Ecological writer Satish Kumar once wrote that ‘unless you know Nature, you cannot love her’. Likewise, if we wish to protect England’s green and pleasant land, it’s important to get to know why. People who drop fast food litter, pollute our seas with oil and hunt our precious wildlife, obviously were never taught all about why our land is so beautiful and precious.
Staffordshire is mostly known for its pottery, and is set bang in the middle of the West Midlands, also home to England’s highest village. Flash is close to the borders of Derbyshire and Cheshire, set amid the beautiful Peak District, a popular walking holiday destination in England that covers several counties.
As well as being the birthplace of quite a few celebrities (Robbie Williams and Neil Morrisey) this is also where the Staffordshire Bull Terrier hails from. It’s unfair that the politicians and media have portrayed this breed as violent, as most are very tame, and it’s nearly always the way the dogs are raised that is the issue – the so-called ‘deed not breed’ argument. Learn more on the best ways to help prevent dog bites.
a guide to Stoke-on-Trent, naturally
Stoke-on-Trent is more than just Robbie Williams! This city in the West Midlands has a population of around 250,000 and is unusual for a city in that it has no cathedral. The city is of course mostly known for its pottery, due to the abundance of local clay. Today there are environmental concerns (china clay) and animal welfare concerns (bone china). Buy the book eco-friendly pottery which lists 30 ways to make your pottery practice more sustainable. A far cry from the Pottery Riots, which took place in 1842 and spearheaded the now national trade union movement.
Stroke-on-Trent also has a history of mining, housing the deepest mine shafts in Europe at one time. Today of course we have green electricity from companies like Ecotricity (the only one that does not burn animal carcasses to make electricity – and it’s even starting to make gas from grass!) No doubt communities were solid, but coal mining was a dangerous and dirty business, back in the day. Yet in 2022, Michael Gove MP approved the UK’s first new coal mine (in beautiful and relatively unspoilt Cumbria) in 30 years, despite concerns over environmental repercussions. All Staffordshire’s coal mines are long gone, though they still cause tremors on building projects, with one site now a local nature reserve.
Located fairly close to Manchester, Birmingham and Wolverhampton, the city lies at the southwest of the Pennines (low-lying hills often called ‘the backbone of England’). The village of Flash in the Staffordshire moorlands is credited as the highest village in England, at 1,519 feet above sea level. Rather than an actual city, Stoke-on-Trent is kind of six towns bunched together (Burslem, Hanley, Fenton, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall). Confusingly it’s also near the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme (not Newcastle-upon-Tyne!)
All six towns in Stoke-on-Trent have one park or more, the largest being Burslem Park (a beautiful Victorian park built on once-derelict land). Many businesses start up here, due to affordability but still being close to the Peak District and parts of Cheshire. The city’s Trent & Mersey Canal serves 10,000 boats a year, and inland there are 77 miles of off-road bike paths in the city (or 100 miles combined with Newcastle-under-Lyme).
the home of England’s noisiest theme park
These days Stafford is known for being quite an urban area and just 10 miles away, houses the resort of Alton Towers, built on a conservation area, so there are restrictions on how tall the rides can be. Many locals have served noise abatement orders to the park, over noise pollution in neighbouring villages.
Although theme parks in England are safer than some, they still have incidents and Alton Towers is no exception. In 2015, 16 people were injured, with 2 people having to have leg amputations, due to ‘a catalogue of errors’. Due to the unusual location, victims had to wait for 4.5 hours before scaffolding was erected to reach them. The company did accept full full responsibility and ensured proper compensation in order to continue (Blackpool Pleasure Beach has also had several incidents including the death of an 11-year old boy and a man who broke his neck). In 1952, Battersea Theme Park had to close shortly after, when a rollercoaster cable snapped, killing 5 children.
Local people at Alton Towers have also complained about the fireworks, which wake babies, terrify pets and can scare birds to death. Even ‘quiet fireworks’ (akin to the bang of a loud door) are still toxic, and cause acid rain. One couple who live nearby said their lives were being made a misery by the noise of fireworks and the screams of people on rides.
notable former residents of Stoke
This area has produced many well-known entertainers including Robbie Williams (whose parents ran a local pub) and actor Neil Morrissey (born to Irish parents who lived in Stoke). Another local resident was Lemmy from the rock band Motorhead, who was famed for his hard-living (and died just 2 days after being diagnosed with cancer, which is likely the best way to go if your condition is terminal).
The other perhaps less-well known ‘British resident’ was Slash (the guitarist from the American brand Guns n Roses) who spent a few years here as a child, before his family emigrated to the US. He later recalled that when the band was in London, his visiting Stoke relatives drank all of the band’s ‘considerable cider’. He recounted ‘I witnessed one of my uncles, my cousin and my grandfather on his very first trip to London, down every drop of liquor in our dressing room. Consumed in full, our booze rider in those days would have killed anyone but us!’
