Day Out: Exploring famous cobbles on Coronation Street Tour

So said Tony Warren, who was 24 when he came up with the idea of a series “about a little back street in Salford, with a pub at one end and a shop at the other, and all the lives of the people there”.

In 1960 Granada TV commissioned 13 episodes written by Warren. Initially titled Florizel Street, it reflected the daily lives of working-class families - which had never been done before in television drama. In the first episode there’s a bottle of brown sauce on the Barlows’ dinner table, and Ken’s father repairs a bicycle puncture in the front room. Meanwhile, Ena Sharples calls into the corner shop for “a packet of baking powder, a bottle of bleach and a half dozen of them fancies.”

For the first time, viewers saw people just like themselves on telly. Created against the backdrop of post-war kitchen sink drama, the show was set in Weatherfield, a fictional version of Salford, and brought the North of England, its speech rhythms, its humour and its formidable women, into the nation’s living-rooms.

It was an instant hit - and 64 years later Coronation Street is the world’s longest-running TV soap.

I have watched Corrie most of my life. I never miss an episode. I first visited the street at the old Granada studios in Manchester, before the set moved to MediaCity at Salford Quays, where the show has been filmed since 2014.

Coronation Street tours are held here at weekends, giving fans chance to walk along the famous cobbles, explore replica sets and see props and costumes. You can even ring the bell and call last orders in the Rovers Return.

The move to MediaCity meant a bigger base for Corrie. As my sister, Sophie, and I discovered on a recent tour, the set now comprises full-scale buildings, a neighbouring street and, the most recent addition, the precinct - a complex of shops and flats familiar to fans from a major ongoing storyline about the disappearance of troubled teen Lauren Bolton.

Round the corner is Weatherfield General, the hospital at the centre of so many dramatic scenes, where the car park is used by cast and crew, and Weatherfield Police Station, which is one of four working interior sets on the Street (the others are Prima Doner, Tracy Barlow’s florists, and the community centre). On the tour, you can enter the police station and kebab shop - all I needed was Chesney’s apron as I took my place behind the counter.

We headed to Victoria Street, which has expanded in recent years and is now home to street food restaurant Speed Daal, the Weatherfield North tram stop, Shuttleworth’s Funeral Services and Victoria Garden where, as our guide pointed out, any resident who “feels a bit sad” goes to sit alone on the bench.

It feels surreal to be right inside a TV show you have watched for a long time. This street is so familiar to me, but actually being there, wandering past the shops and houses, peering through windows and down the ginnel, was fascinating. Along the way our friendly guide, George, told us about the set, past and present, and revealed snippets from behind the scenes.

Many a drama has unfolded in the ginnel... (Image: Newsquest)

We took it all in - the Rovers, Dev’s shop (the corner shop, with Florrie Lindley at the reins, was in the opening scene of the very first episode, in December 1960), Victoria Court flats, Roy’s Rolls, the builder’s yard (where Tina McIntyre fell to her death), Kevin’s garage (Webster’s Autocentre these days), Audrey’s salon, Street Cars, Underworld (Mike Baldwin’s knickers empire, back in the day), the Kabin and the Viaduct Bistro, where a tram came crashing onto the cobbles in the dramatic 50th anniversary live episode in 2010.

The Kabin, where Rita has sold sweets and copies of the Weatherfield Gazette for years (Image: Newsquest)

We wandered up the terrace, half expecting to see Eileen Grimshaw scowling through her lace curtains, and peered into the back gardens of the posher houses on the other side of the street, where you can see Gail’s grisly murder scene annex, Yasmeen’s hen house and, two-doors-down, Sally’s beloved hot tub.

The beauty of the old Granada studios Corrie tour was that you got to see the old dressing-rooms, where the likes of Pat Phoenix and Julie Goodyear were transformed into Street icons, and a wardrobe department. The current site is a working set, with no access to studios, but there is now a permanent exhibition packed with costumes, props and archive material.

Among the displays are memorable wedding dresses - including Gemma’s giant orange gown, complete with twinkling lights, and the damaged dress from Daisy’s acid attack - Deidre Barlow’s legendary specs, Hilda Ogden’s curlers and Bet Gilroy’s giant earrings.

Deirdre's glasses, Ena's hairnet and Hilda's curlers on display (Image: Newsquest)

There’s an archive set of Jack and Vera Duckworth’s living-room, with Spanish-themed bar. We explored replica sets of Roy’s Rolls, where every detail is meticulously recreated, right down to the steam train print table mats, and the Rovers Return, where you can step behind the bar, standing in the footprints of Annie Walker, Betty Turpin, Raquel Wolstenhulme, Sean Tully and all the other famous barmaids (and barmen) who’ve held court over the decades, and pull a pint of Newton and Ridleys.

Weatherfield Police Station is one of four interior sets on the Street (Image: Newsquest)

The Coronation Street Experience, comprising tour and exhibition, is Corrie heaven. A must visit for fans, and for anyone interested in television history.

Leaving Weatherfield, we wandered around MediaCity, a lively waterside complex comprising ITV and BBC studios, bars, restaurants and a shopping mall. Sprawled across the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, Salford Quays

is a vibrant place, buzzing with culture. Home to The Lowry theatre and the excellent War Museum North, it is also where TV shows such as BBC Breakfast, The Voice and Countdown are filmed.

With the sun shining, the site was packed with locals and tourists enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon in one of Greater Manchester’s coolest spots.

Boarding the tram to Manchester, I thought of Tony Warren, the Salford lad who grew up in terraced streets here, where the curtains twitched and everyone knew everyone else’s business. What a legacy he has left, for fans around the world.

* Visit coronationstreetexperience.co.uk