Cycle ride around Stoke on Trent

Explored around stoke: Smithpool - Fenton - Berryhill - Eastwood - Etruria - Stoke - Boothen - Hanford - Trentham - Sideway - Heron Cross - Smith's Pool. Also tried to follow the River Trent for part of it's route.

[@cookingsewingwithnaseem7811]

Mashallah very nice zabardast video 🇵🇰🌱🌱🌱🌱🌹🌹

[@katecarlin4773]

Great vid. I lived there until I came to Australia many years ago. Used to love cycling along the canals. Took me back.

[@SP-ki5gn]

Excellent video. And I learned a new verb, 'to twock'!😃

[@chriskennedy900]

Thank you for this, I lived in Stoke for 15 years, miss the place a lot.

[@tonyjshaw]

Lovely video, so many cycle lanes and paths! Brought back memories of my time living in Blurton when we used to venture out to many of these places on bike or foot. Thanks...

[@jonathanmiddleton6877]

Great video, thank you for the memories. A few years ago I used to regularly commute by bike along the paths in the first half of your video. You used to be able to ride from Fenton park along the railway line all the way to either Chatley Whitfield (Chell) or Leek (Although you did need to use the canal for a short section in Stockton Brook).

[@katiepiatt5944]

My daughter and I were just there earlier this month. You showed so much more than what we saw from the taxi to the potteries. Thanks for sharing!

[@maggi666]

Super duper vid our usable trails. Done these trails and many more alone the canal. Berryhill has loveley walking/cycling taacks that you didnt showclose to where we live, that are so much easier and nicer, plus the old pit wheels and the moat.

[@kenbuckley3294]

Reminded me of flying through the Potteries on me bike when I was a youngster. You're a great flyer and the streamlined tour had me leaning and swerving with you. Saw country I'd never seen before, or had, and forgotten it. One thing for sure - a major difference since the old bottle furnaces, steel mills and coal fires cleaned up their black smog and soot. Stoke doesn't look the same. Saw the changes taking place on return visits, but since then even major changes. The old Trent must'nt have changed, although I can't imagine environmentalists allowing it to still be used as an open sewer. That's the reason that the Duke of Sutherland moved out, I'm told. My old haunt of Trentham Gardens was doomed until the current owners stepped in. The Italian Gardens look superb. I'm glad that they revitalized the miniature railway and motorboats. Sad that the swimming pool was gutted, along with the ballroom and Sculpture Gallery. Nostalgia for the pool where I learned to swim, and the Ballroom where I danced to the best bands in the land. Winston Churchill evacuated the British Clearing House to Trentham during the war, which added a metropolitan touch to the area. We met some wonderful Londoners, including one - Bobby- who we put up at 25 Stuart Avenue. Churchill also interned a large part of the French Navy at Trentham Park after blasting the French Navy out of the water, when he feared it would fall into Nazi hands. Got within handshake distance of De Gaulle on his visit. Just a lad at the time, and I thought he was a Post Office Messenger. Well, how was I to know. He was coming out of Pavitt's Post Office/Grocery Store on Ash Green Corner Thanks for an enjoyable tour. Great job.

[@johnmountford3007]

Glad you liked the video Ken. Great memories from you. I also used to swim at Trentham Gardens open-air pool (Late 60's early 70's). It was great on a warm summers day (the water was flippin cold though :-)).

[@gc68jypsyladexsplora61]

I cycle too think done all the same rides weston coyney Park is good and Caverswall nice footage

[@anonet78]

You've just brought back a lot of old memories, I think i know who you are

[@johnblood56]

Thank you for showing that you can get to berry hill through Fenton park. I have been looking for a better way of walking from BET365 stadium to Bentilee. The footpaths by Fenton transmitter has been diverted by the farmer and he doesn't maintain the new footpaths that he has created. something for the council to enforce.

[@johnmountford3007]

Hi John, I had the same problem. I was trying to find a circular cycle route (Avoiding roads where possible) from Trentham via Bet365 to Fenton then across Berryhill fields to Ubberley and then Hanley, Etruria, Stoke, Hanford and back to Trentham. The difficult bit was across Berryhill fields, I have now given up trying to find a cycle route across that part and instead, I follow the cycle path, at the side of the A50, from Bet365 to Normacot. I then join a pathway that runs to the right of Weston Coyney Rd. this leads onto the cycle path that runs all the way to Adderley Green. I cross Anchor Rd and Join the cycle path that takes me down the top side of Berry Hill fields. (Parallel to Dividy Rd). At the end of that path, I follow a cycle path that goes around the bottom end of Eaton Park as though heading back towards Fenton, but take a cut-through path (I think it's called Trentmill Rd), which crosses the Trent and joins Leek Rd. Across Leek Rd to Botteslow Street at the top of which I join the towpath of the Cauldon Canal (with a quick stop at Emma Bridgewaters for a coffee and cake :-) ) and then continue as in the video....... Are you by any chance the John Blood who went to Cauldon college in about 1969? (Although from your pic you look a lot younger than me).

[@milels6917]

You have just taken a old lady on a ride out never knew Fenton park was so lovely love the music by the way jolly happy in this lockdown 👏👌🤣

[@sarribel]

just made the trip around the stoke area with you and must say that you do seem to have a lot of wooded and green, open areas over there as well as beautiful river and canalsides to go for a daily nice walk. THX

[@legniak1]

1% home sick 😂. Moved away 18 years ago. Don't recognize much of this except where the Victoria Ground stood ....and from the bet 365 onwards

[@ciaran82359]

@ The one minute mark...Went in the front door and came out the back door in a van, not to return for several months, many a time lol. Great vid, thank you.

[@johnmountford3007]

- Just realised what your comment meant. :-) I hope you are reformed?

[@marciomelo3930]

Great video. Landed on this page because I'm trying to find family (wife's family) in Stoke-on-Trent and was able to see what the city looks like. Thanks.

[@EM-wd2vg]

Wonderful, do you have a map or any course information. Thanks for uploading.

[@tgkb1235]

You're wrong about City Road being Rykeneld Street in Roman times. The course of the Roman road ran down William Street (where you "forced" the car to reverse) and then continued across Fenton Manor.

[@johnmountford3007]

Thanks for that tgkb123. You are correct. I had assumed, incorrectly, that the main road followed the old Roman Rd, but there is a divergence at that point. Still, only out by about 150mtrs, I've seen worse on Time Team. :-) By the way, I was joking about "forcing" that driver to reverse, he just did it of his own volition when he saw I was indicating to turn right.

[@doodzy2]

Do you reckon it's an easy ride from Sneyd Green to the hospital? Thinking of moving to Stoke

[@johnmountford3007]

It's not too bad. About 3.5 miles on cycle lanes and quiet roads. From Royal Stoke to The Sneyd Arms (at the top end of Sneyd Green) rises about 50 metres. So it would be a steady uphill on the homeward journey. Alternatively you could use the Cauldon canal, for part of your journey. This route is longer, about 6 miles in total, but flatter. This would get you to the bottom part of Sneyd Green (Near the Excel Academy). Cheers John.

[@sweetfamily2023]

Do you have a electric bicycle or is it I normal bike

[@johnmountford3007]

Hi Andy, (My son is also Andy Mountford). I used to do the rides on my normal hybrid bikes (I have a 1997 Orange C-16r and a 2003 Dawes discovery 501 - both still nice to ride). But now in my late 60's I like the assistance up hills and into strong winds, so I bought a BH Evo Cross Pro electric bike (which has been great). My next bike will also be electric, but I'm looking for something lighter as I like to ride it without assist as much as possible, however at 25kg even attempting small hills (without assist - with assist hills are no problem) the bike gets very heavy very quickly - also lifting it on and off my bike rack is a bit of a maul.

[@craigshafer8699]

Fascinating, you are not the John Mountford who attended Trentham High in the ‘70’s are you by any chance?

[@johnmountford3007]

Thanks for the comment - Sorry, I'm not that John mountford - only managed secondary modern. :-)

[@daverobinson9061]

@@johnmountford3007 the bowler ?.

[@independentpuppy7520]

Is Etruria a nice place to live? It has a nice name.

[@johnmountford3007]

I lived there from age 13 to 24 and I loved living there. It was, and still is, an industrial/commercial area of Stoke-on-Trent It had a major steelworks (reclaimed for a National Garden festival site in 1986), gasworks, pottery manufacturers and. at that time, overgrown disused canals (a fantastic place for a 13-year-old teenager to explore/play). It has changed quite a lot since I lived there, the canal area has been tidied up there is an industrial museum there, it has a large retail park and a major main road splits the area in half. A number of the terrace streets still remain, but not much of the original "Etruria" village which was created by Josiah Wedgewood (He built the village for his workers in approx 1769/70). He named it Etruria after the Etruscan area of Italy (he had a particular love of ancient Etruscan pottery). The area now has an eclectic mix of nationalities. I recently met the owner of an Indian restaurant and his son (in a town near Stoke-on-Trent). It turned out they live in Etruria and love living there. My brother and his family still live there and they also still love it. However, despite the name, it is NOT, by any means, a pretty/countryside area.

[@brianed100]

Do you have a gpx file so I can put this on my blog.

[@johnmountford3007]

Hi PI. I'm afraid I don't have a GPX file (in fact, I had to Google it to find out what one was! ). However, Google says that I can create one using Google maps or some other app e.g. JustGoRide. So I will have a go at that and get back to you. I like the vids on your page. Particularly liked the cycle speedway as I used to ride cycle speedway 50 years ago!! (Etruria Stars & Shelton Tigers). It brought back some memories. Cheers. John

[@gabrieltdu5780]

Mann i rode those aleys this city is col

[@foxypirateboiyargh68]

Dam right stoke is cool

[@makeingmillionsgta8948]

Hell stoke is the best long live all stokes