Chip Foundation Chronicles: BURSLEM

Chronicles No. 90 is a belated birthday adventure in honour of Mr Beardsmore. True, Stephen did turn 61 back in October so we're a few weeks behind schedule, what with busy calendars and a house move having delayed things until a suitable date became available. As with his birthday trips from 2022 and 2023, we've picked out the Potteries for the resultant pubcrawl...

- 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!

Waterways Walks: A Frozen Friday in Hanley

Arctic chills aren't to be unexpected in January and the temperatures are certainly on the cool side as I stage my first Friday Foray of 2025. I've picked out the Potteries again with the intention of discovering a pub or two whilst adding to my Waterways Walks repertoire - what can the Caldon Canal tempt me with?

- Stoke Locks Sign -

It's Friday 10th January 2025 and a sharp frost in Wolverhampton is nothing compared to the compacted snow that awaits me when I arrive in an otherwise sunny Stoke-on-Trent. I'm well wrapped up for temperatures predicted to get no higher than minus five, and the towpath of the Trent & Mersey Canal has a hushed vibe as I commence my walk from Osborn Bridge (No. 113B). Stoke Locks will be my first point of interest as I reacquaint myself with numbers 36 up to 40, each one carrying a crisp covering of icy white stuff. Toadstool mooring pegs and a Unity mural bemoaning the perils of plastic pollution are other points of note. 

- Etruria Canal Warehouse -

Etruria Junction is where I can join the Caldon Canal, a navigation that runs for roughly 18 miles via Stockton Brook and Cheddleton to reach Froghall Basin; a branch to Leek has been partially retained while historically there was a connection on to Uttoxeter too. There is initial drama when I almost come a cropper with an alarming skid by the Etruria Wharf Warehouse. Luckily I manage to catch hold of the railings and prevent a disaster, latterly recovering some poise with pictures of Etruria Forge lettering and a glimpse of the 'Lady Fiona' narrowboat; the adjacent Industrial Museum meanwhile is watched over by a statue of canal engineer James Brindley. The split between the two waterways is marked by arrow indicators and the wharf compound is part of the wider attraction along with the Etruscan Bone Mill.

- Bedford Street Staircase Locks -

Onwards up the Caldon I go with a revisit to Bedford Street Staircase Locks, one side of which is an absolute ice rink. Two conjoined chambers make for a neat feat of engineering although I advance with tentative trepidation given my near-tumble earlier. Keeping my wits about me, I encounter Bedford Street Bridge (No. 2) where Harry Ramjams is detected as an abandoned boozer which has had its water supply switched off. Planet Lock then awaits in the vicinity of Norfolk Street, offering faint flashbacks to another backstreet pub I recall getting photos of years ago but the Norfolk Inn now appears to be a pharmacy.

- Hanley Park Scenery -

Next up, I gingerly reach Hanley Park where the historic bandstand and pavilion look most delightful as framed by the terracotta brickwork of the terraced gardens. The canal slices a swathe right through the heart of the park, passing below Bridges 5 (College Road), 5A, 5B and 6 (Ridgway Road) in quick succession. Covering around sixty acres, the park is a late Victorian masterpiece having first opened to the public back in June 1897 - more recently it attracted community funding to support heritage restoration work in 2015.

- Bridgewater Pottery possibilities -

The section beyond Ridgway Road is completely new to me so I ready myself for discoveries aplenty. Flanked by the assorted remnants of old industry, I'm utterly fascinated by Hanley's hinterlands. Lichfield Street soon presents the Emma Bridgewater Pottery factory complete with flaking painted signage, not far at all from Oggy's Sports Bar where a yellow mounted Reliant Robin hints at Only Fools and Horses fandom. I'm similarly delighted to discover the Johnson Brothers (Hanley) Sanitary Works as erected in 1896; it keeps a primary academy school company these days but the edifice is still a very imposing Eastwood Road landmark.

- Ivy House Lift Bridge -

That item of earthenware extraction can be found just down the street from Bridge No. 9, after which I ponder the Norville Drive modern development of box houses and retained bottle kiln features. Bridge 10 has grand blue railings at Botteslow Street then No. 11 is the electrically-operated Ivy House Lift Bridge on the side of the Goodwin International castings factory. Stern STOP instructions appear on the bridge barriers in a setup reminiscent of Shirley Drawbridge. Atmospherically derelict hovels might have had a ceramic production pedigree but are mainly the preserve of pigeons and magpies nowadays; zooms of ramshackle window frames prove very satisfying in the sunshine.

- Botany Bay Bridge -

Bridge 12 passes beneath the Bucknall Road dual carriageway (with references to the J and G Meakin Cricket Club), preceding No. 13 for Cromer Road as paired with a council licensing depot. I continue as far as Botany Bay Bridge (No. 14), a lovely traditional stone humpback, but I daren't make use of the top path because it is so slippery. Instead I backtrack to Cromer Road for safety and tiptoe my way into Northwood, a distinct district of Hanley with much to note of photographic interest. The parish hall for example hosts weekly 'Lighthouse' Christian worship sessions while a traditional corner fryer emanates tempting chip shop smells, not forgetting Rose Street with the promise of an 1872 Wesleyan Chapel.

- The Cat Inn, Northwood -

Northwood boasts its fair share of boozers and I'm going to try two of them, the Wheatsheaf Stores and Cat Inn being within spitting distance of each other on Keelings Road. The first of these is a lovely little local that provides welcome respite from the cold; several cask ales are what I like to see but it has to be Draught Bass, an impeccable pint when supped in dartboard corner admiring Players Please tobacco boxes and 1930s period glass lamps. The Sheaf is followed ably by the Cat for Italian football highlights and a bout of Beardsmore Bleach over by the pool table. It seems quieter in here but it's a good solid boozer nevertheless. 

- Bring on the Bass! -

In less challenging underfoot conditions, I'd likely have sought out the Northwood Inn and/or the Cross Guns to complete my Northwood set but I'll be sensible and keep to the properly gritted main pavements. I won't be missing out on good beer that's for sure, not with two Hanley classics on the agenda. The Golden Cup on Old Town Road has been lavishly and lovingly resurrected with heavily patterned wallpaper and Bass Only tiling to the fore; I could literally spend all day in here, it's such a spectacular setting, but the lure of the Coachmakers down by the bus station is too much to resist. More perfect Bass beckons, this time sitting in the timeless front snug chatting to the landlord about the demise of Banks's Brewery. Cheers!