As April’s eternal wind and rain finally abated and the long awaited spring sunshine tentatively peered round the corner of a cloud before making a full appearance almost in time for the early May Bank Holiday weekend, the Chocolate Fayre team gave our Secret Garden its spring clean, while also adding lots of greenery and colour with a plethora of pots and planters filled with all manner of flowering, climbing and hanging plants. As a result, it’s really become THE place to while away some time in it’s secluded sun trap setting, amongst the ancient walls and contrasting young plants, with an ice cream on a hot day, or with one of our speciality coffees, teas, or signature hot chocolates.
The Secret Garden entrance and toilet doors now framed by Cyprus evergreens and perennials
Hanging baskets and planters now flank the approach down into the sunshine and seclusion of the Secret Garden
Festoon lighting and solar lanterns have been added to the Courtyard area to compliment the plants and canopies, creating a welcoming, cosy and intimate space to relax with a speciality coffee, tea or signature hot chocolate for as long as you need to
The old bakery fire place has been resurrected with a variety of flame coloured flowers, flanked by piles of logs
The courtyard section of the Secret Garden now features all manner of greenery from wild ivy colonising the old stone walls, to character filled pots of flowering plants and shrubs, sitting alongside some of the old signage we discovered from our buildings’ previous lives.
The enclosed family area at the bottom of the Secret Garden has had a tidy up, and the toys sorted through and re-organised, ready for those sunny after-school ice cream days, and weekend’s outdoors
Both the shop and Secret Garden are dog friendly spaces. We simply ask the dogs do not go onto the grass area where children play. Remember to pick up a dog treat from the shop counter inside!
If you’re looking for an ideal spot for a pause in your cycling route, the Secret Garden offers a safe, enclosed space, away from the busy street, where bicycles can be left while you relax out of the saddle with an ice cream or some liquid energy from our signature hot chocolates