Stoke on Trent Tourist Attractions and Sightseeing

(Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK)

With more miles of canal than
most counties in England, the canals of Staffordshire are a great reason to visit the city of Stoke on Trent and each year the canal attractions are responsible for attracting many thousands of visitors. If you are planning something a little more energetic rather than a leisurely cruise on the canal, then head to the Trentham Estate, nearby Stoke on Trent, and check out its outdoor tourist attractions, which include both the Aerial Extreme rope course and the 'Go Ape!' High Wire Forest Adventure.

The Trentham Estate has enjoyed considerable development and an investment of more than £100 million, which has resulted in the meticulous restoration of its formal gardens, and the arrival of the somewhat unexpected Monkey Forest. In Stoke on Trent itself, on the outskirts of Hanley, tourists will find that the Festival Park offers a wide choice of recreational attractions, which include a water park, ski centre and cinema.

Canal Boats / Trent and Mersey Canal

Address: Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK
Many holiday makers choose to hire a narrow boat for an entire week and enjoy the relaxing pace of life associated with slowly cruising along the canals, with boats featuring their own kitchen, lounge, bedrooms and bathroom. Stoke on Trent is served by the Trent and Mersey Canal and each year some 10,000 boats use this stretch, being edged by literally miles of cycles trails and pathways, and overflowing with Staffordshire wildlife, including the occasional kingfisher. At Etruria, the Trent and Mersey Canal joins the Caldon Canal and provides further possibilities and the opportunity to reach the attractions of both Froghall and Leek.
Open hours: daily
Admission: free

Festival Park

Address: Festival Way, Etruria, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 5PU, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 205747
Festival Park lies within the suburb of Etruria and is the city's most significant leisure attraction. Comprising a ten-screen Odeon cinema, out-of-town shopping, ten-pin bowling, a luxury hotel (the Best Western Stoke on Trent Moat House) and a pub sited next to the canal, Festival Park is also home to the Stoke Ski Centre and its enormous artificial ski slope and toboggan run. However, for families, it is the indoor swimming attraction named Waterworld that is the main draw card here and alone attracts roughly 400,000 visitors each year. Opened in 1989, Waterworld is a spacious indoor aqua park and is made up of numerous fast slides, such as the Black Hole, the Space Bowl, the Twister and the Nucleus - the United Kingdom's very first indoor roller coaster. For sunny days, an outdoor swimming pool is also available, while the Water's Edge Cafe is a tiered restaurant with a popular viewing gallery area.
Open hours: daily - hours vary
Admission: charge, discounts for children

Theatres

Address: Mitchell Memorial Theatre / Youth Arts Centre, Broad Street, Hanley, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 4HG, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 235411
Address: New Victoria Theatre, Etruria Road, Basford, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 0JG, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 717962
Address: Queens Theatre, Wedgewood Street, Burslem, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 4JH , England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 825800
Address: Regent Theatre, Piccadilly, Hanley, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 1AP, England, UK
Tel: +44 0870 060 6649
Address: Stoke Repertory Theatre, Leek Road, Fenton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 2TR, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 209784
Address: Victoria Hall, Bagnall Street, Hanley, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 3AD, England, UK
Tel: +44 0870 060 6649
There are a surprising number of theatres to be found in and around Stoke on Trent, offering plays, comedy events, cinema screenings, operas, ballet, musicals and concerts. Located in Hanley and opened in 1929 as a glamorous Art Deco cinema, the Regent theatre was transformed in the 1990s and reopened as a working theatre, with seating for audiences of 1,600 people, spread over two levels. At the end of each year, the seasonal Christmas pantomime is staged at the Regent Theatre and regularly stars local Stoke celebrity, Jonathan Wilkes. Close by and also in Hanley, the Victoria Hall is an important concert venue, with wonderful acoustics suiting the regular choir recitals and classical music concerts staged here, as well as various stand-up comedy gigs and performances by famous groups, which have recently included Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.
Open hours: hours vary according to performance
Admission: charge, discounts for children and seniors

Trentham Gardens and Estate

Address: Trentham Estate, Stone Road, Trentham, Staffordshire, ST4 8AX, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 646646
Part of the sweeping Trentham Estate, the Trentham Gardens are situated just a short distance to the south of Stoke on Trent and are made up of spectacular landscaped Italianate gardens, as well as traditional English parkland and woodland areas. Although the original manor house (Trentham Hall) was sadly demolished just over 100 years ago after the adjacent lake became badly polluted, it was decided that these beautiful gardens should be preserved and further developed. The most significant landscaping was carried out in the mid-18th century, by renowned English architect Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, who was responsible for planting many of the mature trees that you see today and also the creation of the 'Mile-long Lake'. The 19th century saw the arrival of a more fashionable formal landscaping and the existing Italian Gardens were born. Still meticulously maintained today, these gardens contain fountains, ponds, neatly trimmed borders, topiary, parterres, urns and statues, ornamental stone balustrading and much overall symmetry.
Open hours: daily, April to October - 10:00 to 18:00; November to March - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: charge, discounts for children, families (two adults and three children) and seniors, children five years old and under are free

Trentham Monkey Forest

Address: Trentham Estate, Stone Road, Trentham, Staffordshire, ST4 8AX, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 659845
Highly suitable for children, the Trentham Monkey Forest is a real star attraction in Staffordshire and you would certainly have to travel a long way to find something to rival this. It is actually the only place in the United Kingdom where visitors are able to walk amongst approximately 150 Barbary macaques, who live in just over 24 hectares / 60 acres of traditional forest and enjoy a very natural lifestyle. As you stroll around the monkeys, you will find guides positioned at strategic points, happy to answer any of your questions about the animals welfare and social hierarchy. There are also hourly feeding demonstrations and talks.
Open hours: April to October, daily - 10:00 to 17:00; November to March, selected weekends only and February half-term holidays - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: charge, discounts for children under 14 years old and seniors, children three years old and under are free

Other Parks and Gardens

Address: Consall Hall Landscape Gardens, Consall Hall, Consall, Wetley Rocks, Staffordshire, ST9 0AG, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 551947
Address: Biddulph Grange Garden, Grange Road, Biddulph, Staffordshire, ST8 7SD, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 517999
Address: Stapeley Water Gardens, London Road, Stapeley, Near Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 7LH, England, UK
Tel: +44 01270 623868
With around 1,300 hectares / 3,200 acres of parks and landscaped gardens, this area is full of recreational attractions and important green spaces. The Trentham Estate is arguably the most stunning, but each of the six towns that combined to make up Stoke on Trent has something to offer, such as the Victorian-style Burslem Park, Hartshill Park in Stoke and the Central Forest Park, home to an enormous street-style skate park and adventure playground. Others include the Stapeley Water Gardens at Stapeley, near Nantwich, which features a garden centre, display gardens with tropical plantings, exotic animals and lakes suitable for angling. In Consall / Wetley Rocks, the Consall Hall Landscape Gardens open between April and October and are the result of more than 50 years of planting and designing. Owned by the National Trust, the Biddulph Grange Garden at Biddulph is full of surprises and has elegant Italian terraces, an oriental Chinese garden with its own Great Wall of China, an Egyptian court, and a huge quantity of rhododendrons and azaleas.
Open hours: hours vary
Admission: charge

Steam Railways

Address: Churnet Valley Railway, Cheddleton Station, Station Road, Cheddleton, Staffordshire, ST13 7EE, England, UK
Tel: +44 01538 360522
Address: Foxfield Light Railway, Caverswall Road Station, Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire, ST11 9EA, England, UK
Tel: +44 01782 396210
Address: Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, Rudyard Station, Rudyard, Near Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 8PF, England, UK
Tel: +44 01995 672280
There are no less than three active steam railways located close to Stoke on Trent. The Foxfield Light Railway lies to the south-east and is located near to the village of Blythe Bridge, where it dates back to 1893 and contains Staffordshire's most extensive collection of working steam engines and locomotives. Running alongside Rudyard Lake, the ever-popular Rudyard Lake Steam Railway has smaller trains and a narrower gauge line, with its annual steam gala drawing huge crowds each September. Based at Cheddleton, the Churnet Valley Railway stretches for just over 8 km / 5 miles and is to be found to the east, where it connects Cheddleton with Consall, passing by the River Churnet and its valley en route. In the early spring, the Churnet Valley Railway plays host to the Children's Favourite Engines Week, where Thomas the Tank Engine trains always make a welcome appearance, while in late November and early December, Foxfield's Santa Specials are very much the order of the day.
Open hours: seasonal variations, trains run more regularly between April and October
Admission: charge, discounts for children