Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire

For the next couple of posts, I’ve resurrected Life in Midlands Towns. As we’ve visited so many northern towns, we are now struggling to find places to go so we’ve had to branch out.

Recently I’ve been travelling to work and have been passing through Staffordshire quite a bit.  About an hour’s drive from Manchester, I thought it would be good to check out a couple of towns there on a day off.

The first on the list was Newcastle-Under-Lyme which is just a few miles from Stoke-on-Trent.  The journey from Manchester to Newcastle-under-Lyme in fairly straightforward – M60, M62, M6, exit Junction 16, A500 and A34.  It is well sign-posted and they are fond of the roundabout on the A34.  We had a good run on the M6, but for sanity purposes it’s always good to travel along here outside of rush hour, otherwise you will get stuck in traffic.

It was a bit confusing trying to find parking in Newcastle, and after a spin around the town centre we got parked up in the Midway multi-storey car park behind the Roebuck Shopping Centre.  It was £2.10 for 2 hours, although I think you can find free on-street parking.

For a change we visited on a Wednesday afternoon, but unfortunately the weather was rainy.  Our first call of duty was to find a public toilet and the signs for tourists were sending us in the wrong direction.  When we did find the toilet, they had been moved to the side of Wilkos, just opposite the bus station.  On the upside it was free.

The good thing about Newcastle is that the main shopping area is pedestrianised, which makes shopping somewhat safer without the risk of being run over.  Whilst Newcastle has your usual high street shops, there are also a number of interesting independent shops and bars.  The RAWRJuice and Superfood Bar was doing brisk trade on a wet Wednesday afternoon.

The open air market in the main square near the Guildhall was very quiet.  The weather was affecting trade and the pet stall holder was sat on his stall, bedding down for a slow day on the market.

There are some lovely buildings in Newcastle, many of the shops date back to the Victorian period. There were a few cosy looking traditional pubs which looked interesting.  In the centre of town the Guildhall building stands proud over the market square with its clock tower and lovely arched windows.  It dates back to the 18^th century and nowadays it’s used by the local Council and Police as a customer enquiries centre. 

Obviously we came to visit the charity shops and there are plenty to choose from.  Neil didn’t have much luck with records and I didn’t find much.  Although, as Newcastle is located in the Potteries region, there was plenty of pottery to find.  I was tempted by a white Wedgewood two-handled tea set for £4, but sadly I don’t have anywhere to put it.  Near St Giles Church there seemed to be a pet shop, though in actual fact it was a charity shop.  It was very busy with browsers and people dropping off donations.  It seemed a popular meeting place for pet lovers.

The weather was getting to us and we needed to get some food, so we decided to venture to nearby Stoke-on-Trent instead.

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a nice little town to visit and have a wander round.  Unfortunately the weather was poor and it was too cold to be wandering around the shops for any length of time.  Whilst it didn’t have the wow factor, it was one of those towns which is developing a good network of independent shops and definitely worth a repeat visit on a good day.