The Pottery Spot

What it’s like

Pick a plain ceramic pot, mug or animal figurine and paint it, then wait a week or two for it to come back glazed and fired.

You turn up, choose from whatever ceramics are in stock that week (pots, mugs, plates, bowls, animal and vehicle figurines), and settle in for a two hour session painting it. There's no set menu of pieces since new stock arrives regularly, which is nice for repeat visits but means you can't plan around a specific item in advance.

Budget £15 to £20 a head, and that's not the final bill, it's what you pay once you've picked your piece and painted it. There's a £5 deposit per person to book, taken off that total, which is a fair way of doing it but does mean a bit of admin before you've even walked in the door. Sessions run at 10am, 12.30pm and 3pm on the days it's open, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

The bit that trips people up: your masterpiece doesn't come home with you. It goes off for glazing and firing and takes one to two weeks to come back, so if it's a present or a birthday piece, paint it well ahead of the date. Once it's back it's food safe and fine to handwash, though the site is upfront that pottery can develop crazing, those tiny surface cracks, at any point after firing, sometimes straight away and sometimes years later.

For a birthday, they'll give you the whole studio, a party coordinator, and free drinks for the adults, though there's a £50 booking fee and you need at least 10 painters. Walk-ins are welcome midweek but Saturdays and school holidays are worth booking ahead for. Parking is across the road at Bethel Street, and there's a ramp for wheelchair access if you ring ahead to get it set up.

Facilities

Need to know

Booking

Advisable for Saturdays and school holidays

Parking

Bethel Street car park across the road

Wheelchairs

One step to enter. Portable wheelchair ramp available

Parties

Birthday parties for toddlers to teenagers with exclusive studio use, party coordinator, special item for birthday child, free squash

• Painted pieces take 1-2 weeks to come back glazed and fired, so plan ahead for gifts or birthdays
• Pottery can develop crazing, tiny surface cracks, at any point after firing, even years later
• On-street parking nearby is limited to 1 hour, so Bethel Street car park across the road is the easier option
• Once fired, pieces are food safe but should be handwashed, not put in the microwave or dishwasher

Plan your visit

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