Stand on the towpath of the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria and you are looking at the reason Stoke-on-Trent exists in the shape it does: clay, coal and water brought together deliberately, so that pots could be made at scale and shipped out to the world. The canal was completed in 1777, and Josiah Wedgwood cut the first sod for it in 1766.
The city is polycentric, formed from the federation of six towns in 1910: Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-upon-Trent and Tunstall. Hanley is the primary commercial centre, while Stoke-upon-Trent holds the main centre of government and the principal railway station. That means a visit is a matter of moving between towns rather than circling one core.
This guide suits anyone interested in industrial history, ceramics and the landscape that heavy industry left behind, and it assumes you are happy to travel between the towns. It covers the museums, parks and monuments in the city, plus the pottery sites and venues the sources name.
Top things to do in Stoke-on-Trent
1. Gladstone Pottery Museum
On Uttoxeter Road in Longton, this is the place to see the famous bottle kilns of the city, and it runs numerous activities alongside the kilns themselves. It is the most direct way to understand what the pottery industry physically looked like.
Longton is one of the six towns, so pair the visit with a look around the town rather than treating it as a standalone stop. Telephone +44 1782 237777 for current details before you travel.
2. Middleport Pottery
On Port Street in Burslem, Middleport Pottery is described as the last remaining fully working Victorian pottery, and tours are available. It is also known as Burleigh Pottery.
From the A500 take the A5271 towards Burslem and then follow the brown signs; by rail, Longport is the station. It is open 10AM-4PM, with free parking on site. Adult admission is £11, and £10 for students, under-18s and over-65s.
3. Potteries Museum and Art Gallery
On Bethesda Street in the City Centre, this houses a world-class ceramics collection together with a preserved Spitfire, in memory of its designer Reginald Mitchell, who was a native of Butt Lane near Stoke. Admission is free.
Because it sits in the City Centre, it works well as the anchor of a Hanley-based day. Telephone +44 1782 232323.
4. Trentham Gardens
On Stone Road in Trentham, this is a large public park area served by bus routes from the city centre at Hanley. There is a small admission charge, and activities include a petting zoo and a children's adventure playground.
Depending on the weather you can rent boats and jet-skis on the lakes. The Monkey Forest here has free-ranging Barbary macaques, and Trentham Treetop Adventure offers over 30 treetop obstacles. Garden day tickets are £12 for adults, £10 for seniors and students, £9 for children aged 5-15, £8 for disabled visitors with an accompanying carer free, and free for children aged 4 and under; an evening day ticket is available Sunday to Friday from 5PM at £6. Monkey Forest tickets are £8.50 for adults, £8 for seniors and students, £6.50 for children aged 3 to 14, £5.50 for disabled visitors and carers, and free for under-3s.
5. V&A Wedgwood Collection
On Wedgwood Drive in Barlaston, this is an extensive display of ceramic craftsmanship and products, open daily 10AM-5PM. A factory tour is £14.
Telephone +44 1782 282986. Barlaston sits outside the six towns, so plan it as a separate trip rather than folding it into a Hanley day.
6. Etruria Industrial Museum
On Etruria Vale Road, this is a steam-powered mill which crushed bones and flints as raw materials for pottery. It is only open once a month in summer, so check the website before setting out.
Chedderton Mill near Leek is similar if you want to compare. The museum sits at Etruria, the same ground Wedgwood chose for his Etruria Works in 1766.
7. Moorcroft Pottery
On Sandbach Road in Burslem, Moorcroft is famous for its colourful tubelined pottery. Factory tours run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 10:45AM, and advance booking is required 48 hours in advance.
Tours are £7.50 for adults and £5 for children, with a minimum age of 11. Entrance to the Moorcroft museum is free.
8. Hanley Park
Hanley Park gives you open ground in the town that serves as the city's primary commercial centre, which makes it a natural breather between the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and the shopping streets around it.
Combine it with the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley, where factory shops for the major pottery manufacturers are dotted around.
9. The Dudson Museum
The Dudson Museum is one of the city's ceramics collections, and it belongs on the itinerary of anyone working through the pottery story in sequence rather than in a single afternoon.
Check ahead before travelling, as smaller museum collections in the city keep limited opening arrangements.
10. Josiah Wedgwood Statue
The Josiah Wedgwood Statue commemorates the man who cut the first sod for the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1766 and erected his Etruria Works that year, and who raised the profile of the Staffordshire Potteries through methodical research and experimentation.
It is a short, free stop rather than a destination in itself, so use it as a marker while moving between the pottery sites.
11. Philip Astley Memorial Sculpture
The Philip Astley Memorial Sculpture is one of the city's public artworks and a straightforward stop while you are already in the centre.
Treat it as part of a walking route through the city rather than a separate journey.
12. Regent Theatre
On Piccadilly, the Regent Theatre is the main venue for touring productions in the city.
It sits in the City Centre, so it pairs naturally with the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and an evening in Hanley.
13. Victoria Hall
On Bagnall Street in Hanley, Victoria Hall is a venue for music and comedy tours.
Hanley is the primary commercial centre, so you can eat and drink nearby before or after a show without needing to move between towns.
14. New Vic Theatre
On Etruria Road in Newcastle-under-Lyme, the New Vic is an important producing theatre, sitting on the boundary between Stoke and Newcastle.
Telephone +44 1782 717962. Note that it is in Newcastle-under-Lyme rather than within the city itself, so allow for the journey.
15. Festival Park
Festival Park has a wealth of activities: a ski slope and toboggan run, ten-pin bowling, a large cinema, shopping, a canalside pub, Waterworld, a four-star hotel, and a large park created from the site of the National Garden Festival.
This is the most flexible option in the city for a mixed group, since it does not depend on the weather or on museum opening times.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at Middleport Pottery on Port Street in Burslem, arriving for the 10AM opening so you have time for a tour of the last remaining fully working Victorian pottery. From the A500 take the A5271 towards Burslem and follow the brown signs, or arrive by rail at Longport.
Afternoon. Move on to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery on Bethesda Street in the City Centre for the ceramics collection and the preserved Spitfire, then walk to Hanley Park and the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley for the factory shops. If you have time and energy left, the Josiah Wedgwood Statue and the Philip Astley Memorial Sculpture are straightforward stops in the centre.
Evening. Take an evening day ticket at Trentham Gardens on Stone Road, available Sunday to Friday from 5PM, and walk the lakeside as the light goes. If a show is on instead, the Regent Theatre on Piccadilly or Victoria Hall on Bagnall Street in Hanley will keep you in the City Centre for the night.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to see the bottle kilns?
Gladstone Pottery Museum on Uttoxeter Road in Longton is the place to see the famous bottle kilns of the city. Telephone +44 1782 237777 before you go to confirm arrangements on the day you plan to visit.
Which pottery sites can I actually tour?
Middleport Pottery in Burslem offers tours and is open 10AM-4PM. Moorcroft Pottery in Burslem runs factory tours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 10:45AM with booking required 48 hours in advance. The V&A Wedgwood Collection in Barlaston is open daily 10AM-5PM and offers a factory tour for £14.
Do I need a car to get around?
Not necessarily. Trentham Gardens is served by bus routes from the city centre at Hanley, and Middleport Pottery can be reached by rail via Longport. The city is polycentric, so expect to move between towns such as Hanley, Burslem and Longton rather than staying in one place.
What can I do in Stoke-on-Trent for free?
Admission to the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery is free, and entrance to the Moorcroft museum is free. Hanley Park and the city's public artworks, including the Josiah Wedgwood Statue and the Philip Astley Memorial Sculpture, cost nothing to visit.
Decide which of the six towns you want to base yourself in, check the summer-only opening at Etruria Industrial Museum, and start building your days around the pottery.