We've Been To Corrie Street.

It's very rare that I post an non-wargaming article but this is a bit of self indulgence , at the weekend myself and Mrs K had a trip out to the old Granada TV studios in Manchester to visit the former set of the long running series ' Coronation Street' . The program has moved into a new mock up of the famous street and the public are now able to take guided tours around the old site. 

Mrs K is a great fan of the series (and secretly perhaps I am as well) and as the set is to be demolished next year for a housing development she thought it was time to visit it . Granada sold the site to pay for the new bigger set. I must admit I was impressed by the whole thing - the guided tour was very well done and one was then free to walk the hallowed cobblestones at will . 

The Kitchens outside the world famous 'Rovers Return' - all the proprieties are empty the interiors are mocked up inside a studio , on the tour you get to visit the interior of the pub - but sadly not take photos.

The taxi firm 'Street Cars' run by Steve McDonald .

Rosamund Street viaduct , the distant houses are a large poster on a building wall to give a clever sense of depth .

Myself outside Roy Cropper's cafe - my wife sees noticeable similarities between me and Roy (!?)- an inability to answer a question with a simple answer of yes or no instead of a long diatribe of the reasons for the answer and of course Roy is passionate about model railways - myself being interested in toy soldiers . I find Roy a character of great integrity which sadly I cannot rival.

The Kabin run by Norris Coles ( my wife also points out that I can be as nosey as this character).

Dev's corner shop - note the difference in brick work on the upper storey were the property was rebuilt after a tram crashed off the bridge and into it causing mayhem in the street. The attention to detail was very impressive throughout the set to provide continuity to the story lines.

Mrs K about to enter the Underworld factory , they have the interior of the factory in the studio.

Kevin Webster's garage tucked away in the corner .

The back alley behind the terraced houses , very atmospheric . I'm not a great fan of soap operas - can't stand the abrasive unhappiness of 'Eastenders' nor the unbelievability of 'Emmerdale' but the quiet northern humour and characters of the street have always captivated me , It's been running since 1960 - 55 years - it was one of the first television programmes I can remember seeing (in black and white) when we first got a television . A right grand day out !