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

The leisure centre is currently closed as it's being renovated. The overflow car park is still open but there's a lot of machinery/barriers etc in the main car park and it's a bit of a pain to get around if you have mobility issues.

Thank you for that update.

Thats ok, I'm sure with an attitude like that to an entire area and it's lovely people, we're better off without you in it.

We live rurally, so if we need to get in the car, 10 miles is probably of less concern to us than someone who is used to having things nearby.
Hence, this evening we drove to Longton, which I had not checked on street view, otherwise we might have missed out on the absolutely fantastic Indian/Nepalese restaurant we visited. Absolutely brilliant.
I'm not a spammer so I'm not going to name it but the older members of the group had travelled to meet us from Scotland and they said that it was lovely seeing us but they'd do the journey next time just for the restaurant.
The comments focussing on how run down Stoke on Trent is in places are disappointing given that some parts are so fantastic.
We're off to World of Wedgwood and the museums tomorrow.

That's so nice OP! Definitely adding that one to my list for future inlaw visits.

For complicated reasons we had to source an Indian restaurant driveable from Stoke open on Christmas day once and Mumsnet helped us find a fab one in Warrington.

The best thing about Stoke is the friendly people.

Have a great day at World of Wedgwood. If you're able to walk a bit it's worth walking up to see Wedgwood's old home, now a private house.

Gladstone is fantastic,one of the best museums I've visited,so interesting.

It's cobbly and there are some steps but all safe and secure and hand rails.

Theres a Star Wars exhibition on at the Museum at the moment as well if anyone is into that kind of thing? £6 entry to the exhibit but the museum itself is free.

And I know which restaurant you refer to OP and I concur!

Bluebell Inn at kidsgrove is a nice old canal side pub, simple homemade food and a walk, hopefully see some birds.

Definitely oatcakes, cheese and mushroom. Yum.

I do miss the oatcakes I will say.

I preferred The mma Bridgewater tour, afternoon tea and pottery painting, to Wedgwood

Apedale country park in Newcastle under Lyme is interesting. There is a light railway and also a coal mine tour which is scary but fascinating.
The little Brampton Museum in Newcasle is nice and surrounded by pleasant gardens, sometimes there is a large scale model steam train operating which does rides.
Also I highly recommend Ford Green Hall, oldest building in Stoke and set up to recreate life back when it was built. https://fordgreenhall.org.uk/

High Lane Oatcake shop in Tunstall!
Trentham Gardens
Regent Theatre
The staff s university chip shop on Queen Anne street near the College Road campus

If The Film Theatre in college road is still there (I graduated from Staffs Uni in 2009 so it's been a while) that may be showing some good art house film that's worth seeing.

Lichfield cathedral is worth a look.

It's moved now to Hartshill. Not sure why.

Our weekend in Stoke:
Hilton hotel in Hanley (walking distance from uni halls) 8/10
Friday dinner: Indian/Nepalese restaurant at Longton 12/10
Saturday hotel breakfast 8/10 fine.
World of Wedgwood pottery painting: 10/10. Fantastic staff (paid for 1.5 hr session, they didn't even blink when autistic DS needed/wanted much longer to make it perfect), just moved him over to a side workbench with all his stuff.
WoW VandA museum; lovely, interesting, beautiful, took over an hour and free. 9/10 as not all of the party were enthused.
WoW shopping: 6/10 Lots of lovely things to see but v.v. expensive. I picked up a naive/rustic mini-owl less than 2inches high thinking it was a cute thing until I spotted the £170 price tag!
Dinner at Italian opposite Regent Theatre in Hanley 5/10. Entirely average. Nothing terrible, nothing great. Probably a bit pricy for the food quality but lovely staff etc.
Parking in Hanley: obnoxious thundercunts (not a phrase I've ever had cause to use before) -50/10. I paid a 'pay over the phone' company for parking: then a Stoke parking officer gave me a ticket (£35 if paid within 14 days) because my tyres were on the line (absolutely not over the line with the outside edge of the tyre) and therefore 'not wholly within the assigned parking area'.
If we'd all been able to walk from the hotel we would have done.
Sunday morning breakfast at hotel as before.
Trentham garden centre 10/10: it's a lovely garden centre, very pleasant to potter round. A good quality toys section. An expensive gift biscuits section. A nice (surprisingly big) cafe with scones that the older members of the group enjoyed very much.
Then we zoomed back to WoW for an artisan market that runs 2nd Sunday every month but they were already winding down. Hence reserving judgement for next time.
Allowing for naps (elders), decompression (autistic DS) and finding our way around generally, suddenly the weekend was gone.
Next time we'll do Gladstone and potteries museums, pot throwing, dim sum in Newcastle. We'll try to visit on a weekday so we can do some factory tours. Perhaps throw in a super restaurant, but definitely go back to the Nepalese place.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Hanley (based on the Saturday night traffic wardens and the rubbish on the streets alone) is an unloved place certainly.
There's plenty to see and do if you're interested in social history, pottery, the Industrial Revolution generally. Meanwhile on my researching I found the outdoor ski slope: DS is already booked in the dome sessions over Easter.
Thanks for all the suggestions: it's a good place to visit! Please keep the ideas coming for next time. Thanks

And everywhere we went everyone was lovely: from the tescos security guard to the pottery ladies at Wedgwood. ... except the parking person, obviously, but we didn't actually meet them 😀.

Unfortunately we’ve had a couple of very average or bad meals in La Bella Napoli. There is a lovely one in Newcastle under Lyme.

Yeah, I mentioned it above Pasta di Piazza in both Newcastle and Stone. Wipes the floor with La Bella Napoli.

Not sure how old your son is Op, but there are some interesting steam railway at
Foxfield https://foxfieldrailway.co.uk

Churnet Valley https://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk

Thank you for posting this. That Longton restaurant you mention is the absolute best - the food is off the scale.
And there are some lovely start up restaurants opposite the Regent in Hanley, and quite a few microbreweries in various places. There is a fantastic restaurant (Luna) in Barlaston (I think it’s Michelin starred) and also in Longton an amazing little hang out called Kiln where you can throw a pot and have the best cake and coffee.

you can kick the city as much as you like (and I’m an interloper, and don’t live in, but about 5 miles out) but unless we promote it it won’t change. The above are all wonderful places run by dedicated, interested people. If we don’t visit and help it’ll never be anywhere better….

Reading this makes me want to book to go. I've not been there but my son and several friends highly reccommend it.

Bella Bella Napoli had a reputation for being expensive and small portions. I honestly don't know how they've stayed open for so many years.

Tubing at the ski centre is great fun

Convenience. We used to go when we wanted somewhere to eat before the theatre if The Quarter was booked up.

Absolutely book it! The Pollo Mustardo was out of this world.