Before leaving Aston Clinton I took some photos of the establishment we stayed in as it was quite enchanting Olde English
After breakfast we set off for Stoke-On-Trent and we initially drove through various villages, again very attractive, before getting on the M6 through to SOT which incidentally is not a city but 6 different cities, Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton & Longton which together make up the area known as SOT and which is famous for the pottery industry which dominated the area since the 1700s.
One of the tourist attractions in "The Potteries" is the Gladstone Pottery Musuem which we visited in the afternoon. The Musuem gives a very good insight into the industry and there are various areas where the art is demonstrated by volunteers.
One can only imagine the hard work that occurred in this factory in its heyday.
We then went out to Trentham Estate which is a combination of a shopping strip in log cabins (lucky for some we arrived after they closed) and an area of gardens set around a sizeable lake.
By now it was getting on towards 7.00pm so we moved on to The Birches Head for dinner, a local & well regarded establishment in the area.
It was an enjoyable experience dining in "the local" and the meal was very well priced for the quality received.
It was relatively full but that didn't stop the land lady, Jen, coming over and introducing herself and chatting for quite sometime & the others serving the patrons also said their hellos - it was very welcoming even if Jen thought we were Australians!
While there I managed to catch up on the cricket and the result was well received after the debacle in the previous one dayer.
I have to say that if I had have been raised in the SOT area I would have definitely tried to move on as it had all the makings of a typical industrial town - it certainly doesn't fall in to the paradise category.
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