When I Walked the Cobbles

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=dfdrkcn.pz4silr&x=0&y=-s0468t

In September of 2000 I was part of a group of internet friends that met up in Manchester and spent the week getting to know each other and doing day trips in the north west of England. The weekend was a convergance of even more of us, kicked off with a barbeque.

Saturday was the climax of the week! A visit to Granada Studios as a corporate group had been
organized. The tour had been closed to the general public all year so we were in high excitement mode. We gather our cameras and make sure we have plenty of film, don our custom tshirts and head out to the Ox pub for a 1 o'clock lunch. The Ox is just around the corner from Granada
Studios, you see.

Annie is bouncing off the walls, full of plans and excited to see the fruits of all her hard workcome to pass. There are a few new faces in the crowd today and one other new face in the crowd today that I've been looking forward to meeting, Peter "Dewey" Dewhirst. Another onliner who's been around for years! And isn't he just a Star! You never see a photo of Dewey that he isn't smiling broadly!

Off we go around the block to Granada's front entrance, Annie jogging off ahead to make arrangements with the entrance staff. We are allowed in and group near the front gate, in front of what looks like a Manhattan set. There are over 40 of us, and Alan played paparazzi, with everyone's cameras dangling from his neck and wrists trying to take a group shot but we were being given directions and things and we were off. Across the compound, up a set of metal stairs and through a dark "alley". It was an old set that used to be used for Sherlock Holmes and/or Moll Flanders, a Victorian type street with big studio lights hanging above the camera range. Then out into the sunlight again and there it is!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I am actually standing on the cobbles of Coronation Street!!! The first bit you see is the new "Victoria Street" development that is parallel to the "Street", with "Rosamund street connecting them.
I was so excited I didn't know which way to look first! Well, the Rovers (the pub) first of course and then we all scattered in all directions, exploring. The din of camera shutters echoed, I swear! The Rovers, the Kabin, The Corner Shop, the yellow and blue stone cladding! The Cobbles!

Up and down I walked taking pictures, having my photo taken and taking other people's photos.   One house, Number5, was open but there was just some things stored in it and a staircase. I do know that there are writers' conference rooms built into the upstairs, where it's not individual houses but all one or two big rooms.

Chris and I were the first into the back alley behind the houses.   I was going to take a photo of the beer barrels in back of the pub but Chris, daft beggar, offered to pose collapsed on the barrels as if he
had had a rough night drinking! Never one to pass up a photo op, not me! :) The others started coming down the other end into the "ginnel" and we were all peeking into the tiny back yards and taking photos of each other.

Back out front, I wandered some more, happy as Larry! The only thing missing that was removed when Granada started renovating and building the new parts of the set is Stan Ogden's "grave" which was set up in a little spot just before you came into the street proper.   The phone booth used to work and the mail box used to be a functioning one and if you sent postcards they would be postmarked for the city Corrie takes place in, Weatherfield.   Not now, sadly.

We had some group photos taken in front of the Rovers Return, splitting up into geographical
groups, the East Coast Canadians, the Ottawa, the southern Ontario and the UK/Rest of the World group before the "Everybody" group shot. Annie took all the photos, refusing to be in the group shot until the
end when we dragged her across the road. She was so delighted that all her hard work came together so well and I think her ribs were probably aching with all the hugs she was getting all afternoon, and rightly so!!

Time is up and we are led off the set, down one set of stairs and up another becausethey opened the gift shop for us too! Crowded and hot but most of us came away with an armful of treasures. Fridge magnets, postcards, little ceramic houses and pubs, pins, and other odds and ends.   14 pounds poorer, I thought I did quite well. I didn't want to buy anything breakable as I had two more weeks to carry it around. After we finally left the studio, some of us went back to the Ox for another drink and a natter.

Full weekend events including the above at http://members.accesswave.ca/~tvor/uk2000c.htm
The events of the week leading up to it are at http://members.accesswave.ca/~tvor/uk2000b.htm

Photo links to Kodak albums on those pages.

Unfortunately we didnt' get to see or meet any of the cast but just being on the cobbles was magic in itself!!!

My wife and I have been on the Coronation Street studio tour twice, I entered a Coro competition the first time and about a month later four free entry tickets dropped through my letter box! It was too good an opportunity to miss and we went for the second time about three years later. These memories are obviously about both trips as not a lot had changed in the three year gap.

Finding the Granada studios was very easy and parking was even easier which makes a change in this country. The box office was just inside the main gate and on the two occasions we went there were no queues and to be honest the place was almost empty! When you go through the box office you are told what tour number you are on and asked to wait for your number to be called before going to the main studio entrance. Sometimes I believe the wait could be two hours or more but we only waited about 15 minutes. The area where you wait for the tour to start was an American main street from the fifties complete with cop, diner, shops, fire hydrant etc etc just how its portrayed in the films, which makes sense because after all it is a stage set. Anyway the tour started and I was expecting to see the Coronation street set almost straightaway but its not to be. First of all they show you how films are made and how sets are built which to be honest is just padding for the main feature! During the tour which lasts about 90 minutes you were given a guided tour of Baker street (Sherlock Holmes) the front of Number 10 Downing street, Checkpoint Charlie (Berlin) and a ride on a East German Bus complete with East German border guards! The interesting bit is when things start to get around to why we were there, there were the sets of Alma's cafe and a mock up of Hilda,'s living room complete with ducks! clothes worn by the stars of Coro which included Ena's hairnet, Elsies coat and Betts wedding dress were also on display. There was also an opportunity for any member of the public to do a short video with Mike Baldwin, Ken Barlow and a few regulars in the Rovers. My neice took up the offer and the story line was she had come to view a house on the street with a view to buying it. It lasts about five minutes I suppose and cost about �10. Trouble was it was all done in a "blue room" and obviously none of the stars were there but at the end of the day she has a video of her in the Rovers talking with the likes of Baldwin etc. Not everyone can say that! Another thing on the tour was the set of a programme about small people and the set was huge, everything was about five times taller than normal and to show how big it was we walked out of the room through the fireplace! The next thing we knew it was the end of the tour and we were let out onto the street itself, the street is not on the tour and you could spend as much time doing what you wanted to do.

My first thought was "isn't it small" and "is this the real set?" It just seemed so much smaller than on the tv but its not small really it just seemed it. It was strange walking down a street that I knew so well but never knew at all. Everything was where it should be and everything looked right but there was something missing. I soon realised the street lacked the atmosphere that prevails on the "street" There was no one there, it was empty, it almost felt neglected if you like. Once all of that had sunk in it was fine and the street was waiting.....................

We came out of the tour through what is now the chippy. First stop the Rovers, obviously its completely empty inside and is nothing but a shell but it was still the Rovers..........we walked on down and of course tried to look in all the windows but not a lot could be seen through the nets. Sometimes a vase could be seen whilst in others nothing was visable. We tried to look through letter boxes, some were real letter boxes and others were false. In some were a short piece of stairs which would be seen from a shot outside (now I know why when someone opens a door to someone knocking they pull the door almost shut behind them) I looked for the initials of Dennis Tanner that he had carved into the window sill back in the early sixties and got a good telling off from Elsie (anyone remember that?) I found what I think was them but I am not sure. We were told that when the outside set had been built to replace the inside set everything had been faithfully reproduced on the new set so it probably was the initials I was looking for but who knows?

Further on down we moved, the corner shop was next and everything looked right, it even had a bit of stock on high shelves that could be seen by the camera from an outside angle. We walked around the side of the shop to where the back entrances and the yards could be seen. The back alley only actually runs half the length of the houses and stops far short of the Rovers backyard. Now imagine this........if you are stood in the alley looking into the backyards of the houses, now turn around and face the other direction.....are you with me? if you are you are now looking at the Coronation street actors car park! We were not really interested in the actors themselves so never stayed long but one person who does stick in my mind was Helen Worth. Anyway back to the street.............

Now imagine this............walk into the street and look up at the upstairs of the older houses on the street between the Rovers and corner shop, ok are you with me? right. From the corner shop right along to the Rovers is a long corridor at the front and office and store rooms to the back. In other words if Curly Watts was looking out of his bedroom window he was really standing in a long corridor! Now go back to the backyards........ALL of the walls between each backyard is made of wood and painted like brick.........they can all be removed, this is to allow room for the camera runs and crew!

Ok lets cross the street from the corner shop to the Kabin.........The Kabin looks like any shop in any English town, it looks normal apart from one thing......no stock! Its empty and quite dirty inside. The garage is next but the doors were locked which is a shame because a look around there would have been good. The newer houses on the street are indeed smaller than real life, probably only 20%smaller but they are smaller. They are made of the correct materials but the wood trim on them is in a terrible state and green mould can be seen growing on the brickwork. It was possible to go around the back as on the day we were there the side gate had been left unlocked but you could only go as far as Mavis and Dereks back garden (now Ashley Peacocks). The upstairs is again used as storerooms and offices. The hairdressers looks normal and could easily be mistaken for a genuine shop. If memory serves me well the shops which now includes Roys Rolls were being built the last time were were there. Turning left from and walking past the bus stop is the gates to the Brewery. Remember everytime a bus or car runs along the road at either end of the street the driver has to brake hard to avoid running into a brick wall. After leaving the street and walking past the bus stop turn sharp right and on the corner is a thing which I think is in very bad taste...........its the grave of Stan Ogden.........it looks real but is totally out of place. Its obviously never shown on camera and I think it was put there by well meaning Granada executives bowing to public opinion. I can only hope that now the tours are no longer open to the public its been removed.

On the day we were there Derek and Mavis Riley were filming outside shots for a promo and being filmed outside their front door and walking down the street. Filming was NEVER done whilst the public were in but as this was only a promo they allowed us to stay as long as we were quiet.

As I said the "street" was not part of the tour and you could take as long as you like looking over the place. We even went back again the same day to have another look. Just around the corner of the "street" and probably behind the hair dressers is a REAL Rovers, fully licensed and up and running as a real pub. It looks exactly like the Rovers and even has Newton and Ridleys best bitter.......and its not a bad pint either.

The Coronation Street gift shop is huge and everything can be bought there from Hilda's ducks to Newton and Ridley beer mats and ashtrays. It was in its day a real good day out and if it ever opens its doors again to the paying public I may be tempted back..........if any of you get the chance to go...............take it.

Ken

Please keep in mind this was in 1995, so some things have changed, the interiors of some of the houses have. Note Jack & Vera's Spanish picture, which they still have.

The Coronation Street visitor site was originally a type of theme park with rides and displays, we quickly got through those to see the Coronation Street sets, actual rooms where they shoot the scenes, they tell you not to touch anything because it all has to stay in the same place. (Of course there were some people who just had to move the chairs and sit on them in the Cafe.) After taking lots of photographs of Jack and Vera's lounge, Jim's Cafe and the MacDonald's it was off to the actual Street.

We were lucky that we were there on a quiet day so had the place pretty much to ourselves and were able to look around and peer into windows for as long as we liked. I was having my picture taken at the postbox outside Alf's Corner Shop when a young woman came to talk to us, she was employed as a Visitors guide. She asked us where we were from and when we told her Canada she wanted to know about it and did we get lots of snow etc., She then looked at her watch and we presumed she had to leave but no, she said if we would like to go down the alley beside the shop, the actors should be just coming out after filming, we dashed along there in time to catch lots of them, Percy Sugden, Steve MacD. Jim MacD,(who looked extremely handsome in person, he was wearing a blazer and cream coloured pants) Rita, and Kevin. We called out to them all, saying we were visiting from Canada, everyone waved and asked if we were having a good time, we had met Kevin two years before at the Britannia show, I yelled to him that we had seen him there, he said he had really enjoyed his visit.

Rita was another story altogether, I called her by her own name Barbara Knox, but she pulled her hat down over her face and almost ran to her car. Then Ken Barlow came out and he waved to us too. We were standing waiting to see if anyone else came out and Sherrie Hewson came to talk to us for a few minutes, she was in full make-up which seemed very dark in the daytime light. Then the young lady guide came back and said that was all we were going to see for the day, we thanked her and she walked along with us, she bent down and picked up a piece of loose cobblestone from near The Rovers Return and gave it to me, telling me to put it away as they usually auction them off. Of course I brought it home with me and it has pride of place now on our wall, suitable mounted and with a plaque to remind us of our visit.

I was sorry I had run out of film before all the celebrities arrived but my husband Bill got them all on video tape luckily.

A few Street secrets:- the ends of the street goes nowhere, when the cars go speeding round the corner, they have to quickly pull up since it is a dead end. Around the corner by the shop is a slope with a gate at the bottom, they use it for bringing in the vehicles and props. The houses are very shallow and not full size, the indoor scenes are always shot in the studio at the back of the Street.

The outdoor shooting is done in one day usually, so sometimes they do two or three different storylines at a time. I was amazed at the shabbiness of the front doors, the are all in need of a coat of paint or varnish, there is a lot of graffiti carved into parts of the doors and other places, it doesn't show on camera though.
You can actually mail a letter in the postbox and make a phone call from the booth outside of Audrey's Salon.
Ann

We went to England Sept 95. We were visiting my uncle the first Saturday we were there and he asked what we wanted to do while we were on holiday. Jokingly, my husband Al said "go to Coronation Street".

The next day we were at the Granada studios. (we had only seen the show a few times before, but there we were.) It was a very busy day. They had been taping that morning. Our number for the tour was quite high. While we were waiting, Al had his first pint in the UK at the Rover's return!!

After what seemed like a long time, it was our turn. We saw a few things, then it was time for the sets-all the living rooms, and kitchens! They looked so small. We then saw the cafe-my uncle said 'have a seat, pretend you are eating there.' As you can tell by my guilty face, you were not supposed to touch anything.

Then it was time to walk on those famous cobbles. It is quite something to say you have walked on that street! We really enjoyed our day there. Since that visit, I do not think there are too many Sunday morning shows we have missed.

We did go back to England in 2002 I would have given anything to go on the tour then-since becoming a HUGE fan. We did go to Castleton, Manchester. If you go to the Museum of Science and Industry (minutes from the street) you can actually see parts of the street from the 2nd floor window!

Al and I actually stood at the gates for 7 1/2 hours. I enjoyed this day just as much as the tour-if not more! We had photos and autographs with Audrey, Sunita, Mike, Tyrone, Ashley, Jason, Ken, Norris, and Kevin. Everyone was so nice that we met. Rita would have ran us over in her jag-no way was she going to stop! Geena was the same way!

Al even went to Liz Dawn's (Vera's) own pub a block away. I did not want to go, in case I missed someone. When we got our photos back, we showed them to my aunt and uncle who took us to the studios 7 years before. They could not believe what fans we had become because of that day in 1995 when they took us there.
Deborah 8-)

In September, I was in London for a couple of weeks. My Coronation Street adventure started with the play "A Few Good Men" which featured Suranne Jones. She was quite good in the role but it was rather strange to see her in uniform and speaking with a southern accent.

I decided to visit Manchester overnight, to see the great industrial architecture and try to see the Coronation Street set. After my train trip to Manchester on Virgin Rail (which was excellent, new trains with 15 channel s of music at each seat). My first stop was the tourism bureau. Although I knew that Granada had ended tours of the set, I asked whether the bureau had any information about filming sites for Corrie. They did not but the person mentioned that the set could be viewed from the Museum of Science and Technology. I was actually planning on visiting the Museum anyway so I headed right over.

After some twists and turns in the museum, I discovered the vantage point, on the third floor in the children's activity centre. There is a series of large windows, which directly faces the set. This was quite exciting but even more exciting was the fact that there was filming underway directly in view. The story line related to "Justice for Janice", whose hair was shorn to the scalp. You'll see from the photos that my favourite Hayley was there as well as many of the others.

The funniest photos are of the staff person who ate her lunch, smoked a cigarette and then had a nap in the backyard of Gail Platt's house. (I think ).

At the end of the day I visited the "Old Grapes" which is the pub co-owned by Liz Dawn. I enjoyed my drink while I looked at all the Corrie photos that were there.

The next day I visited the Imperial War Museum and the Lowry and then set out for the Ox, which is a gastro-pub across from the Museum of Science and Technology. Before eating, I decided to go view the set again in case there was more filming. The set was quiet I noticed that there was some activity at the front gates at Granada. Being the inquisitive sort (nosy), I decided to check out what was happening.

The local tabloid photographers were waiting at the gate along with a small group of regulars. Lunch break for filming is at 1 p.m. and some of the actors leave the set for lunch. I decided to watch for a while and thus became an official Coronation Street groupie. I was a little slow in taking some of the photos but here's who I saw:

Fred, Ashley, Janice, Hayley, Martin, Violet, the twins, Sean, Sally, Fiz, Steve, Tracy, Eileen (who is quite glamourous), Adam, Rita, Norris, Emily, Les and a couple of the new actors.

Kate Ford who plays Tracy was very friendly and chatted for a bit. Bradley Walsh was friendly but in a hurry and had his script tucked in his back pocket. Bruce Jones looked quite worn out (too much honeymoon?). I had lots of fun and wished that I had another keen fan along to enjoy it with me.

So, I didn't visit the set but I still had wonderful value for my 12 pound train ticket.

Steve's visit, 26th June 1993

I was surprised and excited to see that they were actually filming on the street, which usually only happened when the tour was closed. We (several hundred tourists) were at first huddled into the end of Rosamund Street beside the Rovers, as the camera was facing our direction. All we could see was the vehicles passing on rosamund street and coming to an abrupt halt against the wall or turning into Coronation Street. It was odd seeing people get on the bus parked beside the salon, which then drove the short distance passed the Rovers and stop to let the people off again, must be the world's shortest bus journey. They had to do a retake when a van, turning into the street, stalled and rolled backwards. Another point of interest was the extras, who walked round the Rovers' corner and into the side door, only to come out again in a different coat and walk across the street or back down it again.

Finally they broke for lunch and gave us an opportunity to explore the set which had the character cars and filming gear all over it. Some of the houses were unlocked so the tour guides had a job stopping the more inquisitive tourists from opening a door and walking in. Somebody entered number 4 (then the Wiltons) and emerged from number 6 (Des Barnes') only to be met by a rather cross security guard. I managed a quick photo inside number 11 (McDonalds's) but I did ask for permission, I was surprised there was an internal wall as I expected to see into the Websters next door. I also saw inside the corner shop which was just an empty space and the Rovers which is some sort of green room but didn't manage to get photos. Eventually we were corralled onto Rosamund Street again but as the camera was now facing Viaduct Street we could actually watch the filming.

The scene being filmed involved Sally and Martin, plus toddlers Rosie and David meeting the family Sally used to child mind. (Can't recall the character names) One of the toddlers (the one Sally minded) has to run to number 11 and push the door open which reveals that the house has been burgled. It was interesting to see how they got the child do the scene by setting up the camera and have him run from Sally to his real mum beside it which on screen looks like he is running away. The camera then faced the front of number 11 where he was encouraged to push the front door open, this took a little encouragement and a big hug and a sweet when he finally did it, well he was only 3. Rosie and David didn't do much except skip about and have a walk along the wall of number 8 by Martin whist they were filming the other child open the front door. In order to see what was going on I stood on the raised area outside the medical centre, but after an hour of being pushed about by a thronging mass of tourists my camera got dented and the lens cover would not shut. I still managed to get a few pictures between takes as the sign read 'do not take photos during filming'. I left eventually as the people already on the street were not leaving to accommodate those arriving so it got too crushed. But I really enjoyed my unexpected chance to see some corry scenes being filmed.