Manchester Universities
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 city's two large universities - are in this locale.
There are three distinct areas here:
- The northern-most being where the university campuses are aka Chorlton-on-Medlock.
- 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.
Get in
By bus
Buses from Piccadilly Gardens travelling down Oxford Road are generally the cheapest as there is lots of competition. Single bus fares in Greater Manchester are now capped at £2 for adults and £1 for children.
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.
By car
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). There are bus priority measures on Oxford Road between Booth Street East and Hathersage Road near Manchester Royal Infirmary at most times policed by traffic cameras. One is advised to use Upper Brook Street.
On foot
Fallowfield is just a few minutes walk south of Rusholme and the famous Curry Mile. Just walk down the Wilmslow Road.
By taxi
A Black Cab Taxi from Piccadilly station should cost around £6; from Oxford Road Station around £5; from the airport £17 (although the 43A and 45A buses travel between the airport and the centre of Manchester through Rusholme for £2.50-3).
By train
The main station nearby is 1 Manchester Oxford Road station. It can be reached walking due south from it for 30 minutes will find you at the top of Rusholme, 45 minutes in Fallowfield.
See
- 1 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 jewellery 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 bargain a decent-sized discount! Avoid during Eid celebrations, as the whole place is gridlocked.
- 2 Platt Fields Park, Junction of Platt Lane and Wilmslow Road.
- 3 Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, ☏ +44 161 275-2634, fax: +44 161 275-2676, museum@manchester.ac.uk. Daily 10AM-5PM. 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.
- 4 Whitworth Art Gallery (Opposite St Mary's Hospital), ☏ +44 161 275-7450, fax: +44 161 275-7451, whitworth@manchester.ac.uk. M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 2-5PM. 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.
Do
- 1 HOME (Greater Manchester Arts Centre), 2 Tony Wilson Place, First Street, M15 4FN (off Whitworth Street West), ☏ +44 161 200 1500, info@homemcr.org. M-Sa 10AM-11PM, Su 11AM-11PM. Manchester's contemporary arts and film centre with five cinema screens & two theatres. Daily showings of independent & foreign language films and gallery space. The centre also houses a cafe bar and a restaurant. (In 2012, Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company merged to create HOME and they moved to the current site in April 2015.) Film prices are cheaper before 5pm on weekdays & 3pm at weekends. Foreign language films are shown with English subtitles.
- 2 The Palace Theatre, 97 Oxford Street, M1 6FT (close to Manchester Oxford Road national rail station.), ☏ +44 161 245-6600. Hosts major touring shows. Seats from £15.
- 3 Manchester Aquatics Centre. Swim at the Aquatic Centre.
- Boating on the Platt Fields' lake.
Buy
- South Asian clothes, jewellery, and gifts in Rusholme.
- 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 a hot food/take away section. Not very friendly staff, but you will get by.
Eat
Curry Mile on Oxford Road contains the highest concentration of South Asian restaurants in the UK.
Around the Universities:
- Pizza Co, 121 Oxford Rd (just across from Manchester Metropolitan University). Try their spicy chicken wings with fries, which are a hit among students in Manchester, for under £3. The spicy wings are very flavourful and are really not very spicy.
- Popolino's Pizza High quality food for the price, it specializes, unsurprisingly, in Pizza.
- Red Chilli, Oxford Rd (next to McDonald's). A very good standard, and is unusual in Manchester in specializing in Beijing and the very spicy Szechuan cooking. It has a large Chinese following, which is always a good sign.
- Tai Pan, Upper Brook Street and Brunswick St (outside Chinatown). This is an increasingly esteemed and popular restaurant. Visit the huge, Hong Kong style restaurant M-F after 12:00 for half price dim sum.
- Revolution on Oxford Road has a policy where your food is either ready within a 15 minutes wait or it's free. Worth going at busy times of the day!
- 1 The Eighth Day Cafe, 111 Oxford Road, M1 7DU, ☏ +44 161 273 4878, mail@8thday.coop. M-Sa 11AM-3PM. Veggie & Vegan food in the cafe situated in the basement of the shop.
- Home, 2 Tony Wilson Place, First Street, M15 4FN, ☏ +44 161 212 3500. M-Sa 12-21:45 Su 12-20:45. First floor restaurant in arts centre with good food choice including several Vegan/Veggie dishes. Takeaway food (that can be eaten in) is available in the ground floor cafe bar. A great place to eat when seeing a film or show, (see entry in Do). £10-£18 for a main course.
In Rusholme:
- Many kebab shops (Along Wilmslow Road).
- Mandarin Chinese TakeAway (Junction of Banff Road and Wilmslow Road. Closed on Mondays).
- A Jamaican Restaurant (Junction of Wilmslow Road and Moss Lane East).
- A Nigerian Restaurant (At The Nigeria Centre, Appleby House, Platt Lane).
- A Kurd Restaurant (Grandale Road).
- Al Bilal.
- Al Nawaz.
- Gogi's.
- Lal Quila.
- Shere Khan.
In Fallowfield:
- Nandos, Friendship Inn, Unit A, 351-353 Wilmslow Road, M14 6SS, ☏ +44 161 249-3972. Su-Th 11:30AM - 11PM, F Sa 11:30AM - 11:30PM.
- Fuzion Noodle Bar, 264 Wilmslow Rd. This Noodle Bar has very good, speedy pan-Asian noodles.
- Thai Banana, 341-343 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, M14 6XS, ☏ +44 161 257-2403. Noon-midnight. Thai restaurant. Nice atmosphere inside and pretty good Thai food. Dishes from around £5.
Drink
In the University area:
- Bands play regularly at the Manchester Academy 1, 2 and 3 & Club Academy
- The Phoenix.
- Manchester Metropolitan University Student's Union.
- University of Manchester Student's Union.
- 1 Kro Bar, 325 Oxford Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock, M13 9PG, ☏ +44 161 274 3100. noon-11PM. Food: 11:30AM-9PM. Beautiful building with a Danish touch & food.
- Po Na Na, 42 Charles Street
- 2 Lass O'Gowrie, 36 Charles Street. M1 7DB, ☏ +44 161 273 5822. M noon-midnight. Splendid tiled exterior with updated comfortable interior. Choice of real ales.
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.
- 3 Friendship Inn, 353 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, M14 6XS, ☏ +44 161 224-5758. Su-Th noon-11PM; F-Sa noon-midnight. Pub in an impressive Victorian house with a good mix of students and locals. Serves good beer, but average food.
- Baa Bar, 258 Wilmslow Rd, M14 6JR, ☏ +44 161 257-0770. One of a handful in Manchester, a three story bar that serves food during the day and turns up the music in the evening.
- 256 Wilmslow Road (formerly Queen of Hearts), 256 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, M14 6LB. Has gone upmarket
- Sofa, 236 Wilmslow Road, M14 6LE, ☏ +44 161 248-4820. 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.
- 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).
- The Osborne, Victory Street. The Osborne is a quiet Hydes pub hidden away from the main streets in Rusholme.
- The Rampant Lion, Anson Road Hope Road. You pay for the privilege of not being on Wilmslow/Oxford Road in the drinks, but the food is very good for the price.
- The Whitworth, Wilmslow Rd. and Moss Lane East.
Sleep
- 1 Luther King House, Brighton Grove, Rusholme. Bed and breakfast.
Connect
There are a number of internet cafes on Wilmslow Road, including Link Up 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.
| Routes through Universities |
| Salford ← Castlefield ← | W  E |
→ Piccadilly → East Manchester |
| Spinningfields-Albert Square ← Piccadilly-East Centre ← | N  S |
→ South Manchester → Cheadle |