The Universities Corridor is in the south of Manchester. It covers the corridor around the Oxford Road and the Wilmslow Road, from the A57(M) south down through Rusholme to Fallowfield and the areas immediately either side bounded by the A34 and A5103. The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, the cities two large universities are located within this locale.
There are three distinct areas here:
The northern-most being where the university campuses are
Rusholme, which is home to a large Pakistani population and the Curry Mile. It is also a residential area starting from as far north as St. Mary's Hospital south to Platt Fields Park; East from the former Manchester City Football Ground west to Anson Road.
Fallowfield, which is the heart of student life, so at times it can be heaving, but everything is cheap.
The fantasy writer Jeff Noon set most of his works in some future version of this area.
Buses from Piccadilly Gardens travelling down Oxford Road are generally the cheapest, a (brown, white, and orange) Finglands bus will cost you £1.20, a (blue and yellow) Magic Bus £1.30 as well.
Any 42, 41, 43, 142, 143 bus from Piccadilly Gardens or on the Oxford Road will go down the Oxford Road passing the universities, Rusholme, and Fallowfield. The number 50 runs along Anson Road. The 147 runs from the South exit of Piccadilly station, past the University of Manchester (North and South campus), Manchester Metropolitan University and the Manchester Royal Infirmary, but only during the week day time.
There are two main roads between the centre of Manchester and Rusholme and Fallowfield. Wilmslow Road and Anson Road (Oxford Road and Upper Brook Street towards the centre).
A Black Cab Taxi from Piccadilly station should cost around £6.00; from Oxford Road Station around £5.00; from the airport 17 pounds (although the 43A and 45A buses both travel between the airport and the centre of Manchester through Rusholme for about £2.50 - £3.00).
There is a main rail station on Oxford Road, walking due south from from it for 30 minutes will find you at the top of Rusholme, 45 minutes in Fallowfield.
The Curry Mile, Wilmslow Road. A one mile long, neon light illuminated, stretch of Wilmslow Road with wall to wall curry houses, kebab shops, sari shops, and jewelery stores. The best curry in Manchester can be had here, but the community is an attraction in itself. Supposedly, this is the highest concentration of curry restaurants in the country. Most curry houses have early bird discounts of around 10-20% before 6PM and most do student discounts of around 10%. Be warned, waiters will come out of their restaurants to try and lure you in, but it's a good opportunity to try and barter a decent sized discount! Avoid during Eid celebrations, as the whole place is gridlocked. edit
Gallery of Costume, Wilmslow Road (in the western part of Platt Fields), [1]. edit
Platt Fields Park, Junction of Platt Lane and Wilmslow Road, [2]. edit
Cornerhouse, Oxford Road, 0161 200 1500 (email: info@cornerhouse.org), [3]. Open daily. Manchester's contemporary arts and film centre. Daily showings of independent films and 3 floors of gallery space. The centre also houses a cafe bar and a restaurant.
The Palace Theatre, Oxford Road, ☎ 0161 245 6600, [4]. The main theatre in Manchester.Seats from £15. edit
Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, 0161 275 2634 (email: museum@manchester.ac.uk; fax: 0161 275 2676), [5]. Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun-Mon and bank holidays 11AM-4PM. Manchester University's own museum is like a mini version of London's Natural History Museum and boasts real dinosaur skeletons (including Stan the T-Rex), Egyptian mummies, and architect Alfred Waterhouse's huge taxidermy collection, begun in 1888. Especially interesting is the Manchester Vivarium, the only legal zoo in Manchester, with the largest and most important collection of tree frogs in the world. Free; except for temporary exhibits - prices vary.
Whitworth Art Gallery, Opposite St Mary's Hospital., ☎ 0161 275 7450 (whitworth@manchester.ac.uk, fax: 0161 275 7451), [6]. Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun 2PM-5PM. Closed Good Friday and Christmas to New Year. Manchester University's art gallery combines more modern art than the Manchester Art Gallery with displays of watercolors, prints, textiles and wallpapers.Free.. edit
Kosmos, 248 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester, M14 6LD, ☎ 0161 225 9106, [9]. One of the best Greek restaurants in the country.edit
Thai Banana, 341-343, Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6XS, ☎ 0161 2572403. 12AM - 12PM. Thai restaurant. Nice atmosphere inside and pretty good Thai food.Dishes from around £5. edit
Trof, 2a Landcross Rd, Manchester M14 6NA, ☎ 0161 224 0467, [10]. 9AM - 12PM. Quite expensive, but a very cool place to eat. Fairly good food, but the place gets very busy around lunch and dinner time. Very popular with students.£5+ a plate. edit
There is a large Sainsbury's in the heart of Fallowfield on Wilmslow Road. There is a large World Foods, and a medium sized Tesco Direct and Lidl opposite Whitworth Park.
In Rusholme, there are many smaller Middle Eastern and Asian food markets and shops. Venus Foods (45 Anson Road) is an interesting Turkish supermarket, it has recently set up a hot food/take away section. Not very friendly staff, but you will get by.
Bands play regularly at the Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3.
The Phoenix.
Manchester Metropolitan University Student's Union.
University of Manchester Student's Union.
Kro Bar - Think Starbucks with booze.
Po Na Na, 42 Charles Street
Lass O'Gowrie, Charles Street
Fallowfield is heavy with drunken students at night, so if you want a quiet drink, this is not the place to go. However, if you don't mind students, there are some decent prices to be had.
Friendship Inn, 353 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6XS, ☎ 0161 224 5758. Very nice pub with a good mix of students and locals. Serves good beer, but average food.edit
Baa Bar, 258 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester, M14 6JR, ☎ 0161 257 0770. One of a handful in Manchester, a three story bar that serves food during the day and turns up the music in the evening.edit
The Orange Grove, 304 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6NL, ☎ 0161 224 1148. Nice, relatively cheap pub, strict students-only policy. Serves good food.edit
Queen of Hearts/Cheshire Cat, 256 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6LB. Cheap, but nothing special. (Students only)edit
Sofa, 236 Wilmslow Road, Manchester, Manchester, M14 6LE, ☎ 0161 248 4820. Nice bar, with (surprisingly!) sofas and wooden floors. DJs on the weekends, also sells tickets to some of the bigger club nights in town.£2.30 a pint. edit
XS Malarkey - comedy night at Bar XS.
Rusholme tends to be slightly less heavy at night and there are less students (and more curry restaurants nearby).
The Clarance, Wilmslow Rd. between Denison Street and Walmer Street East. edit
Hardy's Well, on the corner of Wilmslow Rd and Dickenson Road. edit
The Osborne, Victory Street. [Bought by Mosque next door and closed] The Osborne is a quiet Hydes pub hidden away from the main streets in Rusholme.edit
The Rampant Lion, Anson Road Hope Road. You pay for the privelege of not being on Wilmslow/Oxford Road in the drinks, but the food is very good for the price. edit
The Whitworth, Wilmslow Rd. and Moss Lane East. [Now a coffee shop]edit
There are a number of internet cafes on Wilmslow Road: One called Link Up located between Banff Road and Gt. Western Street. There are a handful of others in a row of converted terrace houses between Gt. Western Street and Dagenham Road. There is also a British Telecom Broadband Telephone box further south between Thurloe Street and Grandale Street.
Telegeneration provides wireless access at a number of near-by pubs and Bed and Breakfasts on and around Oxford Road/Wilmslow Road, the closest being at Luther King House.
