More than 800 Free Activities on Offer for Kids Across Stoke in the Summer Hols
Plus local businesses support students' Silverstone dream, new cycle and footways are on their way, and progress is being made on those pesky potholes…
Good News 🎉
🧒 Keep the Kids Entertained this Summer. From circus skills and swimming to performing arts and creative crafts, families across Stoke-on-Trent can access more than 800 free activities to keep children busy during the summer hols as part of the council’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. Running from 21/07 to 29/08, the scheme offers free, fun-filled activities with a healthy meal provided at every session. Activities are available for kids in reception through to year 11, with provision for SEND children, too.
🏃♂️🏊♂️🚴♂️ THE KNOT’S PERSON OF THE WEEK – Dave Juggins 🏃♂️🏊♂️🚴♂️
🥇 Inspirational older athlete Dave Juggins is at it again, this time winning the World Championship in the triathlon in the age bracket 75-79, in Pontevera, Spain, at the end of last month. He completed it in one hour 18 minutes, and 52 seconds, beating Norwegian Hjalmar Schiotz into second place and serving as an inspiration to us all. Well done, Dave! Read our past interview with him here.
🏁 Local Businesses Support Student Silverstone Dream. A team of BEng (Hons) Automotive and Motorsport Engineering students have designed and built a single-seat racing car from scratch for this month’s Formula Student 2025 competition, thanks to the support of local businesses including vehicle livery firm Wrapstar, van rental company BAR Garages and Alton Towers. The annual event will see universities from around the world gather to race their cars against the clock and each other. The University of Staffordshire has a strong track record at the Formula Student competition, with last year’s team claiming fourth place, plus first in the endurance shootout and the acceleration shootout.
The team's car was revealed to the university and sponsors last month
🚲🚶♀️Better Cycleways and Footways Are Coming. Want to walk and cycle more? A scheme to create new cycleways and footways in Newcastle town centre, providing continuity from existing routes and linking to Keele University and Stoke-on-Trent railway station, begins today. It will complete the route from the A52 George Street into the town centre, with works on Hassell Street and the A527 Barracks Road around the junction of the two roads. It aims to encourage more cycling and walking, supporting healthier lifestyles and reducing town centre traffic. Work is scheduled to finish in September.
🥪 Extra Food for Families in Need. More than 50 crates holding 513kg of food items were collected at a foodbank drive at ASDA Wolstanton organised by Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank and supported by volunteers from retailer Water Plus. A food donation drop-off at the new Water Plus main office in Stoke, meanwhile, added pasta and tins of vegetables to provide three-day food packs. Annual figures from the Trussell Trust in May 2025 found more than 100,000 emergency food parcels were handed out in Staffordshire and Cheshire, with 17,059 of those for people in Stoke-on-Trent, including 6,543 parcels for children.
🚜 Pothole Progess. Highways crews in Staffordshire filled more potholes last year than in each of the previous four years, with new figures indicating that more than 37,000 potholes were filled in 2024/25 after the county came out of the wettest winter for more than a century. The progress is due to utilising more crews and new equipment such as the JCB Pothole Pro. New AI technology, meanwhile, has meant the council can assess the condition of its 4,000-mile highway network to create a picture of highways across the county. Potholes and other defects can be reported via the county council’s ReportIt website.
🥨 Good Vibes Only: A word from Helen, writer at The Knot
It’s official – Goods Yard finally opened last Saturday, and this cool new canalside community marked the occasion by handing out free hot drinks to visitors from new cafe Cotton Coffee. James and I swung by last Thursday for the soft opening of this chic new hangout (check out our socials for pics and more of an update, or see our pics below) for a fab flat white. The pastries (especially the lemon & pistachio blondie) looked mightily appetising, and the Manc-born indie cafe will be serving up its celebrated artisan sarnies in the coming weeks, too. With plenty of tables where you can park your laptop and cosy corners where you can kick back, we reckon the place is going to provide a much-needed hub for the growing number of hybrid and remote workers across the city, me and James included.
On Friday night, it was time to get rockin’ to Staffs-based Queen tribute band QE2 for the first of Trentham’s summer concerts. While it was a bit of a wet affair, the weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of gig-goers, who donned their ponchos and sung along to some of the band’s biggest hits, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust, and I Want to Break Free. There are still tickets left for upcoming shows including The Millennial Soundtrack (19/07) and Ed and Taylor (25/07), a tribute to Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, so snap ‘em up while you can…
Helen x
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
🫖 Big Centenary Tea Party: Knotters wanted to register to host a tea party and help Stoke set a record for hosting the world’s largest cream tea party…
🎸 Trentham Summer Concerts: Most clickable? Monsters of Rock (19/07)
🥨 Free Oatcakes for a Year: There’s still time to enter this yum comp from Foley
The Knot Pod 🎤 ⬇️ Catch James chatting with some of our amazing innovators
🥨 The Red Haired Stokie: Our ace local blogger, photographer & Knot contributor
🗣️ Kirsty Hulse: Get inspired, it’s the founder of leading event Confidence Live
🏃♂️ George Bettany: Jog to this chat with the founder of MARA Run Club
📽️ Daniel Moore: So much creativity going on in Stone at top agency Dissident
🎶: Ash and Ryan: Listen to two of Stoke’s biggest names in music and fashion
🕯️Beth Warren: Founder of sustainable candle brand The Wandering Bee
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon 🌧️ 18° (10°) Tue ⛅️ 19° (10°) Wed ⛅️ 23° (11°) Thu ☀️ 26° (13°) Fri ☀️ 27° (15°)
Sat 🌧️ 27° (16°) Sun ⛅️ 27° (15°).
Sunrise 07/07 ☀️04:52 Sunset 07/07 🌅 21:35
