VISIT STOKE-ON-TRENT:

   Over four million tourists a year think Stoke-on-Trent is well worth a visit. In fact, Stoke apparently welcomes more tourists than Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon! This page gives you a quick overview of the various ways you can travel here, and some pointers on where to stay.

 
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Trains:

We have a mainline railway station with excellent and frequent connections to Manchester, Stockport, Birmingham, Birmingham International airport, Derby, Leamington Spa, Oxford, and London.

Information: Check times and buy tickets / check the departures board at Stoke, and the BBC Stoke public transport news.

Taxis: a large taxi-rank is located at Stoke mainline rail station. The rank can be found by going to the far north end of Platform One. There are also buses that run from outside the rail station.

Bus & coach:

National Express: A confusing range of coach numbers serve Stoke-on-Trent, but the X325 seems to be the most frequent.

(See also: UK Bus - Staffordshire bus timetables)

The usual approach seems to be: M6 motorway, then onto the new A500 dual-carriageway. Get a second opinion on directions from the AA Route Planner.

Iy you don't have a satnav, you might want to have a print-out in your car of the relevant Ordnance Survey street-map, and also tune-in your car radio to BBC Radio Stoke on 94.6FM for the latest traffic updates.

Check BBC Stoke traffic news & AA traffic news online before you set out.

Don't get lost: Those arriving by car for the first time may want to be aware of the following: 'Stoke-on-Trent' is the name of the whole city. 'Stoke' is the name of the oldest town in the city & is where the University, railway station and Council offices are located, but the city-centre shops are actually in 'Hanley'. So once you reach 'Stoke-on-Trent', follow signs to 'Hanley' or 'City centre' if you want to reach the city-centre. Ignore signs to 'Stoke' or to the rail station.

1. You can take bikes on most trains to Stoke mainline rail station. You need to book a place for your bike in the guard's van on inter-city services. Stoke mainline rail station has busy cycle-locking facilities with CCTV, and if these are full then you you can also use the cycle racks by the North Staffordshire Hotel or at the Film Theatre around the corner from the station.

2. From North Wales and the North West: Follow the SUSTRANS national cycle-route to Burslem and then through Forest Park into Hanley and down to Stoke railway station.

3. From Birmingham/Lichfield and the south: Follow the SUSTRANS national cycle-route to Stoke-on-Trent. Much of it runs along canal towpaths. South of Barlaston the path is not paved.

By canal narrowboat along the Trent & Mersey canal. Directly accessible from Lichfield, Leek, Llangollen, Manchester, Birmingham, & Kinver. Mooring, pump-out & fuel available at the large Black Prince basin at Festival Park.

Most convenient international airport:

Birmingham International Airport. A direct inter-city train service runs from the airport's train station to Stoke-on-Trent. Also nearby is Manchester Airport. Both airports offer easy quick flights to major creative-industries production centres such as Amsterdam, Dublin, and Berlin.

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For options, including B&B's, see Stoke Tourist Board the Moorlands tourism, and the Peak District National Park.

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A 2003 MORI poll asked whether residents liked living in Staffordshire. Eighty-eight per cent replied that they were very satisfied or fairly satisfied.

Larger local estate-agents & auctioneers: Butters / Austerberry. Prices of terrace houses in the city averaged £70,618 at the end of June 2005.

Property Section: The Sentinel newspaper. The paper edition of the Property Section is much better than the franchised 'find-a-house' service available from their web-site, and we highly recommend you get the newspaper. UK-wide house-hunters can get a weekly feel for local prices and areas by having the Thursday edition delivered by post for £15 for 3 months: contact 01782 602584. Jobs & Business news & Commercial Property are in the Wednesday edition, and the Jobs adverts are repeated in the Sunday edition.

inStaffs - Staffordshire's inward-investment agency. If you're a business seeking to relocate, these are the people you need to talk to.