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Explore the Tunnels, Passageways and Bomb Shelters of Underground Manchester

It's not really a secret that there's an extensive warren of tunnels, passageways, bomb shelters and failed walkways underneath the city centre but if it is... errr surprise!

By Ben Brown | Last updated 11 January 2022

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As you’d expect with any city that’s been knocking around on maps for a fair few hundred years, there’s been a considerable number of changes, amendments and ‘improvements’ in that time, many resulting in a sprawling ‘hidden’ Manchester right beneath our feet.

Now, as a very lazy man, and someone who barely has time to wash his hair, never mind actually go and investigate these tunnels, I’ve not actually been in any of these tunnels or in fact wish to risk life and limb having a look for real.

Instead it’s been left to a few absolute bloody heroes who take this kind of stuff very seriously and are always looking to uncover the secrets beneath our feet.

One such geezer Mark Crossfield , who has spent the last 6 years tirelessly mapping the hidden tunnels under the city on a brilliant online map. Extensively exploring the history of the city he’s managed to create a map that any old Joe Bloggs can look at right here .

So I went on it. And I found the best ones. Well, the ones that I found interesting. And then I did a bit more research and I am now presenting them to you right here. Enjoy.

Piccadilly to Victoria Underground Rail Link

Post-war Britain was a confusing time filled with Swedish tower blocks, Opportunity Knocks and the fear of getting blown to smithereens by our Russian cousins (more on that later).

There were also extensive re-building plans and projects under way throughout the nation, fixing up and undoing the damage Hitler and his annoying Luftwaffe had done in the 40’s.

One of these proposed projects was an underground railway between the city’s two principal stations, Piccadilly and Victoria, a link that would aim to merge the city’s rather disjointed transport system into one unified network.

In 2012, Cube Gallery on Portland Street was home to an exhibition called Infra_MANC , which was curated by Richard Brook from the Manchester School of Architecture and Martin Dodge from Manchester University’s Geography department.

This exhibition ( most of which the information can be found here ) uncovered many of the ideas for Manchester’s post-war plans, with keen detail on the proposed Picc-Vic railway.

Incorporating an additional 3 stations within the city centre, the line would run from Victoria, underneath the Royal Exchange, under the Central Library, down Princess Street and finally onto Piccadilly.

With many variations on this idea through the years, we are all aware now that they were finally incorporated into the design of the Metrolink, which was re-introduced into the city in 1992. The whole idea of an underground link was shelved in the late 70’s as well as another one of the 4 main proposals outlined at Infra_MANC.

These 4 projects built up the city’s plan against both threats from the Cold War but also increases in population and traffic that was forecasted for the latter half of the 20th Century.

Of these 4, only 2 became a reality. One is the Mancunian Way – everyone’s most hated road, and the other is the ‘Guardian’ a network of tunnels through the city and to Salford which would have been used should Russia’s nuclear arsenal ever found its way to our shores. More on that later.

The other two, the abandoned ones, were of course the Picc-Vic Underground Railway and… a Heliport. Yep, everyone thought that helicopters were the future so they injected millions into designing and imagining a HUGE heliport at Victoria Station that would link up with similar heliports around the country. Idiots.

Deansgate Tunnel

Way back in the long cold Winter of 1911, a group of workmen demolishing some houses on Cumberland Street (which is now that bit where the entrance to Australasia is) uncovered an underground passage that lead to what has now been termed the ‘Deansgate Tunnel’.

Supposedly large enough to allow a horse and cart to go down it, this tunnel, 70ft below ground is built of brick, has an arched roof and even features erected brick walls along the way that some annoying bugger put in to stop anyone progressing further.

There’s not much else known about this tunnel, except that it perhaps runs right down the length of the city, from the Cathedral to Pomona at the Ship Canal.

Speculation is rife as to who built it, maintained it and even used it – with some believing it started as an old Roman tunnel used to transport togas, sandals and those little gold coins with Caesar’s face on them from one place to another – later being improved upon around 200-300 years ago.

The Roman angle might make sense, seeing as the tunnel passes right next to Castlefield, which eagle-eyed readers will notice was home to a huge Roman Fort Mamucium (remains of which are still there).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Courtesy: ojaybelowandbeyond.blogspot.com/

Castlefield acted as the main centre of the city in those days, with Deansgate the major thoroughfare from Chester and then up to the settlements in Wigan and York. To think that over the years this road ended up being built on over and over isn’t too far out of the realm of believability – especially considering what the Victorians did down near the Cathedral…

Rumoured Cathedral Tunnels

Now, there’s not much in the way of actual evidence of these tunnels even existing except for a few passing mentions in some dusty old books or on the lips of some dusty old nuns. But speculation is rife that there are extensive passageways that lead from Manchester Cathedral to a variety of locations around the city and its outskirts.

The age and location of the Cathedral, which will have acted as the true centre of the city for many, many years, hints at a series of tunnels and passageways which were used extensively through the Reformation and other periods of religious unrest.

Many of the passageways connect the Cathedral to pubs; and in the case of a rumoured tunnel from the cellar of the Castle & Falcon Pub, Keith Warrender’s Underground Manchester explains how a heavy door was discovered in 1975 which contained cob-webbed skeletons and a passage which led to the cathedral.

Interestingly, the pub started life as a Church before becoming a Women’s Prison – indicating that a direct passage to the Cathedral would have been highly advantageous to any priests or bishops that didn’t want to mix with the peasants on the streets above.

Similar rumoured tunnels lead to New Bridge Street next to Victoria Station and even as far as Moston College over 2 miles away.

The only one to have been confirmed though is a short tunnel linking the Cathedral to Chetham’s Well – which was found around 1842 and naturally would have acted as a great convenience between the Cathedral, the well and Chetham’s Library.

Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange

Nothing to do with the newspaper, the Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange (GUTE) was built as a direct reaction to the fears of Cold War nuclear destruction, intended to act as a safe communications network that could link with similar ones in Birmingham and London.

Anyone who has seen Threads will know that in the event of a nuclear event, all of this would have been completely worthless, but you can’t fault the Government for trying to dispel fears and instil some form of order if such an event took place.

Much as I imagine subterranean Disney World to be, the GUTE is a series of large concrete tunnels, big enough to drive one of them little golf buggies down in some instances, which was to act both as a communications network but also a series of bunkers to escape the worst of the destruction and fallout.

Set 112ft below the city, the GUTE managed to have its own self sufficient drinking water, as well as a series of specially constructed bunkers which would have been used to house certain VIPs and nerds should war break out. The location was kept secret for years, with two anonymous doorways in Chinatown and Piccadilly the only way to get in or out.

Nowadays the tunnels are still intact and are used extensively by the likes of BT, Nynex and probably a load of broadband companies. If you can manage to get yourself down there it will be the best place to pretend to be a Bond villain, but you’ll probably either get arrested or die first, so just grow a third nipple or buy a fluffy white cat instead.

That’s it. There are my favourites. Of course there’s LOADS more that I could talk about but I think I’ve gone on long enough by now.

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I have clearly done very little in the way of research on all of this – most of my information has come from the excellent graft of Keith Warrender author of Underground Manchester: Secrets of the City Revealed and Below Manchester: Going Deeper Under the City – two excellent books that explore the spaces beneath our feet.

Also, of course, Mark Crossfield whose Hidden Manchester Map is a valuable resource for anyone looking to delve deeper (yes!) into Manchester Underground. You can and should visit his site below…

Hidden Manchester Map

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You can now tour Manchester’s underground canals, bunkers and shelters on Zoom

Manchester is home to a rich underground world, and historian Ed Glinert's virtual tours will guide you through.

Manchester is home to a rich underground world that’s often the subject of several urban explorations and group guided tours every year.

From subterranean canals and train tunnels, to hidden atomic bunkers and even WWII air raid shelters, there’s a lot that goes unnoticed underneath the hustle and bustle of city life, and “Manchester’s hardest-working historian” Ed Glinert has been lucky enough to see it all.

Ed confesses he is someone who “has spent far too much time under Manchester”, but his unrivalled expertise in unraveling the mysteries of the deep is what usually sees him deliver a regular guided tours for those seeking an alternative view of our city.

Sadly though, just like most things, three lockdowns and ongoing and ever-changing coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions have put a stop to that.

So, he’s decided to do we’ve all resorted to over these last 10 months – do it on Zoom instead.

The first fully-booked-up Underground Manchester – The Full Tour on Zoom is due to take place this Saturday, with another sold out event scheduled for the weekend after, but there’s still two upcoming tour dates in the diary that you can grab tickets for.

And there’s no need for sturdy walking boots, a torch, or three-day survival kit either.

According to the overview, each tour will: “Explore in ravishing detail, with all the relevant pictures, the places you’d love to get down to but can’t anymore, thanks to meticulous and eye-opening research Manchester’s leading historian.

“We will take you to:

• Manchester’s biggest World War II air-raid shelter: Still there, rotting away, complete with war-time relics.
• The underground Manchester & Salford Junction Canal: From its open-air source, through to its submerged section where the water resolutely refuses to go away – what a story.
• The atomic bunker that stretches for four miles under George Street, Piccadilly Gardens and Market Street that was built at a time of government paranoia.
• The massive space under Manchester Cathedral, complete with toilets, stairs, space for bunk beds.
• Manchester’s half-hearted attempts to create a proper underground tube system – where did it all go wrong?
• Not forgetting the underground streams and rivers.”

Each fully-immersive takes place over one hour, and allows you to live out all of your urban exploration dreams without even having to step foot outside your front door.

After around half an hour of the tour, there will be time for a break before recommencing for another half an hour of sturdy virtual touring.

And then, you can go ‘home’.

Prices for each tour start at £8.75 , and you can grab your tickets via Eventbrite here .

The founder of Manchester fashion brand PrettyLittleThing, Umar Kamani, has married his model love in a lavish four-day wedding celebration.

The entrepreneur married Nada Adelle in the south of France in a glittering event reportedly costing £20m.

Among the guests were a-listers like Naomi Campbell, Anthony Joshua, and Rio Ferdinand, with performances from Mariah Carey and Ronan Keating.

Umar, originally from Manchester, also invited fellow Mancs like all three Thomas brothers Ryan, Scott and Adam, and fellow entrepreneur Steven Bartlett.

The stunning wedding took place three years after the happy couple announced their engagement (he proposed with a diamond ring worth £1.45m).

Umar, 36, co-founded online fashion giant PrettyLittleThing with his brother Adam. His bride Nada, 31, is a model.

And while he’s famed for creating affordable fashion, this wedding leaned the other way – Nada wore an haute couture Dior gown designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri, which took 540 hours to make.

The PrettyLittleThing founder’s wedding kicked off with a poolside welcome party where all guests dressed in white.

Then came a black tie wedding celebration, where Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang The Prayer as Nada walked down the aisle.

The reception that followed took place inside a huge ballroom, where Mariah Carey sang several of her biggest hits to delighted guests.

On the third day of the wedding, it was time for the traditional Indian wedding celebration, Nada this time dressed in a sparkling gown in contrast to her more simple Dior dress.

And guests were treated to a barbecue on Sunday before heading home from France.

Many of the celebrity guests have been sharing snaps from the big day(s), including Scott Thomas, who wrote: “There is nothing quite like a Kamani Wedding. Congratulations @umarkamani @nadakamani. Memories for a lifetime…”

Umar’s brother and PrettyLittleThing co-founder Adam also shared a sweet message from the wedding, writing: “Walking down the aisle to see you at the end of it stood there so handsome and strong before you got married. A feeling i can’t describe. I really am so proud of you. Love you so much @umarkamani.”

Naomi Campbell posted: “My chosen family ! Would not want to be anywhere else than with you on this day , TO WITNESS THIS BEAUTIFUL UNION OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE MR&MRSKAMANI WE LOVE YOU !!”

The supermodel icon also described it as a ‘divine weekend of love’.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

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Featured image: Instagram, @moalturki

If you’re a Stockport County fan, you’ve had a very good year as the Hatters have just been crowned League Two champions and will be back in the English third tier next season – safe to say they’ve been making most of the trophy celebrations.

Players and staff very much included.

Edgeley was filled with flares and even people climbing on rooftops when they officially secured promotion back to League One for the first time in 12 years – the second time they’ve managed to go up in three seasons – and there was a great attendance in Stockport town centre for the bus parade.

But it was last week’s trophy presentation back at the stadium that produced some of the most memorable scenes, with County topping off a season of impressive and often high-scoring performances on the pitch with plenty more pageantry. Cue the music.

☠️☠️☠️ @KyleKnoyle #StockportCounty https://t.co/uC00cz7leZ pic.twitter.com/d8uz2uweE8 — Stockport (C)ounty (@StockportCounty) May 3, 2024

🧯🔥 @tantss_o 's on fire… 🎵 #StockportCounty https://t.co/oDIGPp4XIz pic.twitter.com/MFi8oHQfsz — Stockport (C)ounty (@StockportCounty) May 3, 2024

Remember, it is an offence for supporters to enter the field of play 😅 #StockportCounty https://t.co/RfD9Oext9m pic.twitter.com/KUzFyQMfG6 — Stockport (C)ounty (@StockportCounty) May 3, 2024

We still haven’t stopped laughing at Kyle Knoyle.

From bringing Isaac Olaofe’s ‘Tanto’s on fire!’ chant to life to hammering home puns on names like Fraser Horsfall, no matter how obvious, these are the kind of deeply unserious celebrations we expect from a trophy presentation.

County fan or not, you’ve got to admit it looks like a good party.

It’s moments like these that players, fans and staff work hard all season for; to prat around like muppets in front of their adoring supporters. They even got assistant coach, Clint Hill, in the mix and, as it turns out, he proved to be one of the biggest ring-leaders.

As we did on the day, we'll start you off with the main man 🐎 #StockportCounty pic.twitter.com/bFrfswA2Y0 — Stockport (C)ounty (@StockportCounty) May 3, 2024

🧯 @clinthill29 #StockportCounty https://t.co/GxnpRLVu5e pic.twitter.com/Nw0ZaYo5hB — Stockport (C)ounty (@StockportCounty) May 3, 2024

• Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live isn’t open by June
• Sean Dyche randomly pops up in the music video for Blossoms’ new song – and he’s great
• KFC have launched their own BBQ-scented perfume – oh, and a new burger

We sincerely hope the Hatters keep trickling out more of these party scenes as we know there’s plenty more that fans would love to watch back.

We’re still yet to see captain Paddy Madden, who won Player of the Month for April, and the gaffer himself, Dave Challinor, who has comfortably secured his legacy as one of the club’s all-time greats.

Challinor and the club have made no secret of seriously eyeing up the Championship and who knows what else at County’s momentum continues to build, especially with a huge stadium redevelopment kicking off soon.

What do you reckon, Hatters – do you reckon a third promotion could be on the cards?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester,  subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE .

Featured Images — Stockport County (via X)

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Explore manchester’s hidden underground world from the comfort of your home.

Dive into what’s lurking beneath the city…

It’s no secret that there is a whole tunnel world underneath Manchester city centre. From bomb shelters to subterranean canals there’s a lot lurking below the surface…

A number of people have ventured down there and one person, Mark Crossfield has mapped the hidden tunnels which you can see here . 

Manchester historian Ed Glinert even offers tours of the tunnels but like most things, they’ve been put on hold in the pandemic.

Fear not though – they’re now on ZOOM baby! 

The first of its kind event has been selling out so fast they’ve had to add new dates. You can get your hands on tickets for two upcoming events still though, on Friday February 12th and Saturday February 20th (this one is nearly sold out). 

The overview explains: “Explore in ravishing detail, with all the relevant pictures, the places you’d love to get down to but can’t anymore, thanks to meticulous and eye-opening research Manchester’s leading historian.

“We will take you to:

• Manchester’s biggest World War II air-raid shelter: Still there, rotting away, complete with war-time relics.
• The underground Manchester & Salford Junction Canal: From its open-air source, through to its submerged section where the water resolutely refuses to go away – what a story.
• The atomic bunker that stretches for four miles under George Street, Piccadilly Gardens and Market Street that was built at a time of government paranoia.
• The massive space under Manchester Cathedral, complete with toilets, stairs, space for bunk beds.
• Manchester’s half-hearted attempts to create a proper underground tube system – where did it all go wrong?
• Not forgetting the underground streams and rivers”

Tickets will set you back just £8.75 for the over an hour-long virtual event. You can find more info and book tickets here . 

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Billie Eilish announces FOUR Manchester shows as part of world tour

Pop star Billie Eilish is coming to Manchester, with four dates confirmed at the new Co-op Live arena. The Grammy and Oscar-winning pop icon will be playing Manchester’s newest arena on July 19th, 20th, 22nd and 23rd, 2025. The dates are part of a full world tour taking place next year, in the wake of Hit Me Hard And Soft, her fourth studio album which is due out on May 17th.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by BILLIE EILISH (@billieeilish)

The full UK dates:

• 7 July 2025 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
• 8 July 2025 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
• 10 July 2025 – The O2, London
• 11 July 2025 – The O2, London
• 13 July 2025 – The O2, London
• 14 July 2025 – The O2, London
• 16 July 2025 – The O2, London
• 17 July 2025 – The O2, London
• 19 July 2025 – Co-op Live, Manchester
• 20 July 2025 – Co-op Live, Manchester
• 22 July 2025 – Co-op Live, Manchester
• 23 July 2025 – Co-op Live, Manchester

Presale tickets go live tomorrow, Tuesday April 30th, at 12pm and are exclusive for Co-op members only.

To become a Co-op member, click HERE , and enjoy exclusive benefits.

Barton Aerodrome announces McFly, JLS and UB40 open-air shows this summer

Make sure you don’t miss these!

Three brand new shows have been announced at Manchester’s Barton Aerodrome this September, adding to the summer gigs already confirmed.

Barton LIVE , a unique concert series set against the backdrop of the aerodrome’s runway, has already confirmed The Jacksons LIVE, 90s Baby Festival and Boogietown North are taking place this summer. Now McFly, JLS, and UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell will take the stage this September, joining the already bumper lineup.

Barton LIVE

McFly, known for their infectious pop-rock anthems and high-energy performances, with hits like ‘Five Colours in Her Hair’, ‘All About You’, and ‘Obviously’, are heading to the aerodrome on Thursday September 12th.

Then on Saturday September 14th JLS will be gracing the stage with chart-topping hits like ‘Beat Again’, ‘Everybody in Love’, and ‘She Makes Me Wanna’.

Finally, legendary reggae band UB40 featuring Ali Campbell will perform classics like ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, and ‘Kingston Town’ on Sunday September 15th.

New Barton LIVE shows:

• Thursday 12th September – McFly
• Saturday 14th September – JLS
• Sunday 15th September – UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell

Tickets will be available this Friday, April 26th, at 9AM – signing up is essential for access to tickets, sign up HERE .

Barton LIVE full summer series:

• Friday 19th July – The Jacksons LIVE
• Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st July – 90s Baby Festival
• Saturday 27th July – Boogietown North
• Thursday 12th September – McFly 
• Saturday 14th September – JLS 

Hot Wheels interactive experience hosting its first-ever European event in Trafford

This will be mint!

A Hot Wheels interactive experience is coming to Trafford Park this summer, the first time the event has ever taken place in Europe. Coming from Live Nation, BeFUN, and Mattel, the Hot Wheels City Experience is heading to the B.E.C Arena in Trafford Park this August, making its European debut as it brings the legendary toy cars to life. Spanning a series of immersive stations and interactive activities, the event will have something for families and devoted collectors alike.

Hot Wheels City Experience

The 6,000 square metre experience will let fans step through a nostalgic and educational journey consisting of 10 stations, including a design centre, immersive museum, playground, gamer zone and Hot Wheels Lab.

Fans will go on a journey through the colourful world of Hot Wheels, starting with an introductory video which will take a deep dive into the history and culture of the brand.

Luís França / Hot Wheels City Experience

The next station features an immersive museum and expo where visitors will get to see the best of the Hot Wheels collections – including graphics with the history of Hot Wheels, classic arts of the brand, and the Hot Wheels legendary life-sized cars. 

There’s also the Gamer Zone, where gamers can show off their skills, the Design Centre, where the latest technology is used to introduce colour and graphic projection onto virtual cars, and a Digital ‘build your car’ and painting workshop where fans can create and have their work emailed to them or projected on the walls.

Lastly, the Hot Wheels Lab will let guests play with the most popular Hot Wheels toys, including giant tracks and pre-built racecourses – with the opportunity to win prizes.

The Hot Wheels City Experience opens its doors on August 13th and runs until September 12th 2024, with presale tickets launching at 10am next Wednesday, April 24th – sign up for pre-sale HERE . On-sale tickets will be available at 10am on April 26th, starting from £27.50 for adults and £22.50 for children – head here for more info.

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• Art in Manchester

Architecture

Historical manchester, city explorers.

Below is a list of the walks available from Walk Manchester. To find out when our walks take place, please view our walk timetable .

You can also download a summary of all of our walks here: Walk Manchester - Our Walks .

Manchester Uncovered

A tour that cherry picks its way through Manchester unveiling it's hidden gems.

Walk the Boards Theatre walk

Trace the history of Manchester’s theatrical past and present.

Fac 51 Music walk

A must for anyone interested in music, this tour visits the shrines of Manchester’s best.

City of Culture

Discover the wealth of Manchester’s Orchestras, poets, playwrights, novelists, musicians and painters.

Musical Odyssey

Take a trip on this musical journey from the Renaissance to the present day in the splendid company of Manchester's best. Hear the sounds of world premieres, the finest composers who came to this city, listen to both home grown and the international.

The Manchester Literary Walk

Join the bards, poets and playwrights of Manchester’s best on this literary romp through the city’s heritage.

Gothic Manchester

From the glories of the Town Hall; Manchester’s municipal cathedral, past the John Ryland’s Library; Manchester’s temple to knowledge, to the glories of Manchester’s actual Cathedral, this tour explores these outstanding structures and the treasures within them.

The Arts in Manchester

The world of ls lowry.

Relive the route of the shy rent collector, a landscape many understand to be the image of the industrial north, revisit places where he stood and explore the images and psychology of the man and city he created.

Pop Art to Picasso

Trace a history of the Art of Manchester from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Impressionists, the work of L S Lowry to the Street sculpture of George Wylie. See the influence of Any Warhol in the poster designs of Peter Saville and look at urban art on the streets of the Northern Quarter.

The Manchester Impressionist- Adolphe Valette

Explore the clouded spires, the reflections in the water, the atmospheres and passing moments of an Edwardian jewel. On this tour you can experience both painting and real subject in a uniquely hands on Manchester experience only matched by a trip to Monet’s garden itself.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

See the impressive collection of Manchester’s Pre-Raphaelite work; map the themes, the obsessions, the women, the progress of the movement and finish under Ford Maddox Brown’s 12 murals in the Great Hall.

The Manchester Murals

Explore this hidden treasure; see beyond the murals into the politics of Ford Madox Brown and the city that gave his commission. The tour is fascinating mix of great art, history and hidden meaning.

21st century Manchester the birth of cool

Sleek and chic, bold and breaking the new frontier. Manchester is the 21st century city.

Architecture Revealed

Join this tour of Manchester and see everything from the Athens of the north to the soaring skyscrapers of the modern.

Architecture Revealed: Oxford Street to Saint Anne’s

Temperance halls, Towers and colonnades, Great warehouses, hidden churches, the glory that is Ryland’s Library.

Picc to Chips

Weave your way through some of the most interesting architectural designs in the city; Venetian copies, Scottish Baronial, Wedding cake decorative, modern chic, Edwardian Baroque the best of Building Design Partnership.

"Up in Arms" - Manchester Fights Back

Burning Barns, A Bonnie Prince, Bunkers, the Blitz, secret tunnels and the effects of the Somme- Explore the Effects of the Civil War, the Boer War, the Jacobites, The Somme, The Blitz and Nuclear war on the city

Poverty and politics; Social and Industrial tour

Politics and poverty, cholera pits, mills and markets, relive the lives of Manchester’s Victorian poor. Scuttlers, hawkers, mill workers and political thinkers, on this tour you will meet them all.

Political Manchester; the radical outlook

From the library at Chethams, visit a collection of sites forming Manchester’s political and radical heart.

Victorian Food Walk

How a city feeds itself is a startling insight into how it works as an organism. On this walk discover not just what the Victorians ate; Tripe, ice cream, gruel, etc an insight in itself into the terrible social divisions of the day, but map the development of how they managed to get food to themselves

The Life and times of Frederick Engels in Manchester

His knick-name was the “general” he lived in rented accommodation under a pseudonym most of his life, he was followed by the Prussian secret police, he rode with the Cheshire hunt and his best friend just happened to be Karl Marx.

Life on the Left

From the peace gardens to the Suffragettes map out the places where human rights and many of today’s political rights were fought for and won in this notorious city.

The Great War Walk; Walk with the Heroes

Move through the First World War on the streets of the city with the heroes of Manchester.

Relive this epic day step by step. Go back in time on the very streets of this most Mancunian of outrages. Start with the politics, the characters and the day’s events; the charge, the victims and the blood-stained streets then finish with the legacy outside the Free Trade Hall.

Manchester Town Hall

Explore the city’s most magnificent Gothic palace and the men who built it.

The oldest free lending library in the country, a seat of learning and excellence, now an elite music school.

Wrong Side of the Law

Murderers, body snatchers, mobsters, hangmen, rich men, poor men, beggar men; this is a walk through Manchester’s criminal underworld.

Rochdale Pioneers

One borrowed a wheelbarrow, pushed it into Manchester, one was guard on the longboat that despatched Napoleon to St Helena, 14 were Unitarians, 17 now lie together in Rochdale cemetery...

Formidable Women

They broke the mould of a man’s world, they challenged the rulebook, redefined what was acceptable and what was unacceptable.

Underground Manchester

Go deep underground into the subterranean world of canals, air raid shelters, hidden crypts, hidden rivers, hidden tunnels and much more. Relive the Manchester blitz of 1940 and discover some of the city’s most secret vaults.

Without doubt the most influential organization ever to come out of Manchester. See how it challenged and changed not just Victorian England but the entire world.

Manchester Canals

Escape the noise of central Manchester, and explore the sublime heart of the city’s canal heritage. Roman forts, railway viaducts, cotton palaces, parks, secret tunnels, this walk includes them all and much more.

Northern Quarter

Radical Manchester’s spirit lives on in the Northern quarter, its music, its fashion, and its breweries its clubs and its art.

Manchester by Moonlight

Get to see the best of Manchester only lit by the romantic moon.

Castlefield

The Romans were here first then the world turned upside down as the industrial revolution poured into the city. Explore Castlefied’s rich past and present, now the epicentre of historical Manchester where rail, canal, bridge, railway line and museum create a visible reminder of where the city grew from.

The Rochdale Explorer

Know your town; relive Rochdale’s industrial past, its history and famous characters; the vision of the Pioneers, the independence of its political giants, the squalor of its working poor.

Pub Walks & Quizzes

Music nights, pre theatre talks or crime and punishment walks-ideal for office parties or groups over 6 who want to start their night out with a difference.

John Ryland Library

The jewel in the crown of Manchester’s already famous Libraries, explore the treasures of this Iconic building and unmask its secrets. Some call it the Taj Mahal of the city; maybe you will fall in love with it as well.

Strangeways Explorer

Riots, revolutionaries and Irish republicans, secret letters, prison breakouts and secret police this walk has them all.

Salford Quays

Closed in 1982 then completely transformed, the docks are now one of THE places to visit in the city.

Central Library Explored

Don’t miss this great chance to go into the very heart of Manchester’s Central Library. See how it reflects the best of the city; the Architecture, the art, the history, the culture, the music, the literature, the politics, the science and the diversity.

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We also offer bespoke walks - please get in touch with us via the  contact page  and we'll see what we can do for you.

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Underground Manchester – The Full Tour on Zoom!

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Tunnel vision: Tour that lifts lid on Manchester's secret nuclear bunker

Tucked away in Chinatown, protected by barbed wire and high walls, an unremarkable building guards the entrance to one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets. The building – between St James Street and George Street – is built above a secret underground bunker created at the dawn of the Cold War.

• 08:26, 9 FEB 2011
• Updated 21:26, 17 JAN 2013

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Tucked away in Chinatown, protected by barbed wire and high walls, an unremarkable building guards the entrance to one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets.

The building – between St James Street and George Street – is built above a secret underground bunker created at the dawn of the Cold War.

It was connected to four miles of tunnels running under the city centre, and was supposed to save the city’s great and good in the event of a nuclear holocaust.

Now tour guide Ed Glinert is casting new light on the unseen underground Manchester – with trips that include, for the first time, a visit to the secret bunker.

The tour also includes the full network of disused canals and tunnels which run beneath the busy city streets.

Ed, 52, said: “I decided to start taking people to the nuclear bunker because it’s a big part of the history of underground Manchester, which is what the tour’s all about.

“Sadly we can’t go inside it, because it’s now used for communications work.

“People still work there today, so there is scenery painted on the walls inside so it feels like they’re looking out of the window. There are large murals of trees and views.” The bunker houses enough tinned food to last for several months.

Ed said: “The plan was at the first sign of nuclear conflict, all of the leading politicians and others would be sent down here, and could survive for a couple of months.

“The irony is by the time the building was completed it was useless, because the hydrogen bomb had replaced the atomic bomb. It was so powerful that the building wouldn’t have been able to protect against it.”

The building is now owned by BT and houses communications cables.

The rest of Ed’s tour takes in tunnels that played an important part in Manchester’s history, first being used as canals then as bomb-shelters during the Second World War.

One route connects the River Irwell and the Rochdale Canal, and was used for 24 years as a canal for transporting goods. The tunnels were then drained and used as bomb shelters in 1939 until the end of the war. They could house 1,683 people.

THE bunker was built between 1949-1954. It was paid for by NATO and cost £4m to build – £225m in today's money.

It was constructed by Polish workers who could not speak English and so wouldn't be able to tell people what they were doing.

The underground complex contains about four miles of tunnels. The door sealing the bunker is a 35-ton concrete slab operated hydraulically from within. The media were banned from revealing the existence of the bunker – and the ban wasn’t lifted until 1967.

The bunker is run by two generators, called Jane and Marilyn.

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Underground Manchester (Now on Zoom!)

We can no longer do this in person as it is too dangerous!, so join us on Zoom for even better value

Next Zoom tour: Sunday 12 March 2023. Meet: On your computer, 7.30pm. Booking : Please press here to book with Eventbrite .

This is  the de-luxe Underground Manchester tour, taking you from the comfort of your living room into the city’s biggest WW2 air-raid shelter, through the subterranean canal, underneath the Cathedral and at last into the atomic bunker.

It’s the on-line version of what was for years the second most popular walking tour in the country, featured in the  Manchester Evening News ,  Daily Telegraph  and on Granada Reports.

So, no longer do you have to don stout boots and descend several hundred feet into an air-less chamber filled with ankle-breaking boulders. It also means we can examine every interesting hidden nook and cranny without breaking sweat. Eureka! It’s a weird and wild world below. Come with us and find out why!

Cost:  £8.50.

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Manchester News

The atom bomb is hot news right now, thanks to this summer’s big blockbuster film, Oppenheimer, named after J. Robert Oppenheimer, organiser of the Manhattan Project which dropped the bombs on Japan in 1945.

Ed Glinert of New Manchester Walks, who has hosted countless local tours that include stopping at the atomic bunker on Chinatown’s George Street, and gives talks on the story of the atom bomb on cruise ships, relates the full atomic story to coincide with the release of the film and as the 78th anniversary of the dropping of the bombs in August 1945 to end the Second World War approaches. Continue reading →

Book with Eventbrite >>

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Exclusive Access

25-jun-2023, the secret tunnels tour.

There really is nothing like this on offer in the North West. Guests will need waterproofs up to their waists (waders are best), torches, a good level of fitness and be ready for a very early morning start. The price for the tours is £15 and includes excitement guaranteed. Meeting point: city centre, to be confirmed.

Depending on the weather other tours may be announced at short notice.

7 Of The Creepiest Ghost Tours In Manchester For The Haunted House Types

Most of us love a sweet little pumpkin and an annual screening of 'Hocus Pocus' when Halloween comes around, but this one's for the select few who love a true scare.

Halloween tends to split the wheat from the chaff in terms of those who enjoy the lighter side (think a cosy evening watching Halloweentown , bopping along to the Monster Mash with a pumpkin spice latte in hand), and those who live for a proper scare . The latter group will likely be searching for, if not already booked on to, a good few ghost tours, whether it be scouring the streets of Manchester, or exploring particularly renowned buildings; so here’s our guide to ghost tours in Manchester for the horror film-watching, haunted house -visiting Mancs in the room – not the faint hearted.

1. Ordsall Hall Ghost Hunt

Ordsall Hall is a historic house and a former stately home, dating back more than 820 years, although the oldest surviving parts of the present hall were built in the 15th Century . The most important period of Ordsall Hall’s life was at the family seat of the Radclyffe family , who lived in the house for more than 300 years.

Ghost tours at Ordsall Hall, just down the road from Manchester in Salford, can be a terrifying experience, known for the many sightings of the ‘ White Lady ‘ – most say she is the spirit of Lady Margaret Radclyffe who died, broken hearted, in 1599 after the death of her beloved brother Alexander. Sir John Radclyffe is said to inhabit the star chamber – the former Lord of the Manor is said to very keen on the ladies…

On previous investigations, many guests have reported being touched or pushed and some have reported what appears to be someone touching their face when nobody is present. The attic is a place many refuse to go alone – reports have recalled the feeling of being pushed over the balcony , being watched , sudden temperature drops and the sound of doors being opened . If you’re brave enough, you can secure your place with a £10 deposit per person here .

📍 322 Ordsall Ln, Salford M5 3AN.

2. Flecky Bennett’s Manchester Ghost Walks

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ian Waring (@flecks13)

We all love weird, wonderful and ghostly stories, and when the stories are based upon well-documented accounts, witness statements and Flecky’s own personal experiences, they take on a new life (and death) of their own. Welcome to the weird, wonderful and ghostly world of Flecky Bennett , described as Horrible Histories for adults !

Flecky Bennett is perhaps the most well-known ghost-hunting Manc, having led ghost tours around Manchester for over 13 years now. Of course, there’s plenty going on when it comes to Halloween, most of which is already sold out, but you can still grab tickets for the likes of the Didsbury Ghost Walk , Stockport Devil’s Night , and the classic Halloween Ghost Walk , with ghost walks available all year round .

3. Manchester Ghost Tour : City Centre Exploration Game

Embark on a quest around Manchester by solving clues that will take you to the most haunted places in the city, all with the help of your smartphone. Unlock new stories as you discover on your own Manchester Cathedral , the Palace Theatre , Albert Square , and more. Each clue will lead you from one place to another, giving you exact directions, so you won’t need a map, a GPS, or a guide. When you solve it and guess the answer, the secret story of that place is unlocked. Start and stop whenever you want . Along the way, you’ll find horror stories that will give you the chills. Dare you go on this tour?

📍Starts at Old Granada Studios, Atherton St, Manchester M3 3GS, UK, M3 3GS.

Haunted Manchester City Exploration Game

4. jonathan schofield’s halloween ghost tour.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jonathan Schofield (@jonathschofield)

Hear tales from guide Jonathan Schofield of world-famous opera singers returning from the dead, the devil seizing souls and the Manchester Ophelia who when drowned wouldn’t stay dead, in addition to the tragic tale of the lover who died of a broken heart following the gruesome execution of her sweetheart and how her anguished cries returned to haunt the city.

What’s more, there are tales of enchanters , pig men and many other wonders of the supernatural world that have been handed down through the generations. All these stories are genuine Manchester stories and the tour will also reveal some of the rich history of this magnificent city . As well as the thrills there are lots of laughs on the tour – expect fabulous story-telling, drama and entertainment on a truly memorable occasion. Find more information and tickets here .

📍 Starts at Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD.

5. Haunted Manchester The Pusher Outdoor Escape Game

Explore the most frightful places in Manchester, with their stories of restless spirits, cruel murders and menacing ghouls . Solve 13 creepy clues to find out the true story of Loky, a Manchester student who drowned in the canal, killed by The Pusher , a serial killer prowling the canals of Manchester. Now a ghost, Loky has sent out a chain letter to a random address. He knows that The Pusher is the ghost of the mass murderer who hid his victims and their bodies in the Albert Hall and who now continues his murders by pushing people into the canals. Can you help stop The Pusher and release the ghost of his victims? Manchester needs you now!

📍Starts at 18 Lower Byrom St, M3 4AP.

6. Uppermill Ghost Walk

On the misty Saddleworth Moor , out in the isolation, you will find a string of stories to read and clues to follow. This tour is a self-guided exploration – use your smartphone to download the storytelling app, and find your way using its guidance. You can choose to follow the ghost walk during the day or at night— are you brave enough to head out on the moors after dark?

Stop along the route include Saddleworth Museum & Art Gallery and Brownhill Countryside Centre , and the walk is said to require moderate fitness levels – and of course, nerves of steel. Find out more and get access here .

📍Starts at Civic Hall Lee Street, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6AE.

7. Antwerp Mansion Ghost Hunt

Once a thriving student haunt (pardon the pun), an overnight ghost hunt at Antwerp Mansion in Manchester is destined to be a night that you will certainly never forget. With so many areas to investigate including the old ballroom , scullery and bedrooms , not to mention the dark and sinister cellars , this will be a ghost hunting experience that leaves you in no doubt about the existence of ghosts and spirits.

Visitors and ghost hunters have witnessed dark shadow figures and strange shape formations lurking around all areas of the mansion. Disembodied voices have been heard and growling is a regular sound often heard in the dark cellars. This ghost hunt at Antwerp Mansion really is a fantastic opportunity for those brave enough to spend the night ghost hunting. You will be working with our team in our attempts to make contact with the ghostly spirits that for whatever reason refuse to leave here. Very much giving Most Haunted vibes, do your best Yvette Fielding and book on here .

📍 Antwerp Mansion, Kent Road West, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5RF.

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Discover Manchester with experienced, qualified guides from Manchester Guided Tours

Upcoming walking tours, looking ahead, meet the guides, denise sackett.

Her love of architecture, history and art combined when Denise became a tour guide.

Emma guides everything from Scuttlers to Blossoms, and created a unique and respectful tour of Southern Cemetery.

Don’t take our word for it!

Excellent ancoats food tour..

Having been on many similar tours, this one would be up there with the best experience we have had. John , our guide, was very friendly and had encyclopaedic knowledge of the foodie spots in the area and of the history and architecture you pass along the way. With regard to value for money we stopped in five places for a variety of interesting cuisines. There was plenty of food, we certainly didn’t leave hungry and indeed left with dessert to have later!

September 2021

Turn up at 11am, have the tour and then pay what you feel, be fair!

We pitched up at 11am, to find it was just us and Emma , our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. For the next hour and a half she gave us a superb rundown of the city centre, the industrial history and the cultural rise of Manchester. She picked out several hidden gems, gave us background and extra colour in an engaging manner. A great experience we would thoroughly recommend. The tours operate on a tip basis, I know that this is a bit of a problematic concept for we Brits, but it works well.

August 2021

Great tour of Manchester City Centre

Very enjoyable tour around Manchester city centre. Our guide Denise was very friendly, knowledgeable and easy to listen to. There were apparently a couple of inside visits that would normally have been included but couldn't because of Covid regulations but it didn't detract from the overall tour.

Fantastic tour, wonderful guide

Just had the most wonderful day with a group of friends, discovering Manchester and Salford. Alexandra was our guide and was just fabulous. Extremely knowledgeable, interesting and just so enthusiastic! We will be booking again very soon. Highly recommended.

A great introduction to Manchester

Enjoyed our tour with Suzanne who was an enthusiastic and informative guide on the social history of Manchester and the impressive buildings, particularly from Manchester's 19th Century boom.

On a wet morning, she was adept at finding the best spot to view the buildings and while keeping us out of the way of the worst downpours. I'd highly recommend the tour and the guide to any visitors.

August 2020

A fantastic tour of Angel Meadow and Ancoats ...

Did a fantastic tour of Angel Meadow and Ancoats today with Emma . Learned so much about that side of the city, how it has developed and evolved over the years, and how tough life was for its residents. There are so many clues to Manchester’s past still standing that I would never have noticed, or made sense of, before going on the tour. Emma speaks so passionately and knowledgeably about the city, and her tales of real life individuals, from all walks of life, really brought our history to life. Thanks so much Emma. Even the weather was glorious!

Great Walking Tour

Had a great walking tour from John Ryan . I found it really interesting. I've been to Manchester a few times, but have never noticed some of the things John pointed out to us on his tour. He's a really knowledgeable guide. I'll be looking at doing other waking tours in the future.

Interesting and humorous tour of the city centre

Absolutely brilliant. I've been to Manchester a million times, yet learned so much about the city on this walk. Nice, steady, slow paced wander around the city centre, led by a guide who obviously loves his adopted home town.

We couldn't enter buildings because of Covid, but it made no difference to our enjoyment of the tour.

September 2020

Great City Walk

This is an interesting, informative and gentle walk through the main city centre sites. Denise was very knowledgeable and friendly and gave us plenty of tips for additional things to see and do.

You’ll be many things, but disappointed isn’t one of them.

A dark-skied, rainy July day. In Manchester’s gargantuan Southern Cemetery. Inauspicious? Not a chance. Emma ’s passion for the sense of place and history, her indefatigable knowledge when faced with questions, and her patience allowing herself to be sidetracked by interesting tangential conversations, all add up to a grand day out. Treat your mind and soul to a breath of fresh Manchester air.

Ancoats & Little Italy tour

I did this 1 3/4 hr tour with the guide called Elizabeth Sibbering (Sibby) . It was excellent. We learnt a lot about the Mills and the communities who lived in Manchester in the 1800s. I would highly recommend this guide and the tours .

November 2019

A hidden gem

Fantastic walk with Emma . Learnt about Manchester’s history, economy, historic and new buildings, bee emblem and more. About two hours. Very interesting, and a great way to get oriented and learn about Manchester's hidden gems. Emma had a real energy about her passion for Manchester. Great way to spend 2 hours.

February 2020

Historic tour

We really enjoyed our tour with our local guide. She was most knowledgable about Manchester and took us to some great historic spots. Even after the tour was over she was happy to help us navigate Manchester and tell us directions. I would highly recommend this walking tour.

December 2019

A very good tour today with Pauline, learning about Manchester’s history, economy, historic and new buildings, bee emblem and more. About two hours. Very interesting, and a great way to get oriented in and learn about Manchester. Besides the “Discover Manchester” walk, this group of Blue and Green Badge guides offers many other themed walks.

January 2020

Ann was brilliant

This walking tour was fascinating and so interesting, made all the more so by the enthusiasm and knowledge of Ann our guide. She had so many anecdotes she shared and obviously loves her city! Highly recommended.

Another great afternoon

I went on the "Historic Pubs of Manchester" walk and really enjoyed it. Although I have been on these before, Peter O'Grady always varies the venues and has a constant supply of fasinating stories to share. I am always amazed by his knowledge of Manchester and intend to go on more walks as I learn something fresh on every one.

Absolutely entertaining and educational!

I am absolutely stunned how entertaining and educational this 2 hours walkabout tour is! All thanks to Eileen who took another visitor to Manchester and me around the Manchester City Centre. She was a gripping story teller who was able to hold our attention despite the traffic and pedestrians around us. Well worth the value I paid. Highly recommended to all visitors to Manchester who has a couple of hours to spare.

Northern Quarter Food Walk

We had the pleasure in taking the food walk around Manchester's Northern Quarter last night for my sister's Birthday. Our host John was great and informative, he took us to great places for good food and cocktails. I discovered loads about the Northern Quarter and places that I had never seen before.

I'm already planning another trip to the Northern Quarter to try out some more restaurants. Great night out had by all!

Emma’s ‘Scuttlers’ tour was highly enjoyable

Emma is extremely knowledgeable and a skilled story teller. As we walked along familiar streets and landmarks of Manchester & Salford, the tour brought alive the history of nineteenth century working class youth culture. We learnt a lot & thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

50th Birthday Surprise

The tour was fantastic from start to finish. Emma is funny, engaging and full of local knowledge. I thought I knew my hometown but she gave us an education for sure! I loved that she made references to my friend's Irish heritage and the connections to our city. Enjoying a 'Cheeky Vimto' as we walked and having a sit down at some of our old drinking haunts was a wonderful trip down 'Memory Lane'. All in all, a fantastic way to spend the day with friends and family and I can't say enough good things about Emma.

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A musical tour of Manchester: from the Hallé to the Happy Mondays

Every genre of music has made its mark on Manchester, including dialect ballads, classical, TV theme tunes and all the strands of post-punk. Welcome to the north-west sound

M yth distorts any city’s musical history, and in Manchester myth looms as large as the new Co-op Live , a £365m, 23,500-capacity mega-venue that opens today and will soon be staging big-name acts, including Take That. So, for every occasion a music fan mentions the hit-making boy band or, for that matter, 10cc or the Hollies, a thousand more bark back: Joy Division, the Fall, Happy Mondays. Not that 10cc were a small Manc band, but they peaked before punk and a wall went up at the end of the 1970s that relegated all that had passed prior to 4 June 1976 – the night the Sex Pistols performed at the Lesser Free Trade Hall – to prehistory, as in dinosaurs, fossils, folk musicians. New hagiographies about music impresario Tony Wilson (1950-2007) are no doubt at the printers as I write. But how about we spend half an hour mooching round the Rainy City aboard the free buses and trams in search of the underplayed, surprising and tangential – with a few Gen X/6 Music standards for when we’re stuck at the lights.

You might not think Coronation Street a promising departure point, but it gives us an in to Bowton’s Yard. It’s one of those ditties that may prompt unpleasant memories of the BBC TV series Sit Thi Deawn, but listen carefully and you’ll hear it is in fact a Victorian reality show made song. Written by Marsden-born, Stalybridge-based Samuel Laycock, it inspired Tony Warren when he was devising the characters for his Weatherfield/Salford-set soap opera. Granada Studios on Quay Street also played a leading role in disseminating the north-western sound, from regional accents to theme tunes to the Beatles’ first TV appearance , in October 1962.

Dialect ballads spoke truth to power after Peterloo – memorialised in 2019 by Jeremy Deller’s burial mound-like stone tump – and during the cotton famine . To spread the word, broadsides were run off at printers around the Oldham Street-Swan Street junction. Lancashire songs were central to the folk revival of the 1960s. Harry Boardman, a singer and collector from Failsworth, unearthed many anonymous songs of protest and historical record. Edward II has recorded a reggae version of the Great Flood, about the time the Medlock burst its banks in 1872. Jennifer Reid , from Middleton, performs The New Poor Law Bill a cappella on her album Gradely Manchester.

The most famous folk number, Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old Town , alludes to a “gasworks wall” or “gasworks croft”, depending on the version. The works were in Ordsall, bounded by West Egerton Street, Liverpool Street and Regent Road. Prior to their demolition in 2019, a prosaic infographic (not quite a “ muriel ”) was placed on the West Egerton Street wall. The Working Class Movement Library is a repository of MacColl’s work and life and has significant holdings of sheet music and song lyrics.

The Hallé Orchestra was founded by Sir Charles Hallé, who was conductor for the first concert at the Free Trade Hall on 30 January 1858. The Hallé premiered Elgar’s Symphony No 1 and Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No 8. The latter, dedicated to the orchestra’s celebrated conductor John Barbirolli, took place at the Kings Hall , a converted tea house at Belle Vue (demolished to make way for a car auction centre) on 2 May 1956. The BBC recorded it a few days later. The third movement, a cavatina, is a swirl of lark-like ascents and descents.

Since 1996, the orchestra’s HQ has been the purpose-built, vibration-proof Bridgewater Hall , with former St Peter’s church in Ancoats, a hulking redbrick Romanesque building, used for rehearsals, recordings and intimate shows. Manchester has an opera house , originally known as the New theatre. Recent shows include The Full Monty and Peppa Pig’s Fun Day Out, but it may get weightier fare as the ENO relocates to Manchester over the next five years. The region’s greatest opera singer was, like so much Manchester talent, from way outside town. Tom Burke, a miner from Leigh, was known as the “ Lancashire Caruso ”. What used to be the city’s Hippodrome is now a Wetherspoons named after him.

The Manchester School includes Accrington-born Harrison Birtwistle, Salford’s Peter Maxwell Davies and German immigrant Alexander Goehr, who met at the Royal Manchester College of Music in the 1950s. They founded the New Music Manchester group with pianist John Ogdon, who had attended Manchester Grammar School, and trumpeter Elgar Howarth. Exponents of avant-garde experimentation, they shunned cotton-themed concertos and any kind of parochialism.

If Unesco dispensed rosettes for demolition, Manchester would have many. Most of the old taverns that hosted turns, popular dance salons and music hall venues have been razed, together with mills, warehouses and factories. Concert halls and fun palaces were removed to make way for multistorey car parks and office blocks. The Free Trade Hall , where locals including Gracie Fields, Van der Graaf Generator and James played, as well as Dylan (AKA “ Judas ” as he was called at a gig there in 1966 ), Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Genesis, is now a hotel . Does a ribald, rollicking spirit live on from the boozy days of industrial Manchester? Certainly the refurbished Band on the Wall – which reopened in March – celebrates its location on the foundations of the George & Dragon and nearby Rising Sun pubs.

Every genre of popular music surfaced in Manchester between 1950 and the present, including big band, beat, rhythm and blues, soul, chart-oriented pop, punk, goth and all the strands of post-punk. There are not as many landmarks as songs, partly because, as mentioned, the wrecking ball is unsentimental and also, because pop stars have generally used their art to get away – lyrically first, and then physically. The Bee Gees, who claimed to have practised harmonising at their childhood home at 51 Keppel Road , Chorlton-cum-Hardy, never knowingly screamed a word about the town.

Northern soul, which arrived via Liverpool docks and Burtonwood airbase, drew large followings in Stoke, Wigan, Blackpool and, before any of those , Manchester. The Twisted Wheel on Brazennose Street and, later, Whitworth Street, had gigs by the Hollies and Freddie and the Dreamers, and less well-known bands such as Powerhouse 6 , but is best known for its legendary northern soul nights. The building has gone but Twisted Wheel “lives on”, according to a members-only Facebook page , at Area, 50 Sackville Street. The Ritz, on Whitworth St, survives as an O2 franchise. Originally opened as a dance hall (with a sprung floor) in 1927, it hosted a Dancing in the Dark evening in the 50s and 60s, fronted by Crumpsall’s Phil “King of the Ritz” Moss and his Band (which later became a stalwart on TV’s Come Dancing), and went on to transition through beat, northern soul, disco and mainstream rock scenes. The mobile phone firm also owns the famous art deco-style Apollo , long a fixture for bands on tour. Stockport’s MoR hitmakers 10cc were a classic art school, let’s-go-to-London-asap outfit, but they played here when they came home, as did Sad Café.

The Pistols concert in 1976 made the Lesser Free Trade Hall a holy-of-holies in Manc muso circles, but the Electric Circus , in Collyhurst (birthplace of pianist and crooner Les Dawson), earned its credentials through many seminal punk performances, including the first gig by Warsaw (Joy Division’s first name), and shows by Buzzcocks, John Cooper Clarke, the Fall, the Nosebleeds and Slaughter and the Dogs, among others. The fact it had previously been a cinema, Bernard Manning’s Top Hat club and a bingo hall should surely have made it one for the heritage buffs to list.

Richard Boon and Howard Devoto launched the New Hormones label in 1977 at a then ramshackle, now listed former hat merchants’ warehouse at 50 Newton Street . The first release, the Spiral Scratch EP , was a punk watershed and a declaration that bands needed neither London nor major labels. In 1980, Boon and others started up The Beach Club (a reference to the Situationist slogan “Under the pavement, the beach!”) at Oozits on Newgate Street. In 1978, Factory Records began as a WFH DIY disruptive startup at Alan Erasmus’s first-floor flat at 86 Palatine Road (now blue plaqued), only moving to a proper HQ on Charles Street in 1990 – where it was officially incorporated with the catalogue number FAC 251 (the name of a venue for cover bands on the site, part owned by Peter Hook). The Factory was the name of a night at the Russell Club on Royce Road in Hulme that ran from 1978-80; two years later the Haçienda (FAC 51) opened in a former yacht builders’ shop and warehouse on Whitworth Street West, beside the Rochdale Canal. The site is now occupied by “ iconic ” apartments.

The last Factory catalogue number, FAC 501, was used for the plaque on Wilson’s coffin, and no number adorns designer Peter Saville’s headstone for his business partner in Southern Cemetery . Fabled producer Martin Hannett is also buried at the necropolis – said to be entered via the Smiths’ Cemetry Gates.

There’s no better terminus than a musical graveyard. Inevitably, dozens of Manchester music sites are missing from this hop, skip and jump, including Rochdale’s recording studios, Festival of the Tenth Summer venues and countless bedrooms, garages and rave locations. But most tell versions of the same story, just as some songs seem like Venn diagrams of influence; Oasis by Happy Mondays sounds like New Order with lyrics by Morrissey or Ian Curtis, on a bad day (“You went too far, and it’s gone all the wrong way”). If you want to aurally vacuum up every Manc motif in a single song, steam on in to Mike Garry and Joe Duddell’s St Anthony: An Ode to Anthony H Wilson (Andrew Weatherall Remix; lyrics here ), perhaps while walking from the thrusting Aviva Studios/Factory International behemoth to the Epping Walk Bridge to search hopelessly – à la 80s – for Hulme Crescents and the dead souls of yesteryear.

• Manchester holidays
• England holidays
• Joy Division
• Northern soul
• Cultural trips
• City breaks

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