Stoke-on-Trent

Living in Stoke-on-Trent

Staffordshire University has two campuses, one of which is in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, famous for its pottery. It is situated about halfway between Birmingham and Manchester.

If you go to Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent, get used to people called you “Duck”. It’s ok, they’re not patronising you or saying you walk funny. It’s a regional thing, like saying “Sir” or “Miss”... except people don’t normally use those either any more. What can we say, clearly they’re just very polite people in Stoke!

Stoke is right on the edge of the Peak District for those of you who like the outdoors. and only 40mins away from Manchester for those of you who don’t. Although it’s a modern place, it still has a lot of older buildings from it’s days in the pottery trade, which give it a bit of character. It’s a good size for a town, big enough to hold all the facilities that a growing student needs. The Potteries centre has all the high street shops, and there’s a decent nightlife, although many students will taxi the short distance over to Hanley, which has a few more clubs aimed at students. There’s also a cinema and Waterworld, a large indoor swimming park with slides, flumes and rides.

For the culture vultures there are several theatres to pick from, the biggest being the Regent Theatre, and the Victoria Concert Hall just down the road. There’s an Odeon at Festival Park, or you could do the cool student thing and try the independent art-house Stoke-On-Trent Film Theatre for subtitled, classic and post-release movies.

There are a couple of different sports teams in Stoke, and in spite of being quite a small city it has two professional football teams. There’s also local rugby and cricket teams, and a climbing wall in the town too.  Trentham Gardens offers a bit of peace and quiet... or a lot of running around depending on what you’re into. There’s a stately house and gardens, but also trails and barefoot walks, and a Monkey Forest. Yes, that’s right, a forest full of actual monkeys. They just wander around, and are used to people so they’ll come pretty close. Just remember, you are not allowed to put one in your bag and take it home with you, no matter how cute it is. We're pretty sure monkeys aren't on the 'Pets Allowed' list for student accommodation.

I’ve got nothing to do today

• Canals: Nothing says “I’ve just received my student loan” like a party on a boat. The Trent and Mersey canal system runs through Stoke and is over 90 miles long. There are often daytrips you can do, and some companies will let you rent out a boat for the day, although you might have to pull in an adult guarantor to help convince them you won’t crash it.
• National Cycle Network. Nearly 80 miles of off-road cycle paths run through Stoke. That should keep you busy for a while.
• Alton Towers: It’s ten miles away. You could hike that if you had to. You won’t though, because there’s a bus that goes from Stoke Rail Station.

“Alright, me duck?”

• Taxi: City cabs
• We forgot to mention, try a Staffordshire Oatcake. They’re quite tasty, although it’s always a case of “So many fillings, so little time”.

6 Stoke-on-Trent Reviews