Day trips from Crewe.

We've stayed a couple of times in Chester, a Walled City, which should have a lot going on during Christmas. Manchester, being a big city should have loads to offer in Museums and Sports. Liverpool, of course, has the Beatles Museum and an interesting Industrial Age Dock Area. If you are interested in Wedgwood china, etc. the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent has factory tours, but may have Holidays closures; the Outlet stores would probably be open. Look at www.nationaltrust.org.uk for historic sites and nature walks. You are close to Wales if you have the time; the train goes to Conway and Caernarfon Castles.

Having had years of working in and out of Crewe on the trains my opinion is that the best bit of Crewe is anything that is not Crewe. They can't even play football.

When I had to go to Crewe for classes I was put up in the awful 19th century Railway Hotel. My room overlooked the station and I was kept up all night by PA announcements which resonated all around.

There is clearly a good need for you to be in Crewe so I won't trash it, just to say that I was never impressed.

I'd agree with Chester or at a push Liverpool. Runcorn is very working class but I like the Victorian row across from the station and I love the bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal.

I am with Nigel on this one!

Day trips by train could include Chester and Liverpool.

Take a walk in Snowdonia or the Peak District - car required. The Snowdon train doesn’t run in the winter.

Explore the Wirral.

Take a trip on the Mersey ferry from the Wirral to Liverpool and see Albert Dock, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and Tate Liverpool gallery.

Visit Crosby Beach north of Liverpool to see the Anthony Gormley 100 statues in the sea - Another Place.

National Trust places of interest - Quarry Bank near Manchester airport - one of the country’s best preserved industrial heritage properties, Lyme House and garden south of Manchester, Dunham Massey and Biddulph Grange - gardens only in December.

Drive around some of the black and white timbered villages near Oswestry.

Shop at Cheshire Oaks.

after the above bashes - I will say that a great deal of Cheshire beyond Crewe is open countryside, very scenic softly rolling hills, plenty of livestock, rivers and canals.

Manchester has a great Christmas market each year, with food and merchandise stalls. Great food, mulled wine, hand-knit caps and sweaters for sale. Festive atmosphere with live music. You could check online to see what the dates are for this.
Likewise, Liverpool has a Christmas market.

You have another thread going......
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/winter-solstice-locations
Asking about Standing Stones to see during the winter solstice.

Will you be commuting to any of these from Crewe?
It could be a long, long way to one site someone suggested in the Lake District.

Would it be possible for you to move around and stay in different hotels as you travel, or are you booked into an AirBnB rental for the whole vacation, and cannot change that?

Every time I hear of Crewe ( which isn’t very often), I think of the line about a woman on the train who talked incessantly: “She hasn’t drawn breath since Crewe.” It must have been something on Masterpiece Theatre, can’t remember exactly. It cracked me up.

John, are you still there (OP)?

Maybe Bently Motors in Crewe offers factory tours or has at least a visitor centre. I joined a factory tour there some 20 years ago and was very interesting. In the meanwhile a lot has changed, but think worth checking out.

No idea if the visitor centre of World of Wedgwood in nearby Stoke-on-Trent is easy to reach by public transport. Loved to see there crafstmen showing their skills hand painting pottery. No idea if they still do that but worth checking out too.

Although there is rail station just outside the pottery works (what's left of them) at Wedgwood, the station has been disused since the potteries closed and any production which remained except for a few pieces moved overseas. The station is in never-never land - it and its sister station just down the line, Barlaston, is a zombie. The station has never been closed but no trains actually stop there. It has been fenced off and any few remaining services are provided by rail replacement buses, when they run.

I remember when I was working trains through there between Stafford and Crewe via Stoke on Trent in the late twenty-teens we still had the 2 stations in our required knowledge and were told that when Wedgwood pottery reopened after their collapse the stations, or at least Wedgwood, were going back on the timetable. It never happened.

When Wedgwood collapsed and everything was sold off to pay the creditors there was a fear that the wonderful Wedgwood collection of world-class pottery would be broken up and sold off too. There was a big fundraising effort and the museum was removed from the assets to be sold off. That's what can be viewed today, as the V&A Wedgwood collection. That's because when the fundraiser was able to extract the collection from the assets it was then donated to the Victoria and Albert museum who then loaned the collection to the museum on long term loan. There is a small factory tour.

Nigel, thanks for the detailed response. Pity to learn that Wedgwood collapsed and actualy shows that sadly so many icons of the traditional British industry don’t survive or having hard times to stay in business nowadays. With that a lot of old-fashioned craftmansship has disappeared step by step during the last few decades.

The first time I visited Crewe was in 1997 and Bently still part of Rolls-Royce Motors. At that time the engines and radiators were handbuilt and I really wanted to see the craftsmen doing their unique job. As my visit was spontaneous it wasn’t possible joining a factory tour that day, so went back a few years later after booking one. But in the meanwhile with the release of a new model with new engines and radiators the company had stopped making them the old-fashioned way, so a nice piece of tradional craftmanship was lost.

Luckely I visited in 1997 Morgan in Malvern Link too. It was on a Saturday, so usually the factory is closed but nevertheless a few craftsmen were at work. This visit was spontaneous too, to my surprise one of them stopped working and proudly showed me all the stages of production of these cars. He said if it was a weekday I could have enjoyed a testdrive. Think such a spontaneous visit for reasons of security isn’t possible anymore nowadays, but it was a very memorable experience.

The city of Chester would be a great day trip, not far on the train. Just on the outskirts is Chester Zoo. IMO the best in the country. There are regular buses from the centre of Chester, but it is only around 3 miles outside so no big deal to get a taxi. To get the most of it I would do a separate day for the zoo, it is huge. Last time I went was in the middle of a bitterly cold snap, nicknamed the beast from the east. There are enough indoor enclosures, tropical, elephants, jaguar etc for you to alternate between indoor and outdoor if the weather is cold.
As for the potteries. The Gladstone museum is good for half a day or so. It is located in Longton, one of the towns that make up the city of Stoke on Trent. Longton station is about 10 minutes walk to the museum and there are direct trains there from Crewe. You can see the old bottle ovens, clanking machinery and there should be a chance to throw some pottery on a wheel for a small charge under a supervised potter (check that this is on over the holidays). You can even take it home after. The factory has a toilet museum attached. If you do go, don't be put off by Longton town centre, whilst perfectly safe, is extremely run down.
Any football fans might be interested in the stadium tours of the big city clubs of Manchester and Liverpool.