Where do you take a Canadian Coronation Street fan when she visits for a few days?
The Coronation Street Set Tour at Media City in Salford.
Obviously.
It’s probably worth mentioning that I’m not a fan of the show, but Elena Peters is. However, the show has always been a huge part of northern identity, and being from the north has always been something I’m incredibly proud of, and she’s always asking me to send pictures whenever I go to Manchester. Before the set was moved to Media City it was situated at Granada Studios in the centre of Manchester and I remember doing the tour then with my family, so I was interested to see how it now looked in a new location, and I was excited to see Elena’s reaction when she saw the set for the first time.
The Coronation Street Tour is a guided tour of the outdoor working set. Tickets are only available at weekends for a limited time and need to be booked in advance.
Media City is pretty easy to get to from Manchester. From Birmingham we got a train to Manchester Piccadilly and from there got a Metro ticket to Media City UK for only a few pounds each for a return ticket. There’s currently a frequent bus service operating from just outside the station and you can get buses either labelled ‘Media City UK’ or ‘Eccles.’ The journey only takes about 20-25 minutes. The driver will inform you when it is the last stop and once you have alighted make your way over to the Dock 10 building to register, and make sure you are there at least 15 minutes in advance. You will be given a coloured lanyard and pass, and when your colour and time slot has been called your group will take the 5 minute walk over the Manchester Ship Canal to the entrance of the set.
Our tour guide was lovely. Knowledgeable, friendly and informative, he gave us a brief history of the origins of the show, (including the fact that the show’s name began as Florizel Street, until (or at least, as the story goes) a tea lady commented that it sounded like disinfectant, and so it was changed.
A very tiny Elena against a very large wall…
We were then allowed to go into the set on what was an absolutely gloriously sunny day. It was really well done – there were several tours going on at once so it was timed in sections – our tour guide would stop in an area and explain about each part and we were given the opportunity to explore and take photos before moving onto the next part. It’s a lot bigger than the former set but even with a large group it didn’t feel crowded.
Of course, the most iconic area of the set is the Rovers Return pub, and there are professional photo opportunities outside this that can be purchased for £5.00 at the end. We saw everything, from the ginnel at the back of the street and the houses, to Audrey’s salon, Maxine’s bench, Roy’s Rolls, and Weatherfield Police Station. Some of these areas are fairly new and I hadn’t seen them before, but one that stood out for me was the urban garden. In the garden is a memorial bench dedicated to the 22 victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack including Martyn Hett, who was such an enormous Coronation Street fan that he sported a tattoo of Deidre Barlow – one of the show’s most popular characters. The plaque reads “For Martyn and all those who lost their lives on the 22nd May 2017. We stand together.”
Click on the images below for the full size!
Was it worth it?
Even if you aren’t a fan of the show, absolutely. It’s a great set and very relaxed – it has been organised well enough that everyone gets the opportunity to see what they want without having to encroach upon each others spaces.
Things to Know Before Booking Your Ticket
Tours run between 9am – 6pm on selected weekend days only, when cast and crew have downed scripts for the weekend.
Availability is strictly limited and tours are available to book online only.
As it is an outdoor tour, don’t forget to bring an umbrella in case of bad weather.
Tickets for the tour are £35.00 or free for children under 5 years old. A family ticket for two adults and two children is available for £89.00.
Tours last for approximately 90 minutes.
Get your tickets while it lasts!
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Suzie Speaks 
It looks like you had better weather than we did when we went back in April!
It was beautiful – I think it was one of the hottest recorded September days ever in some places haha! We were really lucky!