The Potteries area in Stoke on Trent isn’t a picturesque area of England and it’s not like one our factory outlet areas in the states. Each factory stands on it’s own and you have to do some driving in between the shops depending on your interests. We were not devoting a whole day to this venture as we were more interested in getting to our next destination in the Cotswolds.
I was most interested to see the Emma Bridgewater shop. We chose the second factory that was closest to E.B. which was Aynsley.
Here’s a link where you can poke around and see all the different potteries there are to visit in the area.
I’m a real bargain hunter and even the discounted prices weren’t floating my boat. I chose a few items to pack away in my suitcases to bring home. If you are serious about buying there was a shipping option at the factory stores.
I chose the hedgehog for my souvenir mug. The inscription on the bottom says “Numbers of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle’s friends and relations are seriously depleted in the twenty-first century. Falling insect populations and rising traffic levels have all taken their toll as has excessive tidiness in the garden with the loss of vital log heaps and piles of leaves.
A couple egg cups and a tea towel rounded out my purchases at Emma Bridgewater.
It was fun to poke around our second stop but we left empty handed. My buying skills were kind of like this next sign we saw…
Happy first October weekend to all of you. We got some fabulous sunshine on Friday and I hope we have more in store. We have some serious yard work that needs to get done and some dry days would really help that venture. I’ll continue with my England posts Sunday night or Monday. Enjoy your weekend!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
Ellen, I don’t think I could have been as disciplined as you at the pottery shops. I would have wanted them ALL. I love all things English-pottery!
The potteries would definitely be on my stop list. I love the mug and egg cups you chose for your souvenirs. Enjoy the nice weather – don’t work too hard!
Would so love to have been along on that shopping trip. One can have things shipped home, right? Sweet egg cups and mug and tea towel. You did well! Love that speed limit sign and am convinced that we could use a few of them over here.
We chuckled at those English signs! I like your choice of a mug…did you get to see a hedgehog? …we did.
That would have been an outing I’d have enjoyed, but I’ll be the prices were higher than at a factory outlet over here. I note that on the Emma Bridgwater emails advertising ‘clearance’ that the prices are still terribly high.
Thanks so much for sharing this… and I would have gone broke shipping things backi home…very interesting post!
I would have picked that darling mug too! Now I’m a bit sad about the plight of the hedgehog. I have just cause for my messy garden! (even though hedgehogs aree not known to inhabit these parts…)
The Potteries would certainly be a favorite in my book . . . I’d have to allot a lot of time to view them all. Don’t know if I’d actually purchase much though. Window shopping is more my style these days.
Ellen, I enjoy seeing the world through your travels thank you for sharing.
Sweet hedgehog mug. It would be fun to visit those factories even without purchasing anything. Although I’d have a hard time resisting.