Stoke-on-Trent

Clay pits and kilns once belched smoke here, turning this corner of north Staffordshire into Britain's pottery capital. Now the old bottle ovens stand like monuments to an industrial past, while the city's six towns have evolved into something altogether more modern. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery houses the world's finest collection of Staffordshire ceramics, but it's the working pottery factories that still fascinate - you can watch skilled throwers shape clay at Emma Bridgewater or Burleigh.

Beyond the urban sprawl, proper countryside unfolds quickly. The Peak District's southern edges are barely 20 minutes away, with Rudyard Lake offering sailing and walks through heather moorland. Town Wood provides closer-to-home rambles, while The Sandhole Park gives families green space without the trek.

Congleton sits to the north, a market town that's held its weekly market since 1272. The railway station there connects directly to Manchester, making day trips straightforward. South leads to the brewing heritage around Burton-upon-Trent, where you can tour proper ale houses.

Staying at one of the holiday parks scattered around gives you the best of both worlds. You're close enough to explore the pottery heritage and canal networks, but far enough out to wake up to Staffordshire countryside. Many parks sit near the Macclesfield Canal, where narrowboat traffic still moves at a gentle 4mph through locks and bridges that haven't changed in 200 years.