Around Stone, Eccleshall and Hanley

We have stayed put in Stone this week and have spent the days mooching around Stone and taking a few bus trips.  We are staying here until the end of the week then moving on along the canal to Barlaston.

Monday 14^th May

Slalom Course

Lovely Old Bridge in Stone

We just had a lazy day and had a walk around the town and in the afternoon we went to the Star pub by the lock and sat in the sunshine drinking Gin.  I had Whitley Neill Quince Gin which was so nice, quite sweet for a gin but tasty and also Whitley Neill Raspberry Gin which was not so sweet but really smelt and tasted of raspberries.  They have a good gin selection so we will be calling there again sometime to try a few more!  

Early evening as the sun was still shining, we went for another walk along by the River Trent.  The Stone Rowing club is here and they have a canoe slalom course on the river, where the 2016 gold medalist Joe Clarke trained, but unfortunately when we walked by no-one was using it. We walked back to the boat and chilled out.

Tuesday 15^th May

Today we caught the bus to Eccleshall which is a very old large village and is mentioned in the Dooms Day book.  It has several independent shops and cafes, pubs and bars.

Church at Eccleshall

Royal Oak at Stone

There is lots of old buildings including a pub called The Royal Oak and there is a plaque on the wall outside telling the history of the place.  We then walked up to the church and it was open so we went in and had a look around, it's a big church. We walked back to the shops and had a coffee in one of the cafes and then got the bus and went to Hanley which is the shopping centre in Stoke on Trent.

Plaque at Royal Oak

There are plenty of shops to look around and also an Intu shopping centre and in there is a really nice Buffet Restaurant called Bon Pan Asian.  The food is really good and there is Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian and English so lots to choose from.  After lunch, we had another wander around the shops then got the bus back and walked back to the boat.

Wednesday 16th May

We had another day of just mooching around Stone.  We are off on the bus again tomorrow, this time to Trentham Gardens.