Ice cream sales booming from Monday to sundae in Wigan's hot weather

And the town’s ice cream parlours have all bases covered when it comes to keeping residents cool during the sweltering weather.

In the heart of Mesnes Park at the pavilion, Frederick’s Ice Cream is arguably the most prominent parlour in the town.

The parlour’s manager Emma Townson said the summer months have brought a wealth of trade, even if certain sporting events are attracting people to more liquid refreshments.

“It’s been a lot, lot busier with the nice weather,” she said.

“We’ve had a few lulls, particularly on weekends, because of the World Cup drawing people to pubs a bit more, but it’s still been nice and busy!”

That’s not to say trade is slow throughout the rest of the year at Frederick’s.

Emma added: “You do notice a lot more people coming in for ice cream. During the winter, we still get lots of customers. A lot of dog walkers coming in for coffee etc, but now we have queues for ice cream.

“It’s lovely,” she said of the heat wave and the resulting sales boom.

“It’s a part of summer, having an ice cream, having one in a nice park or by the canal. It’s always been part of a tradition that you can’t get when you’re getting a litre of it from a supermarket.”

Emma revealed that the most popular ice cream flavour at the pavilion are the refreshing fruity sorbets.

Elsewhere in the borough, Wiganers can be found queuing through the door for a taste of tradition from Gold’s Ice Cream at 89 Whelley.

The shop sells traditional, Italian-style gelato made with whole milk and double cream and coming in over 150 flavours, including strawberries and champagne, parma violets, pistachio, ‘death by chocolate’ and even ‘Unicorn flavour’.

Kian Brookes, server at Gold’s, says demand for their sweet treats has risen so rapidly that they have had to start opening for longer.

He said: “Normally we are open until 6pm, but we’ve recently had to stay open until 8pm. We are raking in the sales, people are queuing out the door!

“When it’s cold out, we’re still quite busy because we sell pancakes and waffles, but now there’s a huge ice cream demand.”

Kian added: “If you want good quality ice cream and great service, then Gold’s is the place to come!”