The central thoroughfare in West Didsbury is Burton Road which contains a profusion of independent shops, bars and restaurants. As you turn into the street from Barlow Moor Road you initially encounter Didsbury Mosque followed by a 200-yard stretch of houses before Withington Hospital appears on the left. I first visited there in 1993 when Gill’s mum was gravely ill but remarkably 32 years later, she still remains with us.
Around that time, there was a famous photo taken in the lounge of the one properties on a side street that then adorned the cover of Oasis’s debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’, the house belonging to the guitarist Bonehead. They still have sightseeing tours that visit the house in question but that is always a logistical challenge for them as it is a very thin road with cars parked on either side.
Definitely Maybe album cover. Image Credit musicbrainz.org
Returning back across the road takes you to Manchester Withington Hospital Car Park, which is the location of a large monthly maker’s market. Thus, one Sunday morning in April 2024 Gill and I alongside Tris made our debut visit and were met with the sight of a proliferation of market stalls of every hue. Down at the bottom end of the market was a tiny stage where the local Cancer Research band were playing a set.
On the corner of Nell Lane, you will find one of my favourite bars, the George Charles where they serve Thai food by night. Across the road is in my view the best stocked Co-op in the city which then invokes the old advertising adage ‘if Carlsberg did Co-op’s’!
Just beyond there after you pass the Folk and Volta bars, you reach the Old Bakery. When I first visited, I discovered to my astonishment and pleasure that they served the Preston delicacy, Butter Pies. However, it obviously couldn’t be as simple as picking up a stash of those healthy snacks there and then, they had in fact to be ordered two days in advance, so naturally that’s what I did!
A butter pie ready to be devoured! Image Credit qualitypies.co.uk
The pie reference then brings to mind the animated heroes of Wallace and Gromit who were created around 40 years ago by the proud Prestonian Nick Park who went to the same secondary school as me, though attended about 10 years prior to myself. There is a bench commemorating his achievements which now sits proudly alongside Preston Market.
Contained within the movies over the years, he has always thrown in sly local references and the odd patently obvious one like the character of Preston the Dog. His piece de resistance though was on his latest film shown on Christmas Day 2024 when Feathers McGraw was escaping on a canal barge and a crate was pictured behind him containing Madam Butter Pies, priceless television!
Selfie with Wallace and Gromit. Image Credit John Dewhurst
Further on you arrive at Manchester Rustik, which is an independent family run Irish bar. It is a homely establishment with additional tables and when surveying the menu, it appears they serve what look like wholesome belly busting food portions!
They have live music on from Thursday to Sunday each week and I enrolled Marcus to accompany me on 02/05/24 as I was deeply ensconced in my Project 200 (to visit 200 different Manchester venues) at that stage. On the night of our visit there was an Irish trad band playing.
There is then a trio of Indian restaurants, namely Namaste Nepal, Great Kathmandu and Indique, the latter on the far side of the Burton Road metro stop. These establishments have been visited by Gill and me, quite often with Jo and Paul in tow and alongside sampling their cuisine, we have also naturally compared their Onion Bhaji quality, but still in our combined view nowhere surpasses the Royal Tondoori in Burnage in this regard!
As you arrive at the corner with Lapwing Lane, there is the large Elizabethan pub and across the road is the Manchester Railway. This hostelry for many years was a John Smiths brewery house before being taken over by Joseph Holt in 1999. Apparently prior to a transformation in 2004, it was recognised as the smallest pub in England. The refurbishment and increase in square yards was a result of taking over the cobblers next door and the removal of the archaic outside lavatories!
The Railway pub. Image Credit zomato.com
It is a cosy old-fashioned venue, and they have regular live music and on the same night as visiting Rustik we saw a singer called Jeff Smith perform there. On one side of there was Simon Rimmer’s Greens vegetarian eatery which recently closed after around 30 years, however that site has recently been reopened by the Porta tapas restaurant. On the other wing is Manchester Zaranda, a soulless cocktail bar where I once witnessed a local singer called Sophie play.
