London to Stoke-on-Trent by Train, Bus and Car

How to get from London to Stoke-on-Trent

By Ferne Arfin

Updated 10/13/17

Throwing a pot on a wheel
••• Throwing a pot at The World of Wedgwood. © Ferne Arfin

Stoke-on-Trent, the world capital of ceramics, about 160 miles from London. The name is actually used to describe a group of towns in this historic area of Britain known collectively as The Potteries.

The World of Wedgwood, reopened in 2015, with its national collection of Wedgwood, its factory tour and hands on experiences is as good a reason as any to make the trip to the Staffordshire city, but it is just one of several pottery attractions in the area.

Use these information resources, tips and pointers to plan a trip to The Potteries that suits your available time, budget and travel style preferences.

Read more about Stoke-on-Trent.

How to Get There

By Train

Your trip to Stoke-on-Trent Station starts from London Euston. It's one of London's main train stations and you'll be able to find cash machines, coffee shops and enough snack bars and takeaways to stock up for your trip. Just in front of the station there's a pedestrian promenade with pubs, bars, restaurants and a few shops. If you buy your tickets online, you can collect them from ticket machines in the station concourse but do be sure to leave yourself enough time to find the machines and to wait in line to get at them.

Both Virgin Trains and London Midland Trains leave for Stoke from Euston, with trains departing about every 15 to 20 minutes throughout the day. The Virgin service to Manchester Piccadilly takes about an hour and a half to reach Stoke while the London Midland service to Crewe makes more stops and reaches Stoke in about two and a half hours.

The cheapest return (round trip) fare available for October 2016 was £25 when purchased as two off-peak, advance fare singles (one-way tickets),

UK Travel Tip The mysteries of rail ticket pricing in the UK are beyond the powers of a genius to figure out. This is why it's usually a good idea to let a computer do it for you. The National Rail Enquiries Cheapest Fare Finder is an online tool that is especially worth using. When I was checking fares for this journey I found that, depending upon the time I chose to travel, a standard-class, round-trip ticket could have cost me £274 while two one-way tickets for the same journey could cost a total of £25. This is one of those occasions when it really pays to book your tickets at least a month in advance, to buy two single (one-way) tickets instead of a round trip (return) ticket and to use National Rail Enquiries' online system to find the best deal.

By Bus

National Express run trips to Stoke-on-Trent Hanley Bus Station from London Victoria Coach Station several times a day. The journey takes between 3 hours 45 minutes and 4 hours. If you can, avoid trips that involve a change at Birmingham bus station. They can take as much as 5 and half hours and involve the hassle of switching buses in the middle of your trip. National Express fares for this trip range from £5 to £10.50 each way (in 2016), depending upon how far in advance you book. The cheapest tickets sell out early. 

UK Travel Tip National Express offers a limited number of "funfare" promotional tickets that are very cheap. These can only be purchased online and they are usually posted on the website a month to a few weeks before the trip. It is worth checking the website fare finder to see if "funfare" tickets are available for your chosen journey. It's also a good idea to be flexible about the time of day you can travel. On the far right of the fare finder, click the boxes marked "All Day" to find the cheapest tickets.

By Car

Stoke-on-Trent is 160 miles northwest of London via the M1, M6. M42 and A roads. It takes about 3 hours to drive. Keep in mind that gasoline, called petrol in the UK, is sold by the liter (a little more than a quart) and the price is usually more than $1.50 a quart.