Cheshire Oaks is one of my favourite places at Christmas - but you have to be prepared

The huge tree, twinkling lights and crowds of shoppers mark the start of the festive season for me - as does wrapping up warm, grabbing a hot drink and exploring all of the shops.

These days, the designer outlet also features an impressive Winter Village - a festive addition to the major shopping destination that draws in huge crowds and makes a trip to Cheshire Oaks even more exciting.

The village features a Ferris wheel, carousel, Alpine Lodge and a whole host of festive food and drinks stalls, as well as a new ice rink.

With just over a month until Christmas Day, I headed to Cheshire Oaks on Saturday (November 15) to begin shopping for gifts and immerse myself in the festive spirit.

Taking 40 minutes by car from Liverpool city centre, we set off at around 8.45am in a bid to get a decent parking space. The shops open at 9.00am, so we aimed to be parked up by around 9.30am.

When we arrived it was already busy, but we managed to find a parking space pretty easily and went around our favourite shops before the crowds became too big. We did two loops of the whole outlet, grabbed a coffee and a sweet treat, and looked around the Winter Village before heading back home at about 12.00pm.

The decorations this year were beautiful and the huge Christmas tree looked as stunning as ever. The food stalls at the Winter Village made the nearby area smell like Christmas and a morning around the shops really made me feel like the most magical time of the year had finally arrived.

Cheshire Oaks truly is a must-visit during the festive period if you’re located around the North West, and will always be one of my favourite places for a Christmassy day out. But, you really do need to be prepared.

We managed to get in and out of the car park really easily this year, but have previously faced huge queues to exit and difficulties finding a space in the first place. I’d recommend aiming to get there around opening time and ideally in the next few weeks rather than right before Christmas.

Either way though, I’d say it’s worth a little bit of queueing.