Garstang hotels

Hotels in Garstang

On the banks of the River Wyre, at the eastern edge of the Fylde coastal plain, Garstang is a market town in Lancashire. It is famous for becoming the world's first ever Fairtrade Town in 2000.

Book one of our Garstang hotels and explore this historic, individual town, overlooked by the ruined remains of the 15th-century Greenhalgh Castle.

Shopping

Garstang has a good range of independent shops. Try the Aged In Oak Wine Company for wines, real ales and spirits, Aspire for gifts, furniture and homeware, or Iced for handmade and decorated cakes. At Bradshaw's Farm Shop and Garden Centre, you'll find freshly baked bread, cheese, cakes, jams, honey and more on sale, as well as plants and garden furniture and accessories.

Garstang's market dates back to the early 1300s, and a traditional outdoor market is still held every Thursday in the High Street. There are also stalls selling local produce in the Market Hall from Wednesday to Saturday, and a country market every Thursday from March to December.

The Forest of Bowland

A short drive from the town is the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which covers 803km2. Here you can go walking, cycling or horse riding amid wild open moorlands, fields, wildflower meadows, woodlands, picturesque farms and historic villages. The area is important because of its rare birds, and parts of it are an SSSI and a Special Protection Area. Look out for hen harriers, golden plover, red grouse and redshank, as well as roe deer and plants including bird's foot trefoil, oxeye daisies and heather. There are also opportunities to go fishing, gliding, paragliding and hot air ballooning.

Attractions

The award-winning Cobble Hey Farm and Gardens are more than 600 feet above sea level – you can see the Welsh mountains and the Isle of Man on a good day. The gardens are home to a National Collection of Geraniums, as well as a Japanese garden and large pond, and there are plants for sale. There are rare breeds of cattle and sheep – you can watch the lambing in the spring – and pygmy goats, as well as a variety of birdlife.

Garstang Golf Course, built in 1992, has an 18-hole course, floodlit driving range, practice green and indoor and outdoor putting green, as well as a bar, restaurant and shop.

At the family-run Dewlay Cheesemakers, founded in 1957, you can watch the cheese being made from the viewing gallery. There's also a museum, with cheesemaking equipment from the 1930s and displays on the history of Lancashire cheese.

The Artroom Gallery exhibits and sells work mainly by artists and artisans from Lancashire and the north, including paintings, prints, ceramics, glasswork, jewellery, textiles and woodwork.

Eating and drinking

Housed in an 18th-century building with oak beams and textured stone walls, the family run Pipers restaurant serves modern English cuisine and inventive desserts. There's an American menu on Thursdays, and a kids' menu too. For a daytime snack, try Vicky's Coffee and Cupcakes, where you'll find Malibu coconut cupcakes, three-storey sponge cake and plenty more sweet treats. Head to the Royal Oak, a former 17th-century coaching inn, for home-cooked food, real ales and two beer gardens, or The Great Season or Ken Ma for a Chinese.