Westport Lake Visitor Centre Reviews Summary

Visitor Centre & Cafe

Pros:

• "What a beautifully built visitor centre & kind to the planet."
• "The visitor centre/cafe offers a good selection of quality food and drinks, including the local speciality, Staffordshire oatcakes!"
• "The visitor centre has disabled access."
• "The visitor centre is clean and offers a good selection of food and drink and has a balcony at the back with views over the lake."
• "The visitor centre has toilets, some information about the Visitor centre construction as well as local tourist information leaflets."
• "The visitor centre has a cafe inside, serving good hot drinks and home made cakes."
• "A fantastic visitor center for the Westport Lake park."

Cons:

• "Only criticism is that paid for parking will soon be introduced."
• "The staff could do with a lesson in manners didn't get a please or thank you."
• "The food and the drink is tasteless and disgusting, I definitely won't recommend them even for my enemy...."
• "Visitors centre is good, albeit overpriced."
• "The much overwhelmed and overpriced 'visitor centre' - in reality now't more than some fancy cafe wi' a few leaflets in a rack..."
• "Cafe prices are overpriced for the food!"
• "The staff are everything but nice or helpful they always pulling faces and they charging too much for everything!"

Accessibility & Parking

Pros:

• "Very family friendly and accessible for most people."
• "It is approximately one mile around the lake, with many rest areas and benches to sit on, for the not so able."
• "The route around the lake itself is wheelchair friendly."
• "Nice walk around Westport Lake, good access for wheelchair or mobility scooter."
• "There is free parking."
• "Parking is also free!"
• "Free parking as well, excellent."

Cons:

• "Playground not very attractive for wheelchair users or disability."
• "Normally would give it 5☆ but lack of Disability Parking its a no go area on busier days."
• "Only downside is the noisy works happening in the fields nearby."
• "Such a shame the car park moneys don't go to the wildlife trust but to the council instead."
• "Parking is £1.50 for 3 hour's which isn't bad but would be nice if it was free."
• "Car parking can be a problem."
• "Only issue is carparking, it soon gets full!"

Wildlife & Nature

Pros:

• "What a great morning out, love walking around the nature reserve with the grandkids filling the pots with bird food which the Robins gratefully swoop down for."
• "This is the best place to sit, enjoy a nice cuppa and perhaps a treat and watch the wildlife over Westport Lake."
• "There's an abundance of birds with geese, ducks, coots and moorhens."
• "A lovely reserve looked after by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust."
• "Cared for by Stoke council who obviously have the right ideas as to what the wildlife needs, the evidence for this is in the abundance of birds with many different species surviving very happily."
• "Westport lake is excellent ~ plenty of birdwatching to be done."
• "A great place for birds."

Cons:

• "The whole place is covered in their droppings, I would never risk taking a child there, it's a scandal which is in need of urgent attention."
• "The real and serious problem with West port lake is the huge population of mainly Canada Geese."
• "Downside is the considerable amount of duck mess that spoiled our picnic."
• "The swans and geese can be a little threatening too."
• "Shame about the litter in the canal. It definitely needs cleaning up."
• "I don’t understand why you have these really amazing information plaques if they are all covered."
• "Also its not good to see adults actually on the play area."

Facilities & Amenities

Pros:

• "Lovely new play area, however issues with some of the equipment already."
• "Everything you need for a relaxing time."
• "New swings installed and the kids love them, not all climbing swings either like Hanley forest park."
• "Plenty of parking and even a small kids play ground."
• "Lovely cafe, lovely drinks and food which you can take outside to eat."
• "Nice cafe with toilet facilities over looking Westport Lake."
• "Lovely lake and walks around the lake. Great tea room with the most delicious carrot cake."

Cons:

• "Lots of staff but lots of queuing I'm afraid."
• "The cafe system appeared muddled. One person didn't seem to know what the other ones were doing; hence things got mistaken & forgotten."
• "The jobs worth lady who locked the toilets at 3.55 pm and wouldn't open them again."
• "Westport lake used to be lovely but they've 'improved' it with a total eyesore visitor centre and rip off cafe."
• "You now have to pay for parking."
• "The play area is well equipped but sadly in need of a good clean, not ideal for sitting with a picnic."
• "Such a shame the children's park was still not available due to refurbishment. Come on you guys get it sorted ASAP please."