Tom Tom Time - Finding Cheshire Oaks
Cheshire Oaks Outlet Centre is located at Ellesmere Port, just off the M56 at Junction 10 of the M53 and is well signposted from both motorways. For those unfamiliar with the area, Ellesmere Port is a rather sad and unloved place on the Mersey estuary. If you are a glass half-full sort of person, then it has a fairly interesting Boat Museum or if you are a glass half-empty soul, it's got a massive and sometimes very smelly oil refinery on its doorstep. Fortunately the refinery isn't as unpleasant as it used to be when I first started visiting about 15 years ago. At that time, the area around Ellesmere Port was the only place that I could be sure that the strange smells in my elderly Austin Allegro were coming from outside and not from the engine.
Big Mac
Cheshire Oaks is a McArthur Glen outlet centre, and is one of seven in the UK and 20 or so Europe-wide. At the time Cheshire Oaks first opened in the mid 1990s it was the largest such designer outlet centre in the whole of Europe although I believe it may have now slipped down the rankings a little despite several phases of expansion. I've visited several other such centres and for me Cheshire Oaks remains the original and best option for Outlet shopping. I've been visiting the Oaks since it first opened and still go back to shop every few months and it's where I regularly meet a friend for coffee and sandwiches at Pret a Manger. It's on my route to work and once in a while a girl's just got to give in to temptation.
I think it's worth noting that I hate shopping. Unless I'm haggling over rugs in a far flung exotic place or getting a cracking good bargain, I just can't be bothered. Shopping is not a leisure pursuit for me - it's a necessary evil to be got through as quickly and painlessly as possible.
What should you expect?
Cheshire Oaks currently has around 140 stores and seems to be benefiting from the economic problems of the past year. Many people who don't want to completely abandon their 'labels' can still find the brands they love at significant reductions. It's not all about clothes though, Cheshire Oaks also has great choices for household items, books, toiletries, travel goods, and more handbags than you could get through in a lifetime. They aren't all fancy labels either - in addition to the upmarket stores like Jaeger, Austin Reed, Burberry and Charles Tyrwhitt, you'll also find plenty of mid-range stores like Next, Gap M&S and Oasis. Two of my favourites are Nitya and East, although in the case of Nitya the clothing is pretty impractical and needs a major reduction to be worth looking at.
Size 8 top, size 22 bottom?
It's hard to imagine that such figures exist but if you really want to be sure of a bargain, it probably helps to be a bit oddlly shaped. This is a familar problem associated with outlet clothing or even High Street sales - for example unless you are lucky, you might find the suit you love is only available in a jacket that would be tight on a midget and trousers that would be baggy on an elephant.
It's a bit pot luck at times. It can be particularly frustrating for women looking for the 12 to 14 sizes in many of the stores as this seems to be what everyone else wants and the commonest sizes go first (or are less available to start with).
Bargains for your home as well as for you
For household items there are some real bargains to be had. I have a Denby dinner service and got a tip off from the store that my dinner plates will be on offer one week at half the normal discounted price so I was straight in to pick up another half dozen. I've often seen kitchen knife sets discounted to less than 20% of their normal price and have picked up some cracking bargains on saucepans. This is the sort of stuff people tend to cut back on in a recession. If it's a choice between little Jenny's new school shoes and a fab new stock pot, most people will make do with their old kitchen equipment for a little longer. Suitcases and other luggage are also available from several shops and electronics stores offer a wide range of products at different price levels. Ever since the demise of Zavvi there no longer seems to be anywhere to buy CDs, DVDs etc and this is a bit of a weakness in the current portfolio of stores.
The stores that just don't 'get' it
Some stores seem to be offering very little in the way of discount and I'm not entirely sure why they are there - the BOSE electronics store, for example, doesn't appear to deviate from the standard store pricing and they can be found in quite a few outlet centres, perhaps trying to pick up the bored husbands who want to look at gadgets and escape from their wives with their shoe and handbag fixations.
Eating and Drinking
Cheshire Oaks has a large food court which offers a variety of different fast food options all under one roof with the added 'attraction' of a large dining area located inside a big old boat. Scattered fairly evenly around the shopping areas you'll find pretty much the full range of coffee shops - Pret, Starbucks, Costa, Millies, BBs etc - and there are a smaller number of proper sit down restaurants too.
How long do you need?
How long is a piece of string? It depends on you and what you are looking for as well as just how much stamina you have. When I first started going to the Oaks, it was a day out destination and I could easily spend a whole day just wandering round, stopping off for lunch and doing the complete circuit of all the shops. These days with the Oaks on my everyday route, I take more of a Commando approach - I plan my mission, I get in, identify my targets, grab what I need and blitz my way out again in 60 to 90 minutes. By going in the evenings and adopting my SAS-raid approach, I benefit from great attention from the staff, no queues in the changing rooms and no crowds to contend with. In the run up to Christmas they were open until 10pm every evening, instead of the usual 8pm closing time, so I had lots of opportunities.
Finding your Way Around
Challenge number one is to find a parking space which may take some time if you go at peak times.
Challenge number two would be remembering where you left the car. Car Parking has been improved and expanded a lot in recent years and I seldom struggle for a place these days, although fortunately I've never had to resort to the massive multi-storey at the back of the site.
The stores are laid out in a large ovoid ring so you can - if you choose - start at any point and just keep going in one direction until you get back again. There's no risk of missing anything if you keep your eyes open.
Special events are sometimes held at weekends and I once attended a motor-themed day with motorcycling exhibitions and a chance to see famous film cars such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (much smaller in real life than you expect), some Bond cars and even the De Lorean from Back to the Future. In the run up to Christmas, the lights and the fantastic giant Christmas tree will really help to get you in the mood to part with your cash and last year they even had an ice rink.
So will you be blown away by the bargains?
That depends very much on what you are looking for, how picky you are and what constitutes a bargain in your eyes. I'm seldom disappointed but then I'm not the sort of person who HAS to have this years key colour, shape, whatever. It's also important to keep in mind that prices are good for what you get but if you are looking for something really cheap you might do better to check the low-end High St stores. 70% off Austin Reed is still almost always going to be more than full price in Primark or Matalan.Remember also that if you get carried away and get home with a car full of stuff and you can't remember why you bought it, most stores will exchange unwanted items for up to 30 days. If not, they'll make you aware when you buy that no returns are possible on a particular item.
If this sounds like your idea of a great day out but hell on earth for your partner or family, you can offload the non-shoppers at the Boat Museum, the Aquarium or maybe the multiplex cinema or bowling alley in the nearby Coliseum Centre
Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow 
