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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Dianne Bourne

The hidden woodland pizza and coffee den getting crowds walking miles to find it near Altrincham

This is the stunning woodland den serving up artisan coffees and freshly made wood-fired pizzas - if you can find it that is.

Into The Wild is set in a woodland glen just outside of Altrincham and is only accessible by foot which has encouraged hundreds of families to set out on lovely countryside walks to seek out its hidden pleasures.

It initially started with just a coffee van open every day in the wood - but now owner Adam Taylor has added a wood-fired pizza oven which will be running every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The spring sunshine has seen throngs of people queuing through the wood to get hold of a takeaway hot chocolate or hand-stretched pizza treat.

People queuing in the woods for Into the Wild's coffee (MEN)

The nearest car parking area to the wood is on Ashley Mill Lane - although people are encouraged to park up in Bowdon or Altrincham and then venture out on either a 3.8km easy walking route or a more scenic 5.2km route.

Into The Wild's website asks patrons not to park in the local area - encouraging people to get out into the fresh air.

It says: "We set up our spot in the woodlands to encourage people here... not cars. We've got some wonderful circular routes so you can enjoy the great outdoors and leave your car at home."

Owner Adam said: "We want people to get out and enjoy the countryside but we would encourage people to stick to the footpaths and to walk from Hale and Bowdon where they can park up.

Into the Wild at Bollin Wood (MEN)

"It’s something totally different, yet we are near a vibrant area so I knew it had potential here. But we want to remain as uncommercial as possible. Everything we do here, if we had to move out tomorrow the wood would return to exactly how it was before and that’s the whole point."

The unique venture came about as a direct result of lockdown.

Owner Adam, 37, had initially rented out the area of Bollin Wood for his burgeoning bushcraft business, offering survival schools and weekend retreats for both children and adults. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, he had to close down that side of the business.

He had the idea to get permission for a temporary coffee shack in the wood, while encouraging people to leave their cars at home and get their daily exercise by searching out the coffee van for a well earned pit stop on your walking route.

Into the Wild woodland coffee and wood-fired pizza den at Bollin Wood near Altrincham (MEN)

Thanks to word-of-mouth, the popularity of the woodland has spread, and now with the new pizza offering too there's become huge demand.

Pizzas, which are currently being made and prepared fresh throughout the day on Fridays, Saturday and Sundays come in a range of flavours - including a classic margherita for £8, prosciutto and rocket for £10 and chef's special foraged pizza for £11.50 with wild garlic.

Having tried the prosciutto offering, it's not hard to see why people are queuing for up to an hour for the delightful fresh dough creations.

Pizzas, which are currently being made and prepared fresh throughout the day (MEN)

Coffees, tea and luxury hot chocolates are available every day of the week from the special wooden-cladded coffee van to blend into the woodland.

Prices start from £2.20 for a babyccino up to £3.80 for the luxury hot chocolate - and payment is fully contactless on the site.

Once lockdown restrictions ease, Adam and his team will be hoping to reintroduce the bushcraft events, survival weekends, yoga and corporate training in the wood with updates to be posted on the Into The Wild website in due course.

Adam says while weekends are busy, it's still fairly quiet on weekdays but if there becomes demand the pizzas could be served up on more days too.

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