Stoke-on-Trent is a rather unprepossessing sort of place. Yet in terms of ceramics, it’s an international mega-star. For centuries, some of the most delicate, beautiful and expensive pottery and porcelain in the world has been made here. It still is, and it’s this continuing dedication to the design and manufacture of all that is best in pottery, porcelain and ceramics that make it a tourist magnet. Do the factory tours, enjoy the museums, above all, stock up with quality crocks at a fraction of normal prices at some of the 33 or so factory shops.

1 Royal Doulton, Burslem
Ever since its debut at the 1851 Great Exhibition, Royal Doulton has exhibited throughout the world. A full service of Royal Doulton tableware was supplied to Captain Scott’s Discovery for its voyage to Antarctica in 1905 and, on another Discovery voyage, three Royal Doulton plates became the first bone china in space when they orbited the earth 92 times on board the space shuttle.
Royal Doulton’s tableware is much prized, as are its famous figures. Look out for the magnificent Toby Jugs, samples of the wares, along with a video, demonstrations, and a tour of the factory, at the Royal Doulton Visitor Centre in Burslem. But hurry, it will be moving to Festival Park, Etruria in a few months’ time, and will be closed for nearly a year during the move.

2 The Potteries Museum, Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent’s Potteries Museum, housed in a large purpose-built structure on the edge of the city centre in Hanley, has one of the finest ceramic collections in the world. Specialising in the output of Staffordshire’s pottery industry, its particular strengths are 18th-century earthenware and stoneware, 19th-century bone china and porcelain, and 20th-century industrial and studio ware by ceramic artists.
The great names of pottery manufacture are also celebrated in the museum: not only entrepreneurs such as the Josiahs Wedgewood and Spode, but also designers such as the great Clarice Cliff.

3 The Courtyards at Spode, Stoke
Spode is Staffordshire’s oldest pottery manufacturer, and is still located on its original site. Situated in the centre of Stoke, the company has developed a package of attractions that offers variety of range, beauty of product and shopping opportunities. A free museum tells the history of Spode. In the Visitor Centre, you can see demonstrations of a variety of potter’s crafts – and have a go yourself. Organised factory tours (Basic 1.5 hours, Connoisseur 2.5 hours) let you get close to the work of the factory.
Then there are the factory shops. Best quality, seconds, slightly imperfect, discontinued/obsolete lines, overruns, undecorated china and earthenware, together with glass, cookware and Christmas and other seasonal items – the list seems endless. And when you’re done, head for the restaurant and eat off classic Spode blue-and-white tableware.

4 Portmeirion potteries, Stoke
So many factory shops, so little time. A favourite is Portmeirion pottery. The ware was originally made to sell in the North Wales village of Portmeirion by Susan, daughter of Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect who designed the village. It was so successful that in 1960 she and her husband Euan Cooper-Willis set up their own pottery in Stoke. The Stoke factory shop had racks of pottery designed by Susan Clough-Ellis (Botanic Garden, Holly and Ivy, and Pomona), and Rob Scotton, Ella Doran and Jo Gorman.

5 Gladstone Pottery Museum, Longton
To get a real feeling for the history of the Potteries, visit the Gladstone Pottery Museum. Although it’s in the centre of Longton’s one-way system, it’s easy to find – it’s well signposted, and visible for miles. As you approach the huge cluster of bottle-kilns, reflect that Stoke-on-Trent once contained thousands of these. As late as the 1950s, they belched out smoke which joined a sulphurous cloud that sat permanently over the city. The museum is itself an exhibit – a typical Victorian coal-fired pot bank. You can see demonstrations of pot casting, throwing and decorating, talk to someone depicting a character from the early 20th century and make your own bone-china flower or pot to take away. There are also exhibitions of Victorian tiles, and there’s a history of the toilet called ‘Flushed with Pride’.

6 Aynsley, Longton
Within a few hundred yards of the Gladstone Museum, are eight working kilns. One of the most prestigious is Aynsley – chosen to supply tableware by royalty from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II. It still occupies the superb building erected by John Aynsley II specifically for the manufacture of the company’s bone china.
At the works, there’s an extensive factory shop (with an excellent bargain basement), ample car parking, and fascinating factory tours. Floral pieces are still hand-made, hand-assembled, and hand painted. And all food and drink in the restaurant is served on the finest of the company’s bone china.

7 The Wedgewood Visitor Centre, Barlaston
The most famous name in pottery has a factory shop in Fenton, but for the full Wedgewood experience you have to drive south of Stoke. It’s not far, and it’s well signposted.
Josiah Wedgewood was born into a working-class family and rose through his own efforts to become a colossus of the Industrial Revolution – he is credited with industrialising the ceramics industry – and the Wedgewood Visitor Centre is a fitting £4m tribute. Exhibitions on design, craft skills and decoration, and the history of the company, factory tours taking in production techniques such as jasper casting, flatmaking, dish production and glaze reclamation, together with the mould store, give a detailed insight into every aspect of production. There’s a superb factory shop, and two places to take refreshment – Josiah’s Bistro, and the Ivy House Restaurant. A must-see, if ever there was one!