Some big flashy blogs may take you to a Chanel product launch. Other blogs may take you to Fashion Week.
But how many blogs take you down t’cobbles eh? Last weekend; my mum, sister, niece and I drove to Manchester and went on the Corrie Tour. I’ve been watching Coronation Street since forever, I remember my mum watching every episode after tea; with me inadvertently being sucked in too. My sister got her own house and the cycle repeated itself with my niece being a 10 year old Corrie fan.
After getting lost, visiting a homeless campsite and a dodgy warehouse advertised as ‘Corrie Tour Car parking’ we finally got there. On getting our tickets scanned, we were given these nifty little backstage passes. To be honest, the passes were more decorative than useful, but having a backstage pass does make you feel a little bit spesh and important (if you ignore the fact everyone else is wearing them.)
The tour starts with the law-enforced health and safety speech, followed by a video showing some of the show’s most famous scenes. Unfortunately the people behind the tour are killjoys that don’t allow photography during the actual tour – apparently you can view all of the professional photos here though. The tour showcases many of the familiar houses, which are surprisingly tiny.
Like, really tiny. My ten year old niece would make some of the furniture look small.
As well as the sets, you also get to see some of the past (and future) props, and nosy into a few of the casts dressing rooms. FYI – Roy’s is exactly as you would imagine; no high light mirror here, just comfy armchairs.
One of my favourite places was the costume dept.; OK so some costumes might be less exciting than others, it was still great to see some of the impressive dresses worn by the Bridezilla’s over the years.
Just a heads up though, when you get into the Rovers Return, the famous photo behind the bar is mega awks. Each group or couple has to take turns in front of the rest of the tour group while the tour leader takes a quick photo (you can buy these at the end for roughly £7.30 for each)
After the tour, you are pretty much left to your own devices on the cobbles, where you can spend as much or as little time as you like. The street is generally fairly full, with people waiting to take turns outside famous café’s and houses. However this means there are always friendly strangers on hand to take group photos when a selfie just won’t suffice.
The Corrie tour is a pleasant way to pass an hour or two, but ends in December this year. So if you’ve spent years watching the street, now’s the time to walk down it.