Town with ‘no redeeming features’ named one of the most underrated for a UK city break

From a fairytale successful York, to artsy Bristol and beauteous Edinburgh, the UK has plentifulness of vibrant cities for a fun-filled play away.

But 1 municipality that is improbable to beryllium connected your radar is Stoke-on-Trent.

The West Midlands city, famed for being the birthplace of Robbie Williams and The Great Pottery Throw Down, was precocious named successful a database of the UK’s astir underrated metropolis breaks.

Time Out cited the ‘nationally-renowned pottery museum’ and ‘six chiseled metropolis centres’, arsenic good arsenic ‘peerless entree to nature’ arsenic wide reasons wherefore tourists ought to springiness this historical municipality a try.

But not everyone agrees.

‘I honestly find it to beryllium a spot of astir nary redeeming features,’ wrote connected Redditor. ‘The spot is bittersweet and tally down.’

While another summed it up as: ‘Bleak, unspeakable and pointless.’

Even popular TikToker Luke Hamnett admitted his location municipality was a ‘sh*t hole’. With 1 commenter adding: ‘I unrecorded successful Stoke, but I ne'er admit it.’

Ok, we can’t deny, connected the surface, Stoke isn’t precisely aesthetically pleasing, particularly compared to different names connected the list, specified arsenic Durham and Canterbury.

The main high-streets are successful assorted states of disrepair, with closed down shops and crumbling factories.

But bash a spot of digging, and you mightiness beryllium surprised.

Stoke has a affluent past successful pottery (hence its nickname the Potteries) which dates backmost to the 17th century. At the time, determination was abundance of clay successful the area, which meant it soon became the ceramics superior of the world.

Today, you tin inactive sojourn Gladstone Pottery Museum, the lone implicit Victorian pottery mill left. You tin ticker the demonstrations of accepted skills, and adjacent springiness them a spell yourself.

For thing a small much modern, Emma Bridgewater, famed for her colourful, polka dot ceramics, moved her mill conscionable extracurricular Stoke metropolis centre successful the mid-90s. You tin effort your handing a coating a plan onto a portion of pottery successful the Decorating Studio and spell connected a circuit too. Their Kitchen Café is besides a large spot for a wound to eat.

Or, if you privation to subdivision retired from pottery, the Barewall Gallery sells pieces by section artists.

The authoritative municipality centre of Stoke-on-Trent is successful Hanley (Stoke is really made up of six towns: Stoke, Hanley, Fenton, Tunstall, Burslem and Longton), is besides worthy a visit.

Back successful 2018, the Business Improvement District was established present successful an effort to amended the area.

As specified festivals and streets parties person been introduced, specified arsenic The Big Feast, and Beats & Eats. They’ve besides improved the look and consciousness of the country with artwork projects and murals.

Stoke’s marque trendy caller neighbourhood, The Goods Yard, adjacent to the railway presumption is besides acceptable to unfastened adjacent year. There volition beryllium caller homes, leisure spaces, shops and boutiques.

And let’s not forget, that the country astir Stoke is famed for its earthy beauty. You’re a stone’s propulsion from the likes of Cannock Chase and the Peak District, and, a travel to Stoke wouldn’t beryllium implicit without heading to Alton Towers.

It’s besides worthy noting that Stoke-on-Trent was named by the Sunday Times successful 2022 arsenic 1 of the champion up and coming areas successful the UK to put in. According to Rightmove, the mean terms of a location successful Stoke is was £155,916 implicit the past year. That’s astir fractional of the terms of homes successful adjacent Chester, which mean astatine £304,462.

Maybe it’s clip to yet springiness Stoke the spotlight?

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