Stoke-on-Trent

I went to uni in Stoke for three years. I think you might be disappointed/horrified!
I like it personally but it is NOT a tourist town. If you’re expecting Cotswolds style chocolate box cottages then you’re in the wrong place. It’s a jumble of five quite low income towns (hence the nickname) mashed up against each other to make up the city of Stoke on Trent. You won’t see much evidence of pottery these days but you can get a decent kebab.
If you want to get there from London by train, head to Euston, direct trains will be about an hour and a half but be expensive. Change at Birmingham or maybe Derby for a slightly cheaper but longer route. Probably Avanti West Coast for the direct but book on any train company site. In the past I got the train up to Manchester (slightly further north) and back tracked down. Makes no sense geographically I know but can be cheaper and quicker. The train station is in the University Quarter, you’ll need a bus up to Hanley (the biggest of the five towns) from directly outside the train station. Don’t lurk around the train station area after dark! It’s rough!

I agree that what I saw of Stoke lacked charm, but I (an urban dweller) wasn't uncomfortable on my daytime visit. I imagine some others might be. I'd spend some time with Google street view before deciding to spend the night in that area--certainly if you might contemplate staying more than one night.

The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley is worthwhile, but the Victoria & Albert Museum in London has a much larger and broader collection of ceramics.

I also liked the Jackfield Tile Museum down near Ironbridge Gorge, but it really just shows floor and wall tiles, probably not the sort of ceramics your daughter would contemplate making. And it's a bit of a production to get there from Birmingham.

This company manages a number of pottery festivals in Great Britain each year, in various locations. I enjoyed the one I attended a few years ago and would recommend the experience if the location and timing of one of its events happens to align with your itinerary: https://potfest.co.uk/

Edited to add: There's a very nice ceramics gallery (shop) on Great Russell St. In London, basically across the street from the British Museum. It's called the Contemporary Ceramics Center. It's not large, but it has nice work. I try to stop in there on my trips to London.

The UK has a longstanding history of fine craft work. Some Googling might turn up other good shops near where you'll be; they're usually to be found in affluent areas. You sort of have to read between the lines to avoid going out of your way to a place that turns out to be a generic gift shop, though.

This sounds like a wonderful idea. I grew up in Staffordshire — it’s a fascinating county. I would suggest getting the train from London to Lichfield — and then to Stoke via Stafford. It’s cheaper than going via Birmingham, and Lichfield is a beautiful Staffordshire cathedral city that’s full of amazing literary history. Definitely worth at least one night.

Have a brilliant time guys and please let me know how it goes.

Ross

Two of three Manchester bound trains from London Euston an hour stop at Stoke on Trent, and the journey takes 90 minutes. The Off Peak walk up fare is £65.80.
To route via Manchester makes absolutely no sense at all, you aren't an impecinious university student. There is one direct National Express bus a day from Heathrow.

If you wanted to avoid going into London there are two rail air buses an hour to Watford Junction, then a local train to Milton Keynes Central. One of the above trains an hour calls at Milton Keynes.
It takes about the same overall time.

There are six, not five, towns in the Potteries.

You are also on the edge of what is called the Staffordshire Moorlands- beautiful countryside which edges onto the Peak District. There are buses every 30 minutes from Hanley to Leek, for connections on into the Moorlands and to Buxton for the Peak District.

There are also 4 trains an hour to Manchester.

As there are two of you you will save 33% off your train fares by buying a Two Together railcard for £35.

Also buy a Plus Bus Ticket for £3.50 (£2.30 with railcard) with your rail ticket for unlimited bus rides in the Potteries area on arrival day.

I was in the city last week. As someone has already said, it is a post industrial city with many low income areas and quite a few signs of urban decay. You may see a few characters but is perfectly safe and not a pretty place in the usual sense although I am fascinated by the scars of its industrial past. I enjoy cycling along the canal network.
Stoke on Trent is actually six towns that have merged to form a continuous conurbation. North to South, they are Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton. There used to be hundreds of smoking bottle kilns for the pottery industry but only around 50 remain and are protected. The Gladstone Pottery Museum at Longton is a good place to visit. The old kilns are there to explore, working machinery, pottery demonstrations and a chance to have a go yourself.
There are also other old potteries around the city that have been converted to shops, cafes and small museums.
The city centre is in Hanley and Stoke on Trent station in Stoke. I'm seeing tickets of £55 for two from London Euston to Stoke on Trent in October. You can reduce this by for example taking a train to Birmingham then changing to another. for the last leg.
The City museum is worth a visit and just outside the city, Trentham Gardens and Monkey Forest are popular attractions.

To answer some of irishyank's specific questions:
Incontinence pads and underwear are easily available in the UK in supermarkets, pharmacies etc.
Public toilets (restrooms) may need coins, up to one pound. Some posters on here have reported tap in machines, but I have never seen one.
You will find free toilets in bars, restaurants (buy a drink), stations, larger shops etc.

Your daughter appears to wish to take advantage to an extreme level of the 18 years old limit for drinking in bars - you may wish to discourage this for several reasons.

I recommend the excellent Royal Worcester pottery museum. This has outstanding examples of historic ceramics. There are plenty of other interesting things to see in the City.

I wish I had more advice to give- I have not been to Stoke tho The World of Wedgwood is on my list to visit one day. As someone else has said, the V&A has an excellent pottery collection.

Another vote for the V&A museum. A brilliant place to visit if you have any interest in design.
www.vam.ac.uk

Also Liberty's department store, just off Regents St in London. Full of wonderful stuff to window shop and admire.
www.libertylondon.com

Has your daughter seen the UK TV program The Great Pottery Throw Down.?
Basically like the Great British Bake Off but for pots. I'm not sure if it streamed internationally?

Thank you all for the wonderful advice, thoughts, suggestions. And yes, we have seen the great pottery throwdown, which is how this trip got started.

We were in the area two years ago for an airshow in the middle of a long stay in Great Britain and I planned to take the train to Stoke on a free day to see the pottery museums...they were all closed on that very day. Be sure to check the schedules for any museums you want to see! (We ended up going to Shrewsbury instead and had a wonderful day.)