our table was dirty with one wet streak where a cloth had been used to wipe a line of the last customers' detritus away. I did the rest. My roast beef was a decent sized portion but fully cooked and dry. Veg, gravy and meat were lukewarm at best and fairly tasteless. Yorkshire pudding was cold. Roast potatoes were cold, one was yellow and mushy inside, the other was white and mealy and gave me the impression it was reheated at least once. I left about half of my food. Wife's pie was similar and flooded with gravy, at least three times as much as me; ironic as I like gravy and she doesn't. No soft furnishings meant the room was echoey and loud. OK for younger kids (3-12?) I guess, not great for a baby. The garden centre is tolerable for a grumpy man like myself but the "restaurant" (it's a cafe) should be avoided. We've been to the coffee bar near the tills a few times and similar experiences: generally not clean, crockery mismatched and dirty-looking and generally slow for no apparent reason. Only worth going if you are getting a freebie with your Dobbies card. The Dobbies card is ok value but the place is expensive to begin with so swings and roundabouts.

Sarah ,and Michael and the staff are amazing they always take good care of us Festive dinner is lovely.

For 3rd consecutive visit the toilets are dirty and the cafe staff are sullen and happy to keep customers waiting while they chat. No dog free area in the cafe any more (allergy). Responses to some reviews on here being made by staff who can't count stars and don't see that reviews are negative.

Used to be a really great well stocked garden centre, but now the place looks run down, about 80% of the outside display beds were empty, and what plants, trees and shrubs they did have were lying upside down or on there sides.

Good garden centre to visit. Plenty of choice. Nice cafe.

Well. Laid out and spacious. Good access for wheelchairs /prams

This 1 star is for the cafe. Their cheese scone are disgusting I couldn't eat it. I asked a member of staff if he had any complaints about their scone which he replied always, i mentioned that i couldnt eat it as it was disgusting, I wasn't looking for a refund which by the way I wasn't offered but puzzled as to why they are still selling them.

Great centre with everything you could want for both home and garden.

Really good and good value lovely tea and scones Really knowledgeable staff when asking for advice xx

Good variety of goods, restaurant is really good and dog friendly

Lovely garden centre, with indoor and outdoor plants. Garden essentials, outdoor living essentials, pet a dog wild animal food. There is also an area containing a shoe shop, clothing, and the works. And a small Waitrose supermarket Plus, of course , cafe cakes and hot drinks. Friendly staff. Outside, there is a large area for walking or running your dog. The whole place is dog friendly.

Lovely store with a wide range of products lovely xmas decorations good cafe

Went for a Halloween event! It was great and sat in the cafe too after

absolutely dreadful,dogs barking yarking ,and that's in the restaurant and also cafe ,diabolical service never to return,1 cashier in both restaurant and cafe ,

Great to be able to take the pup in

Your one-stop garden shop including stationery, groceries, cafes and more.

Always well presented and a full range of garden related products. Covid restrictions in place. Sainsburys have now a mini supermarket within the store. Vegetable outlet has reorganised and also covid compliant. Lot of new plants and bulbs arrived, have a carribean tulip, exclusive to dobbies. Nice selection of seasonal plants and shrubs, sale on also. Popped in today for a quick look an coffee. Plants look good sale on of upto 50% off. Stock now has much Christmas items on display.

Has a small farmers market outside that place is amazing and the dobbies is quite large and staff are quite nice their plants seem to be in better nick than the average dobbies

Nice garden centre with a great cafe.

A large garden centre with a good selection of stock. However the cafe was very disappointing, overpriced and poor selection. There was even a plastic instant porridge pot on sale for £3!! Incredible!

Huge garden centre, you could spend hours here

Really large store with lots of garden and household goods. Large restaurant and kiddies play area. There is also a dinosaur miniture golf putting course that is great for the kids. It was closed when I was there so if you intend going for that then it maybe better ringing first to see if it's open.

Did not have what I wanted but vast array of products and eateries

Love to go to what I call highleygate To get plants and dinner

Arrived yesterday at 9am,there was food all over the floor.Cone on dobbues thus isn't good enough

Very friendly staff and always helpful. Also have a nice cafe and restaurant. Plenty of great plants , plus other franchise shops

Lovely restaurant. Yummy cakes. Excellent choice of garden plants and furniture. Love the loyalty card....it allows you 2 free coffees a month and discounts all for £15 a year.

Soft play is fab staff are so accommodating. Cleaner makes sure areas are kept clean just fab.

Garden centre is still decent to pop in for a wander but no where near as good as it used to be sadly, had a coffee today in the entrance cafe and my wife and i both left half of it. Should have kept "Costa" i think as was much better imo

Actually loads to see here, plants are a bit expensive but there's loads of stuff to look over and shop.

Good cafe. Great choice of menu. Lunch was excellent Good small shops Good choice of flowers and shrubs

Nice relaxed large garden centre with a restaurant and mini golf.

Plenty of parking. Staff friendly and helpful. Go choice of tools and plants.

I've been here several times in the last year, the latest being today. I have to say that it's a shadow of what it used to be when it was Heighley Gate Garden centre which sold an excellent selection of things you'd expect from a garden centre at reasonable prices and had a really good café serving really good food at reasonable prices. Quality and value for money are sadly a thing of the past here.

Biggest Dobbies I've been in, loads of different areas and products. It need a bit of refresh in some areas. Tons of parking. The cafe to the right of the tills inside is nicer than the one further round to the back - but the back one has around 4 tables with a decent view.

Very large garden centre, supplying many more ranges of products, not directly associated with gardens! Delighted to see a display of Christmas cards available on the 17th August! A reminder to start thinking about my annual Christmas letter!! Managed to find an attractive plant to give to our hosts for the day. If only Dobbies had some branches down south! Acres of free parking, which always helps!

I went to recycle pots.....no signage, had to ask three members of staff and eventual found a cardboard container “hidden” at the side of a shed, almost as far as you can get from the entrance!! Why not have the depository as you enter so you aren't left carrying what you want to recycle? I just wanted to leave by the time I'd found it, as I’d spent time looking for the recycle point that I’d otherwise have spent looking round the garden centre.

Visited heighleygate to pick up a couple of plants which had been put aside for us. While there we also bought three others helped by Ethel and Steve who went out of their way to find the right ones for us. Give them a gold star!

Excellent centre with great cafe