Weekend in Stoke on Trent

[ODFOx]

Apart from World of Wedgwood ( already booked) what should a 3 generation group of adults ( the most elderly of whom doesn't walk too far) do/visit and where should we eat this weekend? Staying in Hanley, breakfasting at hotel.
Thank you

What is the Gladstone museum like? They are showing the Throw Down bird baths from Wednesday. It looks cobbly with lots of steep stairs. Is it?

Thanks

We have cars, so can travel.

I havn't been for 30 years but it was very cobbly then.

Have a look at the new Vic theatre - lovely cafe, great shows.

They have the Staffordshire Hoard which is truly magnificent. They have some weird and wonderful exhibits in the natural history part and of course, Ozzy the ugly ceramic owl, a world beater.

Go elsewhere for food, the cafe is ok but not all that.

Is the Spode Factory Museum still open? I loved that - small and obviously run by enthusiasts on a shoestring (compared with the expensive professionalism of Middleport Pottery). And they sold old stock from their stores, so you could get random pieces (eg test pieces that never went into production). I don't know if they still do that.

If you have NT passes, Biddulph Grange is only about a 30 min drive from Hanley.
Lovely gardens to wander around and a nice little cafe.

There is a very nice little wildlife centre in Eccleshall about 30 mins south West, it is all rescue animals and costs about £6. It's attached to a garden centre, and Eccleshall is a nice posh village.

Some good suggestions here about for nice places.

I was raised in Stoke-on-Trent and have lived there for a lot of my life.
I really would NOT stay in Hanley. It was a busy, lovely thriving town for years, now it's full of druggies and no one with any sense goes there.

I'd have suggested Biddulph Grange but it is quite a way from Hanley/Barlaston/Trentham. (I live on the next road!)

However that also made me think. Leek is lovely, there is a little antiques market and lots of lovely cafes plus an art gallery where local artists exhibit and sell.

The Gladstone museum is really really good! Some stairs, yes cobbles but so interesting. The V&A bit of Wedgwood is good. The tea is not.

Middleport Pottery is lovely and worth a visit. I haven't been there for a while as no longer live in Staffordshire. There is a cafe there, and it's by the canal. It was the original location for the Pottery Throwdown before they moved to Gladstone, which is in Longton.

Trentham Gardens has a lovely shopping village, all cabin shops and very nice atmosphere. And as said, also lake and gardens.

There is also Stone and surrounding areas, just 7 miles outside S-o-T. There is the Aston Marina close by and Stone market town itself has quite a few good coffee shops and a few good pubs.

For a walk in the woods, Cannock Chase Forest.

There's also Shugborough Hall for architecture and lovely gardens, owned by the National Trust - really lovely and interesting.

Another National Trust is Biddulph Grange Gardens, really worth a visit.

If you love tea rooms, highly recommend The Rabbit Hole Tearoom in Stoke centre itself but you DO have to book in advance.

Yes, I second Leek as another poster has said and the Staffordshire Moorlands in general which is on the fringe of the Peak District which is wonderful - though I know now coming out of Stoke-on-Trent but have to mention it!

Afternoon tea at Emma bridgewater .

The pottery where they film The Great Pottery Throw Down has an exhibition of pottery from the show.

Yes.

This. The Potteries Museum is really interesting.

As others have said, Burleigh Pottery at Middleport is nice.

Emma Bridgewater.

Trentham Gardens / the monkey forest

I wouldn't stay in Hanley though, tbh

Oh yes, the Potteries Museum

Regent Theatre

Smoke on Stench. I'm a Stokie .
You can do the pottery /ceramic museums then do the Potteries museum by the library.
Leek is better for a poodle about .
Come to Burton. 30/40 minutes away and you can do Sudbury Museum of Childhood.
Tutbury. Castle,tea rooms, boutiques.
The only things I miss about my home town are family and oatcakes. And the accent.

Oh yes, Gladstone Pottery Museum

All very pottery based but it is the Potteries!

Ford Green Hall - but check opening times

The Secret Bunker is about half an hour drive away. It's the underground shelter built for government during the Cold War. It's interesting if you're into that sort of thing. It's also very creepy and supposed to be haunted - if you believe that stuff. I don't believe in ghosts but it is very eerie.

Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker. We might be needing it soon.

The Gladstone Museum is lovely. It'd only fill half a day but the exhibitions are interesting. Especially the toilet one! There's no reference to the Pottery Throwdown though, but of course you get to see all the buildings including the Steps of Pottery Carrying!

Gladstone is a great museum, and it’s worth seeing if you can book to throw some pottery when you’re there. It’s a bit bobbly, and there are stairs in parts, but mostly on one level, except the toilet exhibit IIRC. My favourite place to eat in Hanley is Slamwich Club, which I love and everyone I know who has been loves too, but making assumptions about the oldest generation of your party based on their mobility, it might not be their cup of tea. Pottery painting at Emma Bridgewater is fun. As other people have said, Monkey Forest and Trentham Gardens are nice at Trentham, as is Gentleshaw Wildlife Centre and Biddulph Grange Gardens but all require walking when you’re there. I haven’t been to the Potteries museum in about ten years, but enjoyed it last time I was there. Personally I wouldn’t bother with Leek. I grew up ten minutes from there and it’s nice enough if you’re nearby and need to go to a town, but there’s nothing there that’s worth a half hour drive for me. Cannock Chase is lively, but again requires walking when there, and probably not worth the drive.