- Lemmy Forever -
Trip Log: Saturday 22nd November 2025 and we're very much following on from that 2023 episode by returning to Burslem for a second bite of the Mother Town cherry. We'd covered a fair bit two years ago but by no means everything, so we're all set for fun once a very crowded Manchester Piccadilly train has deposited us at Stoke-on-Trent Station at 10:48. One earnest hello to Josiah Wedgwood later, we combine the 40A and 39A buses (switching at Hanley) to pitch up in the heart of Burslem. One notable development since we were last in the vicinity is the installation of a statue remembering legendary bass guitarist Ian Fraser Kilmister - known to adoring rock music fans as 'Lemmy' - who fronted both Hawkwind and Motorhead. Mr B is quite partial to the genre and approves of a Lemmy Forever tribute across adjacent windows.
- Pointing to Port Vale -
It's a stereotypical November day weather-wise - drab, dreary and drizzly - but we're keen to see one of the grand old stages of Midlands football. Vale Park has been home to Port Vale FC since 1950 and is an old-fashioned ground merely a short walk from Burslem Town Centre. Like in 2023, our visit has coincided with a matchday and fans are already assembling for the 12:30 kickoff against Plymouth Argyle. We mingle happily among the throng, checking out the Vale Store club shop (where a line in branded Christmas trees with bearded gnome baubles is subject to a special offer) and spotting a statue of legendary manager John Rudge in flat cap.
- Burslem Park -
Ken has been there and done that many times in terms of watching football in the rain and the cold (decades of penance at St Andrews supporting Blues imbue in him a certain stoicism) but we've no wish to sit in the stands today. Instead we'll let the pre-game rush subside with a little snoop around Burslem Park, which is literally across Hamil Road from the stadium. We're not seeing the park at its best and yet it still conveys a sense of Victorian civic pomp, not least the Tudor Revival-styled Pavilion overlooking a rather fine terrace lawn with ornamental fountains. Other key aspects are a sizeable lake, a replacement bandstand and a Pulhamite rockery, then we spot a peculiar sculpture representing the life cycle of a mayfly - how intriguing.
- The Bursley Ale House -
Many of Burslem's pubs had opened early to facilitate pre-match imbibing, and given that Port Vale's footballing fortunes this season aren't much better than those of Wolves I suspect some of the drinking might have helped prepare for the worst! Things have quietened down a bit by the time we make the Bursley Ale House our first liquid refreshment haunt, taking a shine to an old townhouse setting opposite the former Wedgwood Printworks. Nick dodges a draught when positioning himself in front of a cabinet of casks, although the Castle Rock Mysterons ale apparently isn't to his taste - perhaps Captain Scarlet would like it more?
- Johnys Micro Pub -
The royal tastebuds are much more partial to the beer in our next chosen establishment, Hog Noggins serving up both Bass and Titanic Plum Porter Grand Reserve in exemplary condition. This is a friendly little place with staff all wearing Port Vale replica shirts; we make ourselves comfortable to reflect on England's Ashes capitulation in Perth (like Wolves, another cheerful topic!) then relocate a few doors down to the New Inn for Beardsmore bleach, Guinness and televised football - at least West Brom are losing. The New Inn fills the gap while we wait for Johnys Micro Pub to open at 2pm, and I must say I'm glad we lingered. Not only is Dancing Duck's Dark Drake oatmeal stout available - with delicious whispers of liquorice - but the setting is perfect micropub fare, small but perfectly formed.
- An Old Dog in the Reginald Mitchell -
We could happily have stayed in Johnys much longer but the final whistle has blown at Vale Park and the home fans are arriving en masse to drown their sorrows after a 1-0 defeat. We take our cue to sup up and seek a bus connection, albeit the traffic gods aren't being kind to us with a lot of to-be-expected football-related congestion. The 103 down from Crewe does show up eventually, linking us back into Hanley where we make the Reginald Mitchell our dining contender for the day. You know what you're getting with Wetherspoons most of the time, and this one has a reasonably grand setting in the town's old Meat Market building. Stephen might want to send out a search party for his lack of chips whereas Nick goes all oriental for a steaming bowl of Korean chicken with rice, and Ken is the only one of us with sporting reason to smile given that Blues are comprehensively beating Norwich.
- A Large Dog at Hanley Town Hall -
Time is ticking on and our intended look around Longton will be saved for another day. Instead we can marvel at a pair of giant Staffordshire dogs guarding Hanley Town Hall before rounding things off at the Coachmakers Arms: one, because it's extremely handy for the bus station and two, because it's a cracking traditional multiroomed boozer that can be relied upon to serve great beer. Peakstones Rock's '20 is Plenty' is a case in point, a darker brew with a hoppy edge that hails from a brewery based in Cheadle. The rear left room offers perimeter bench seating and the BBC Radio Stoke football phone-in plus the outhouse gents loos are very much in demand too. With that, we intercept the number 23 Blurton bus and troop to Stoke railway station in time for the 17:44 train. Belated birthday wishes Mr B, cheers!
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