{"id":2361,"date":"2025-04-29T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=2361"},"modified":"2025-04-30T21:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T21:58:16","slug":"i-visited-the-uks-biggest-tesco-with-costco-style-bulk-buys-and-its-very-own-greggs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/i-visited-the-uks-biggest-tesco-with-costco-style-bulk-buys-and-its-very-own-greggs\/","title":{"rendered":"I visited the UK\u2019s biggest Tesco with Costco-style bulk buys and its very own Greggs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Jon\t<\/div>
104,797 square feet, Tesco Walkden is one of the largest supermarkets in Europe. (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tesco<\/a> has long been my go-to supermarket<\/a>, and I’ve always thought of my local branch as being pretty well-stocked. Turns out, it’s but a shadow of what the good people of Greater Manchester<\/a> enjoy.<\/p>\n

The country’s largest Tesco, in Walkden<\/strong>, is the UK’s biggest supermarket full stop – and one of the most sizeable in Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Occupying an incredible 104,797 square feet, this Tesco is about the size of a Manhattan city block and twice as big as Bill Gates’s house. <\/p>\n

Incidentally, that also leaves it eight times bigger than Manchester Cathedral, just 30 minutes to the east.<\/p>\n

Technically a ‘hypermarket’, the store features many concessions, and more than a few features I’d never seen in any other Tesco<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arriving at Tesco Walkden<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Tesco\t<\/div>
You don’t quite get the scale of the site from the outside. (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Honestly, my first impressions were a bit… meh. The store didn’t look nearly as vast as my imagination had led me to believe. When you hear ‘the UK’s largest Tesco’, the mind conjures up images of a giant retail metropolis, possibly resembling the exterior of the Death Star (only with a big Clubcard<\/a> sticker on it).<\/p>\n

However, from the outside, the store looks pretty much like any other Tesco Extra. It’s obviously large, but it’s tough to get an idea of the scale of it – that is, until I walked inside.<\/p>\n

The size of the place really does hit you immediately. The ceilings seem impossibly high, and I count close to 40 aisles of groceries alone (there are over 60 aisles in total).<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"The\t<\/div>
The view from the upstairs cafe just shows Tesco, as far as the eye can see. (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It took me two minutes and six seconds to do the 187 steps to get from one end of the shop to the other. Yes, I really did count. <\/p>\n

While you’ll notice a lot of your everyday Tesco favourites<\/a>, many of these have been supersized. <\/p>\n

The bakery, for example, is pretty extensive, offering all the classics from sweet treats to pastries and freshly baked bread. Considering I was visiting around lunchtime on a Friday, it was still really well stocked.<\/p>\n

The fruit and veg section also occupies a ridiculous amount of space, right in the heart of the store, and the F&F clothing rails could be an entire shop in itself.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"The\t<\/div>
The clothing section alone was vast. (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

F&F had a massive sale on too, and I was severely tempted by a navy zip-up, which was 50% off at just \u00a311. <\/p>\n

A lot of Tesco staples you’ll find in other local branches are on offer, but I noticed an abundance of ‘XL’ sizes and larger variety packs that aren’t as easy to find.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are more than a few bargains to be found amongst the shelves, but I found the Home section to be particularly rich in cheap discounted trinkets. <\/p>\n

A candlelight 3D bunny mug was a rather adorable purchase at \u00a32, with some fitted sheets (\u00a33), F&F tea towels (\u00a32), and oven gloves (\u00a32.50) also reduced to clear.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
Yes, this came home with me and, no, I don’t require your judgment (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A beige ottoman (yes, this store even does furniture), down from \u00a335 to \u00a325 for Clubcard holders struck me as a pretty good price, with side tables, meal trays, and shelving all priced under \u00a320, too. <\/p>\n

In the wider store, a 32″ Sharp TV with 25% off for Clubcard customers (\u00a3139, down from \u00a3189) also stuck out, as well as the 40″ version below it with \u00a330 off (\u00a3189, down from \u00a3219), and a Fly HoverVac 250 also with a third off at just \u00a360. <\/p>\n

What makes Tesco Walkden different<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Concessions\t<\/div>
There are plenty of concessions at Tesco Walkden (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, the big question: what makes this big Tesco different from the rest? <\/p>\n

Well, Tesco Walkden features a total of nine concessions (stores within stores, if you will) that include some you might expect (Tesco Mobile store, Tesco pharmacy, Tesco Caf\u00e9) and some you probably wouldn’t, like a Yo! Sushi counter, a Holland and Barrett, Vision Express, Max Spielman Photo Expert, Early Learning Centre and The Entertainer.<\/p>\n

While I found the meal deal selection a little underwhelming, the reason for this immediately became apparent when I realised that this branch of Tesco literally has its own Greggs. Not just a counter, but an actual store. What a winner. <\/p>\n

Tesco Walkden also has another unique offering: its ‘Bulk Buy’ section. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Bulk\t<\/div>
The bulk buy aisle was something I hadn’t seen before (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reminding me of Costco<\/a>, the Bulk Buys offer huge packs of all sorts of everyday essentials at an additional discount.<\/p>\n

Some of the standouts here included eight rolls of ‘Plenty’ kitchen roll for just over a tenner, a 24-variety box of Seabrook crisps for \u00a34.75, and what can only be described as a giant vat containing 10 litres of sunflower oil for \u00a317.<\/p>\n

While honourable mentions go to the XXXL Surf Mega box and 20 pack of Kinder Buenos, the two highlights had to be a huge 400g jar of Douwe Egbert’s coffee at \u00a315, and 600 Tetley teabags at \u00a312 per (giant) bag. Although, I’m strictly an Earl Grey man at heart. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Laundrette\t<\/div>
My local Tesco does not have one of these. (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oh, and it also has an autonomous laundrette in the car park. That was a first for me, and I can definitely see the advantage of having a load on while you do your weekly food shop.<\/p>\n

The store is clearly a hit with the locals, with one regular shopper telling me there’s actually a smaller branch closer to where she lives, but she prefers coming to Walkden, ‘for the bigger selection’.<\/p>\n

‘Plus, it has a Greggs!’ she concluded, excitedly. <\/p>\n

I mean, I get it. <\/p>\n

What did I buy from the UK’s biggest Tesco?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Jon\t<\/div>
The Greggs was a big hit with me (Picture: Jon Fellowes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Truth be told, not much. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, a sizeable commute by public transport hampered my ability to actually complete the big shop, as the last thing anyone needs is a whole chicken slowly defrosting next to them on the 1.41pm from Oxford Road. <\/p>\n

However, I did make use of the Greggs to grab my lunch (including the obligatory vegan sausage roll), some delightful scented candles at \u00a32, and a big tube of Pringles at \u00a31.95 (Clubcard price).<\/p>\n

And, yes, I also bought the bunny mug, but I swear that’s a gift. <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tHow to get to Tesco Walkden\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

If you’re driving, the hypermarket has over 900 car parking spaces.<\/p>\n

However, if you’re travelling by public transport, the store is just a 10 to 15-minute walk from Walkden Station. There are also a couple of bus stops practically right outside. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

104,797 square feet, Tesco Walkden is one of the largest supermarkets in Europe. (Picture: Jon Fellowes) Tesco has long been my go-to supermarket, and I’ve always thought of my local branch as being pretty well-stocked. Turns out, it’s but a shadow of what the good people of Greater Manchester enjoy. The country’s largest Tesco, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2361"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions\/2373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}