Top Stoke-On-Trent Attractions
Stoke-on-Trent boasts world-class attractions and museums for visitors of all kinds. Furthermore, there are top restaurants and lively bars located here as well.
Potteries enthusiasts will delight in visiting Emma Bridgewater Factory, offering visitors tours and shopping opportunities of quintessentially British designs. Meanwhile, those seeking an exciting adventure should head over to Alton Towers where heart-pounding roller coasters are sure to thrill.
Emma Bridgewater Factory
Emma Bridgewater mugs and tableware have long been treasured fixtures of many households, thanks to its timeless classic-modern pottery being handcrafted at its factory since 1985 when its founder could not find ceramicware that reflected her taste and lifestyle. After choosing Stoke-on-Trent as her base – which boasts an illustrious history of pottery production in England – as her base, Emma Bridgewater remains one of only few remaining factories that still produces its products here instead of outsourcing work overseas.
The factory offers hour-long tours, where visitors can watch skilled artisans at work. Visitors can witness how a lump of clay transforms into finished pieces while meeting its creators; such as the jiggers, jolliers, fettlers, and decorators. Furthermore, guests may decorate their own pieces at their decorating studio before it will be fired and glazed before being sent directly back out through mail delivery.
Additionally, our main factory houses a gift shop featuring the newest designs, and factory outlet selling seconds (items that are structurally sound but have minor superficial flaws at reduced prices) at reduced rates. There’s even a cafe, where guests can enjoy homemade and simple food!
Outside the factory is an exquisite garden and farm yard. Matthew and Emma have transformed this space by renovating an old moat, planting thousands of trees, and drawing in wildlife such as kingfishers, goldfinches and flycatchers to their site. Additionally, they rescued and renovated several historic chapels, such as Bethesda Methodist Church which was under threat of closure.
Gladstone Pottery Museum
Gladstone Pottery Museum is one of the UK’s largest and most comprehensive ceramics museums, serving as a living memorial to Gladstone’s rich industrial past and providing insight into pottery making as an artisanal craft. Additionally, history buffs can learn more about Gladstone’s past role during Britain’s Industrial Revolution.
This museum is a beautifully preserved Victorian factory that operated from the 18th to 1960. With its darkened turrets and bottle-shaped kilns, its unique Dickensian aesthetic transports visitors back in time when Stoke-on-Trent was best known as The Potteries for its porcelain industry.
Visitors to this unique, fully functioning Victorian pottery factory can gain insight into life at hundreds of similar factories that produced everyday ceramics for worldwide consumption. Visitors can tour original workshops and witness staff demonstrations before trying their hand at throwing pots or creating bone china flowers themselves!
Gladstone Pottery Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday morning until late afternoon for a small entrance fee, where visitors can enjoy hot and cold beverages, snacks, meals and more at its cafe while browsing books and pottery in its shop. Special events at Gladstone Pottery Museum include Halloween ghost tours and children’s activities; four impressive bottle kilns must also be seen! These ovens were used for first firing of clay pieces before they were decorated or glazed over.
Intu Potteries Shopping Center
When the Potteries Shopping Centre first opened its doors in 1987, it quickly became an icon in Stoke-on-Trent. Boasting parking for 1,240 cars and many big-name stores – including access to Hanley Market Hall which dates back to 1849! Additionally, celebrities frequently make visits, making this shopping center even more desirable to local shoppers and its basement market offers bargains galore!
The Potteries Centre features several high street favorite stores like Primark and Next as well as a nine-screen Cineworld cinema, plus a food court offering Chiquito’s and Nando’s, along with plenty of events and free Wi-Fi connectivity – perfect for spending an enjoyable day shopping!
Lidl supermarket giant hasn’t agreed on an agreement with Potteries Centre’s owners yet; but in the meantime they are actively encouraging local firms and hosting pop-up shops promoting small firms in order to increase visitor support of smaller firms in the area. Furthermore, local people are being encouraged to use public transport when shopping and travelling around city – this should help reduce number of vehicles on roads while improving air quality.
Peak District National Park
The Peak District National Park covers an area of 555 square miles (1,440 km2). Established in 1951 and covering Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire counties. It features natural features such as moorlands, valleys, rivers and caverns while boasting an extensive cultural legacy with historic houses, villages as well as museums, attractions and events – and is one of England’s oldest national parks.
Finding your way around the park is straightforward thanks to a comprehensive network of footpaths (free to use) and bridle paths open to walkers and riders, many of which are signposted, while others require using a map and Ordnance Survey guide for guidance. Regular bus services run to many major towns and villages within its boundaries.
This region is ideal for hiking, cycling, mountain biking and horseback riding – in addition to providing opportunities for fishing, angling, climbing, caving, gliding, visiting historic houses and eating at country pubs and tea rooms. There are also numerous villages that provide a real taste of Britain, such as Castleton (famous for its caves), Eyam (“plague village”) Bakewell (traditional market town), Tissington (near the trail), Great Hucklow.
Experience luxurious living by visiting the World of Wedgwood, where you can learn about its rich history while getting hands-on at their Master Craft Studio and enjoying afternoon tea. Alton Towers theme park also offers thrilling roller coasters and water rides for an exhilarating ride!
Stoke-on-Trent Film Theatre
If you’re in Stoke-on-Trent looking to watch films not found at multiplex cinemas, look no further than the Stoke Film Theatre. Established over three decades ago and offering an eclectic range of movies not available elsewhere – its intimate setting offers the ideal way to relax and unwind in a cinematic experience.
The Theatre was constructed in 1928 and opened its doors for business on January 29, seating more than 900 people (compare this to Cineworld at Potteries Centre, Odeon Festival Park or Vue Newcastle-under-Lyme which all hold less than 500). It features a large auditorium as well as frontages on Piccadilly Cheapside and Pall Mall.
The Stoke Film Theatre has built an international reputation for presenting independent and foreign films as well as verbatim theatre – creating plays based on accounts written from memory by ordinary members of the public recollecting events or methods of working, such as mining or pottery industry processes. Dramas about mining or pottery production have even been presented here!
The theatre can be reached by train or bus from the city centre and features a single screen auditorium with 212 seats; volunteers run it. Unfortunately, during Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in March 2020 it had to close for safety reasons but now Staffordshire University has given a way forward.
Biddulph Grange Garden
Biddulph Grange Garden in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, is an incredible attraction that is sure to enchant and surprise. Boasting revitalized Italian gardens, magnificent flower beds and an alluring lake for strolling, it also features pinetums and one of Britain’s largest stumperies – guaranteed to make for an incredible visit!
James and Maria Bateman designed their garden as part of their house and grounds to showcase their impressive collection of plants. Gardeners utilized rockwork, topiary, tree stumps, eclectic buildings as well as hidden secrets like a four stone sphynx temple in which James’ initials are etched into its tomb-like tunnel – while also keeping some secrets about themselves hidden!
Gardens also include features inspired by different cultures and countries. Biddulph Grange’s China Garden features many Chinese-related features such as red and turquoise pagodas, bridges across water features, joss houses or temples and red dragon carvings in the lawns.
While at the garden, don’t miss the dazzling Dahlia Walk! Featuring dahlias planted in tiers between massive buttressed yew hedging for an overall garden showpiece, these dahlias bloom from June until early September before reaching their peak bloom. Additionally, the gardens also provide cafes and picnic spots where visitors can relax with hot meals or sip tea while relaxing outdoors.
