The Ultimate Stoke-on-Trent Student Bucket List

Luke Williams

Six pottery towns are stitched together into one city, and most of what made this place famous is still standing and is open to the public. Some of it you can walk into for free. Some of it you will want to book weeks ahead. Whatever you want to achieve at university, make sure to add a few of these things to your Stoke-on-Trent bucket list this year.

The Ultimate Stoke-on-Trent Student Bucket List

Why Does Everyone Keep Talking About the Potteries?

Start with the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley. There is a restored Spitfire inside, plus a Local History Gallery built around recreated rooms, a schoolroom, a pub, an old chip shop, and a Natural Science gallery with a Discovery Zone that is more fun than it sounds. Bethesda Street is also home to Axiom, one of our own Stoke-on-Trent properties, so this stop needs nothing more than a short walk from your own front door.

Middleport Pottery in Burslem is next. It is a working Victorian factory, open every day from 10 am to 4 pm, with a Heritage Trail through the Lodge Keeper’s House and the Mould Store, and the Packing House Cafe waiting at the end for anyone who has earned a sit-down. Emma Bridgewater offers its own factory tours nearby, along with decorating workshops and afternoon tea, though you will need to book ahead by emailing or calling. Moorcroft Heritage Visitor Centre closes out the pottery trail for £7.50.

Where Do You Go When You Need Fresh Air?

Somewhere between deadlines, you will want somewhere with no Wi-Fi and no reading list. Trentham Gardens is that place. Sweeping lawns, still lakes, and an Italian Garden originally laid out by Capability Brown and recently brought back to life by Tom Stuart-Smith. There are boat trips on the lake if you fancy one, and it takes around half an hour to get there from the city centre by public transport. Right next door sits Trentham Monkey Forest, where a three-quarter-mile path takes you through 140 free-roaming Barbary macaques with nothing caged and nothing fenced off between you.

What’s a Stoke City Matchday Like?

30,089 seats fill up across four stands at the bet365 Stadium, home of Stoke City Football Club. You should buy tickets via the club’s website, though Championship fixtures rarely sell out. Driving in, you are close to the Sideway junction with the A500. By bus, it’s around 15 minutes from Glebe Street in the city centre.

Before you plan anything, a few things worth knowing:

  • Book Emma Bridgewater and Middleport Pottery ahead of time. Both get busy with coach groups outside term time.
  • Head to Middleport midweek if you want to look round without a queue forming behind you.
  • The Trentham Estate shops are free to walk. It is the Monkey Forest and gardens that come with a separate charge.
  • Walk Bethesda Street properly, not just past it. The museum and Axiom sit close enough that you have no excuse not to.

None of this needs a car, a big budget, or a gap in term time to fit around. Most of it sits closer to where you are living now than anything comparable did back home. Have a look at the rooms we have available in Stoke-on-Trent before you settle on anywhere else.