A recent 'bored' day led to a trip visiting several shops on the southern side of Manchester.
Starting at Cockfield, have to say stock levels were very down, lots of empty display tanks, only a handful of plants. Dry goods too seemed more sparse than when I last visited a few years back.
Maidenhead @ Ashton. Good basic range of plants, looks like they are getting ready for a basic bunched plants tank too (pots are Aquafleur). Good range of livestock and dry goods.
P@Home Ashton. Basic small range.
GayLyfe Levenshulme - old style nostalgia trip shop. Basic livestock range, and dry goods. Possibly best and cheapest stock of bogwood in the area. Healthy basic range of bunched plants.
Manchester Pets & Aquatics Ardwick. One to add on the itinerary if you have your small people with you. Small basic range of freshwater, and marine. Plants looked a bit sorry for themselves. Arachnophobe? Give it a miss.
Abyss - excellent range of everything really. Exception is the plants
Refills JBL CO2
P@Home Stockport. When I visited the plants looked tired and worse for wear. Basic range of dry goods and tank filler fish.
Maidenhead @ Woodford. Appeared to be a slightly poorer relation to branch at Ashton. Pond stuff would appear to be their main earner so as you would imagine more pond stock. Plants again Aquafleur, but possibly less of a turnover so looked a little worse for wear.
Aquatics @ Wilmslow Garden Centre. Stunning discus and African cichlids. Plants looked a bit tired. Dry goods from Juwel, Tetra and Aqua One.
So to summit, plants buying still has a long long way to go to catch up with the specialist mail order sellers. Maidenhead Ashton undoubtedly the best of those I visited. Dry goods and livestock, first choice would be the Abyss, then in joint second Wilmslow, both Maidenhead. Bog wood winner by a country mile is GayLyfe, big pieces, and a reasonable choice too for probably half the price of the Abyss.