Shopping & Leisure

Potteries Shopping Centre

The centre has 561,000 sq ft of retail space with 87 units including a Debenhams anchor store, and major stores for Next, New Look, Monsoon, Gap, HMV, Game, River Island, H. Samuel, La Senza, Disney store and Primark. Other facilities include a 37,000 sq ft (3,400 m2) market hall.

Freeport Talke Outlet Shopping Centre

Freeport Talke now boasts over 30 outlet shops offering up to 60% discount. Stores with outlets at Talke include The Designer Room, Antler, Sasperilla, Klass Collection, Littlewoods, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Home Bargains, Double 2, Thorntons, Trespass, Julian Graves and many more. Stores are open Mon - Sat, 09.30-18.00 (Thu till 20.00), Sun, 11.00-17.00.

Crewe

Crewe is a Cheshire town which developed in the 1830s when it was chosen as the site for the Grand Junction Railway's locomotive works. The railway brought prosperity to the town and Crewe Station is still a major interchange on the West Coast Main Line. Today, Crewe is popular with shoppers, and also with theatre-goers who visit the Edwardian Lyceum Theatre.

The Market Centre is recognised as Crewe's 'premier shopping centre', this mall is conveniently positioned in the heart of the town centre. The shopping centre has a good selection of both 'large multiple' and small independent retailers.

Leek

Nestling amongst the stunning scenery of the Peak District, Leek is an historic market town with a reputation for unusual shops, antiques and good food. Leek was once a thriving centre of mills, but nowadays the majority of the Leek based mills have gone and their buildings have been taken over by the many Leek based Antique dealers and collectors.

Stafford

Stafford is the perfect destination with all the attributes you'd expect of a County town, a celebrated art gallery, quality shops, green open spaces and a delicious variety of places to eat. Explore, wander, shop or just relax.

Old and new sit side-by-side. Pedestrianised walkways take you to the old quarter of Stafford, wander through 17th Century Church Lane or take a break from the shops and relax in St Mary's Place or Victoria Park. Salter Street leads you towards the Theatre and Martin Street with architecture charting the town's progress from 12th Century to the present day.

Don't miss the Ancient High House, the largest timber framed town house in England. There's also Stafford Castle, dating from Norman times and, Izaak Walton Cottage, the 'chocolate box' location dedicated to angling.

Portmeirion Potteries

Portmeirion was founded in 1960 by the legendary pottery designer Susan Williams-Ellis and her husband Euan Cooper-Willis. Susan sadly passed away in November 2007 but her philosophy of creating collections that are not only beautiful but also functional and affordable lives on at Portmeirion.

Always at the forefront of contemporary design, Susan Williams-Ellis was renowned for her originality in both design and manufacturing techniques. This has led to her enviable reputation for producing striking shape and pattern designs that were trend setting and had worldwide appeal – designs that are now seen as iconic.

Portmeirion's factory shops sell all of Portmeirion's fabulous ranges from Botanic Garden to Crazy Daisy to Sophie Conran for Portmeirion as well as the current Spode, Royal Worcester and Pimpernel collections.

Whether you're looking for 'best' or 'second' ware you're sure to find what you're looking for at great prices. All stores have an unrivalled selection of 'second' ware that is available to buy at discounted prices.

Moorcroft Pottery

Moorcroft is an art pottery now more than a hundred years old, fiercely independent, small and almost alone in its pursuit of quality at the highest level of the applied arts. Supported by designs from the world-famous Moorcroft Design Studio and the consummate skills of a dedicated workforce of artists, craftsmen and women, Moorcroft pottery has unprecedented popularity and esteem, while examples, both old and new, fetch high prices in the major salesrooms of the world.

Waterworld

WaterWorld is the UK's number one Tropical Indoor Aqua Park. The Facility is built around a wave pool with slides, rides, flumes and features available. There is plenty to do for all ages, weak and strong swimmers.

Waterworld attracts over 400,000 visitors a year making it a leading visitor attraction in North Staffordshire & the UK's No.1 indoor tropical aqua park! A great family day out whatever the weather.

Fenton Manor Sports Complex

Fenton Manor Sports Complex, the principal sport, leisure and events venue between Manchester and Birmingham, is located in Stoke-on-Trent. Each year, a diverse range of regional, national and international events are hosted at Fenton Manor Sports Complex, attracting thousands of visitors to the centre and the city. Organisations such as National Governing Bodies of sport, conference and festival organisers and private event organisers choose the venue to hold their event, many returning year after year.

Dimensions Leisure Centre

Dimensions is a modern, value for money leisure complex filled with fun and excitment for the whole family. So whether you want to make a splash under the water fountains, ride the rapids, shoot the dragon slide or simply relax in a hot spa, we'll always try and ensure you have a fun and value for money visit.

On dry land Dimensions offers membership of it's health club, including a modern gym, expert help, access to the pool and free entry to the exercise and spinning classes. Enjoy a kick about? Why not pop over with your friends and hire one of the outdoor synthetic football pitches or an indoor five a side arena. There is also a new licensed café bar serving great Italian coffee with a selection of nibbles and healthy meals.

In short, Dimensions offers a wide and varied range of leisure services for all the family, all you have to do is decide what to do!

Tenpin

This Ten-Pin Bowling venue boasts 30 bowling lanes, a fully licensed bar and inlcudes 'cosmic' (glow in the dark bowling) bowling.

Regent Theatre

Following a three year, £23 million development of the city centre, The Regent was reopened on 22 September 1999 after being fully restored to its previously elegant Art Deco style and has already been visited by a host of distinguished guests including Sir Derek Jacobi. Her Majesty the Queen officially opened The Regent Theatre in October 1999. As a number one touring venue, The Regent is capable of taking the largest touring productions and has already played host to the very best opera, dance, drama and musicals, direct from Broadway and the West End.

Victoria Hall

The Victoria Hall was built in 1888 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Built in local red brick and terracotta, the classical Grade II Listed venue originally held 2,800 people, and has, over the years been the scene of numerous concerts, wrestling contests, boxing matches, and many rock gigs.

The Victoria Hall was revamped in the mid-nineties, opening its doors once more in 1998, and has since then been at the heart of the Cultural Quarter, alongside its sister venue The Regent Theatre.

New Victoria Theatre

The New Vic is the regional producing theatre for Staffordshire. This means that plays are made here, with around ten major productions each year designed, directed, built, promoted and presented in this special theatre-in-the-round.

Each New Vic production is the end result of months of work by creative, craft and technical teams. Artistic Director, Theresa Heskins, works on a number of productions each year supported by in-house set, costume, lighting and sound designers, propmakers, a costume department and a workshop which builds settings and furniture.

For individual productions, the in-house teams are supplemented by freelance directors, designers and lighting designers, by actors, musicians, voice-coaches, choreographers, fight-directors and the dozens of others needed to bring work to the stage.

One of the New Vic's roles in British theatre is to provide an opportunity for theatre professionals to work in theatre-in-the-round. They also add to the New Vic's creative energies, helping to maintain the quality and artistic vigour of the work.

Queens Theatre

In 1966 the Queens Theatre became the permanent theatre for the North Staffordshire Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, and was also well known as a centre for local dance during the 1960s. It had to close in 1998 as the need for repairs grew more pressing, but were neglected - which led to the ceiling collapsing in 1999.

Fortunately in 2003, a 99 year lease for the Theatre was purchased, and a non profit making society (Queens Theatre Production Society) was formed. The society currently receives no monetary assistance with the on-going works to the theatre or its running costs It is currently partially refurbished as a 1000-seat concert venue/theatre which opened in December 2003, with proceeds from shows and events held being utilised to continue the works.

Jonathan Wilkes and Robbie Williams have performed on the stage at the Queens - and Jonathon Wilkes made his first ever stage appearance in a Stoke Amateur Operatic Society production of Hans Christian Andersen.

Odeon Cinema

This popular multi-screen cinema is located in Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent The cinema is fully equipped with wheelchair access to all screens, and features an onsite bar and Hotshots snooker and pool club. There are disabled toilet facilities and induction loops in all screens and serving areas.

Audio Described and subtitled facilities are also available on selected screenings.

Stoke Film Theatre

Established in 1974, the Film Theatre ensures that a wider variety of films are shown in Stoke-on-Trent. The programme contains a wide range of independent, foreign (often subtitled) and more mainstream releases. The emphasis is on films which have either not been shown or have received a very limited release at the local multiplex cinemas.

Contrary to popular belief, the Film Theatre is open to the general public. Situated on Staffordshire University's College Road campus, the Film Theatre is independent of the university and operated entirely by volunteers.

Films from the main programme are shown at 7.45pm on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. There are typically two films shown each week. In addition, a variety of local interest and amateur productions are regularly shown on Wednesday evenings with either free or reduced price admission.

Vue Cinemas

Vue Newcastle-Under-Lyme is a state-of-the-art mutliplex, located in the centre of this historic market town. This modern cinema has 8 screens and can seat up to 1,976 people. The cinema is surrounded by a vast array of restaurants and bars, making for a great evening out.