From Friday nights out endorsed by Pete Tong to TV’s Victorian pottery museum plus a rolling expanse of countryside with roaming monkeys – Staffordshire’s got everything you need. Plus, it’s all affordable.
It’s been in the news ever since Hollywood hunk Russell Crowe took to Twitter to discover the origin of his Gladstone teacup. Now the Gladstone Museum can boast an appearance on the BBC TV programme 24 Hours in the Past.
2. House prices
Buy a four bedroom house for under £150,000. There are plenty of options in Staffordshire – from Victorian terraces to 1930s semi-detached houses.
3. Appetite
Transforming ordinary people and places into works of art or one-off performances, Appetite is a three year programme that aims to get more people to experience and be inspired by the arts.
4. Swoon
Mixmag called the clubnight ‘the best Friday dance night’. Pete Tong declared much the same on Radio 1. And Channel 4 immortalised the night on its BPM show. DJs include Roger Sanchez, Jon Pleased Wimmin and residents Mark Rowley and Angel.
5. National Memorial Arboretum
Pay your respects at the National Memorial Arboretum. Since planting began in 1997, it’s been a special place honouring those who have served, and continue to serve. Not just a cemetery, it includes 150 acres of woodland areas too.
According to the website ‘you feel calmer, walking with a Llama!’ Visit this Llama farm to groom one of a handful of delightful Llamas, take your favourite for a walk and then reward your Llama at feeding time – you’ll have a friend for life!
7. Oatcakes!
Oatcakes, the local delicacy are sold in every shop and bakery in Staffordshire. They’re like savoury pancakes, only made with oats. Buy for a pack of 6 for under £2, and serve with bacon and cheese.
8. The Annual Literary Festival
This year, the second Stoke-on-Trent Literary Festival brought a fantastic range of writers to the city giving local people the opportunity to find out more about the art and craft of writing and the joys of reading.
9. Neil ‘Nello’ Baldwin
Local registered clown and Stoke City Football Club’s kit-man circa 1990, Neil ‘Nello’ Baldwin’s life was immortalised in BBC drama Marvellous, which won a host of BAFTAs.
10. Mental health services
Mental health provisions on the NHS in Staffordshire are among the best in the country. Patients at Harpland’s Hospital find themselves with fantastic treatment – such as Compassion Focused Therapy and group CBT. St George’s in Stafford boast a Recovery College in the pipeline, too.
11. Weston Park
More famous for hosting V Festival, the stately home also offers sleep overs and dinner on occasion, beneath a gorgeous George Stubbs painting.
We have the largest hoard of Anglo Saxon gold ever found.
Monkey around with one of 140 Barbary macaques roaming free in 60 acres of beautiful English Forest. Watch the monkeys playing on the ground and in the trees. Guides are positioned along the paths and there are hourly feeding talks.
14. Transport links
If you do tire of Staffordshire, Stafford train station is under 1.5 hours from London Euston, 45 minutes from Manchester and under half an hour from Birmingham New Street.
See my article on Metro.co.uk here – over 400 shares and counting!
Being Erica 
Nice variety of pics.
Thank you! That’s the picture desk’s hard work (plus one I added with the Llama that my mate took!)