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Stoke-on-Trent
City in Staffordshire, England

Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent, often known as Stoke, is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England.

Plan a trip to Stoke-on-Trent→From Liverpool

It had an estimated population of 259,965 in 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire and one of the largest cities of the Midlands. Stoke is surrounded by the towns of Alsager, Biddulph, Cheadle, Kidsgrove, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city.

Get in

Getting to Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent lies on the A500 "D-road", just off the M6 motorway, and can be reached by travelling southbound from Manchester or northbound from Birmingham. It is approximately 45 miles from both of these cities. It can also be reached via the A34. Those seeking the city centre by road should look for signs to "Hanley", once they enter Stoke-on-Trent.

  1. 01
    Stoke-on-Trent

    This is a small but busy mainline railway station that has frequent inter-city services to most destinations in the United Kingdom.

See

Worth seeing

Stoke-on-Trent is historically renowned for its pottery industry (hence its nickname of The Potteries). Although the industry has suffered from cheap foreign imports and is now in decline, many of the major manufacturers of high-quality pottery still have headquarters in the area including Wedgwood. There are numerous factory shops dotted around the city, including the Potteries Shopping Centre, in Hanley.

  1. 01
    Gladstone Pottery Museum

    A popular tourist spot for all the family and features numerous activities including a chance to see the famous bottle kilns of the city.

  2. 02
    Middleport Pottery
  3. 03
    Trentham Gardens

    A large public park area served by bus routes from the city centre (Hanley).

  4. 04
    City Museum and Art Gallery

    Well worth a visit, housing a world-class ceramics collection and also a preserved Spitfire, in memory of its designer, Reginald Mitchell, a native of Butt Lane (near Stoke).

  5. 05
    Etruria Industrial Museum

    Steam-powered mill which crushed bones and flints as raw materials for pottery.

  6. 06
    Moorcroft Pottery

    Advance booking required 48 hours in advance.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Festival Park
  2. 02
    New Vic Theatre

    Important producing theatre on the boundary between Stoke and Newcastle.

  3. 03
    Regent Theatre

    Piccadilly, ST1 1AP.

  4. 04
    Mitchell Art Centre
  5. 05
    Victoria Hall

    Bagnall St, Hanley, ST1 3AD.

  6. 06
    Stoke Rep Theatre

    Excellent amateur theatre, hosts touring productions.

Eat

Where to eat

Staffordshire Oatcake looks like a pancake and is a mix of flour, oatmeal, salt, yeast and water. It's often served with melted cheese and a choice of sausage, bacon and tomatoes. The Rabbithole Tea Room, 9 Glebe St. Thu-Sun 11:30AM-4PM.

How locals move

Getting around Stoke-on-Trent the local way

  • Get inThe city is on the National Cycle Route No.5, which runs through the city on off-road paths.
  • Get aroundThe city has over 100 miles (160 km) of excellent off-road bicycle paths, old railway and mineral lines, and canal towpaths.

From Wikivoyage: Stoke-on-Trent, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.