Near the end of last year I celebrated my 21st birthday in true soap fan style by taking a trip to visit the cobbles on the Coronation Street tour.
I’d been to the Granada studios tour many years ago so I was super excited to set foot on the current, working set in Media City.
Here’s what to expect from the Coronation Street tour – is it worth taking a trip to Manchester for?
Super friendly and informative tour guides
When we arrived for our tour we were greeted by a smiling tour guide. Our guide was called Julie who told us that she’d be taking us around the set.
Our tour was later on in the day so we were part of a rather small group. This was perfect as it gave us the opportunity to have a real chat about Corrie with our tour guide. However, the size of your group does vary depending on the time of day. For example, the group before us had around 40 people in it!
Our guide started the tour off by giving us a quick history of the soap. She also quizzed us on our Corrie facts (you could just tell who’d been dragged along and had no clue about the soap!)
Julie told us that she also does extra work on Corrie so she was able to share her experience of what it was like to work on the set. She also let us in on a few soap secrets too!
It was all very informal, with other staff offering to take lots of photos for us (our tour guide even joined us for a selfie!) We were then sent off to wander around the set. We could take as many photos as we wanted before reconvening for the next part!
The exterior set makes for great photo opportunities
On the tour you’re given the freedom to wander round the exterior set and take as many photos as you like.
I was able to pose for the camera in front of iconic Corrie buildings such as Underworld, Roy’s Rolls, the Rovers and the Bistro.
The new addition of the Precinct is now open for you to look round too although this was still being built when I went.
You can also peek through the letter boxes of the houses and see through to the doorways. These are all fully decorated to look like those in the interior set.
Unfortunately, due to continuation reasons, you don’t get to see the interior set on the tour. However, the Prima Doner, Preston’s Petals and the Community Centre all have working interiors on the Street that are actually used for filming so you can peek through the windows and see those.
We were also allowed to enter Weatherfield Police Station which also doubles up as Chariot Square Hotel!
Discover soap secrets and see props used on the show
On the tour, you also learn lots of soap secrets about the set that you don’t necessarily realise when watching the show.
For example, the Freshco car park is actually used as a car park for the Corrie staff too! You also can walk past some of the props used on the show, such as bicycles and outdoor signs.
As well as the exterior set, you’ll get the chance to see some of the vehicles that appear on the soap. You might get to see the Street Cars taxis and the Newton and Ridley van.
The interior props aren’t on display like they were on the Granada tour but this is understandable considering this set is an actual, working set!
There’s a brand-new Visitor Centre
In a new addition to the tour, there is now a brand-new Visitor Centre which will open next month. This includes a Coronation Street shop, café and cinema.
Adding to this, there’s also an exhibition in which you can see mock ups of interior sets like Roy’s Rolls and look at some cool memorabilia from iconic Corrie moments.
On my tour, the shop hadn’t been fully built yet. However, we were still able to buy some cool merchandise should we choose.
There were a range of Corrie themed items to buy including mugs, bags, hoodies, hats and sweet treats (yum!)
Coronation Street the Tour: Is it worth it?
The tour and exhibition costs £35pp, or if you just fancy taking a trip down to the new Visitor Centre exhibition by itself then that will only set you back £7.50pp.
On the tour you get to spend 90 minutes on the Street which I really think is worth the price. In this time you can explore the Corrie exterior set, take some fun pics and learn some amazing Corrie secrets.
So what’s my verdict? I would go back to the Coronation Street tour again 100% – maybe I’ll see you there on my next visit!
To find out more about the Coronation Street Tour visit: Book – The Coronation Street Experience
Read more: Coronation Street who’s leaving in 2023?
Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
Have you been on the Coronation Street tour? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.