Locals enjoy a lunch break in Manchester's Albert Square. (Courtesy Britainview.com)

MANCHESTER, England -- From the roof garden of the Great John St. Hotel, I can see a small knot of teenage girls and their moms hanging around the back gate of Granada TV studios looking a little like respectably dressed groupies at the stage door of a rock concert.

Perhaps they are autograph seekers and an emerging band is recording a TV special inside, I muse. Afterall, this city in England's Northwest has an impressive pop music pedigree that lays claim to groups including The Hollies, The Bee Gees, The Smiths, Simply Red and Oasis.

As it turns out, the girls aren't waiting for musicians or even football stars from the city's fabled football clubs -- Manchester United and Manchester City. Instead, they are hoping to catch a glimpse of real Manchester royalty -- the cast of Coronation Street, the world's oldest and longest running soap opera, which has an evolving storyline and a dedicated fan base that spans several generations.

While serving a second round of gin and tonics on the sunny south-facing terrace, the bartender tells our group that if we crane our necks just so, we can catch a glimpse of "Weatherfield," the fictional Greater Manchester town where "Corrie" is set. Room 29 also provides a good view for fans, he confides.

Our lodging spans more generations than the soap, which made its debut in 1960. Built in 1912 as a school for the children of Manchester's nomadic barge familes, the red brick structure has found new life as a four-star boutique hotel. Its 30 rooms and suites, most two-storey with floor to ceiling windows, are skilfully decorated in a way that looks both minimalistic and plush at the same time. Antique fireplaces and armoires blend seamlessly with clean lined leather club chairs and flat screen TVs.

With its mirrored touches and velvet upholstery, the retro-glam Oyster Bar screams "vintage" and has earned the title "most intimate hotel bar" from In-Out Magazine, a regional lifestyle publication.

Looking past the terrace and the TV studio toward the Castlefield canal basin, it occurs to me that a lot of things in Manchester have endured and evolved.

By English standards, Manchester is not old. While the area was once home to a Roman fort, the ancient structure was abandoned in AD 410. In 1750, Manchester was little more than a village but when the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries took hold, it rapidly became an economic powerhouse and a place of firsts -- first modern canal system, first passenger railway and first feminist movement.

During the next 100 years, Manchester's population soared from 10,000 to 186,000 and in 1853 it became a city -- a booming city that marked its success by investing in culutre -- art galleries, theatres, libraries -- and grand civic buildings such as the elegant gothic revival style Town Hall in Albert Square, and the world-famous John Rylands Library, which reopened last year after a 16-million-pound renovation. Its vast and priceless collection includes illuminated medieval manuscripts, a 1476 edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, believed to be the first book printed in England, the papers of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism, and the St. John Fragment, the oldest known piece of the New Testament.

Of course, like other giants of the Industrial Revolution, much of the 20th century was not kind to Manchester, which experienced periods of deep decline during the Depression and from the 1960s to the 1980s. Machinery fell silent. Jobs were lost. Mills and manufacturing plants were abandoned and the city's port closed.

However, in the past two decades, Manchester has been undergoing a renaissance.

The Castlefield area has morphed from a dodgy "no go" zone of derelict warehouses and murky canals into Britain's first urban heritage park -- a city playground for Mancunians and visitors. Abandoned warehouses have been turned into offices and apartments.

Today, a stroll along its canalside walkways takes you past colourfully painted barges, grand railway viaducts, cosy waterside pubs, chic restaurants like Albert's Shed, and major museums such as the Museum of Science and Industry, where the city's many accomplishments are celebrated.

Castlefield is only a tiny corner of Greater Manchester, which has a population of 2.5 million and many other claims to fame. These include the historic Midland Hotel (where Charles Rolls met Fredrick Royce, and Posh Spice met Becks), the birthplace of the computer, great shopping, lively nightlife and -- of course -- football.

But we are only here for a day and those discoveries must wait for another time.

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BOTTOM LINE

MORE INFORMATION

For more on Manchester, contact visitmanchester.com and visitbritain.ca or 1-888-VISIT UK (847-4885). For the Great John Street Hotel, see greatjohnstreet.co.uk.

GETTING THERE

Flyglobespan has direct flights from Hamilton International Airport to Manchester Airport. One-way economy fares for May start around $200 plus taxes of about $110 each way. This year, the discount airline is flying to seven U.K. destinations from Hamilton International. See flyglobespan.ca or your travel agent for details. At the site, you can download the airline's United Kingdom & Ireland 2008 brochure, which has deals on accommodations and fly-drive packages.

HAMILTON AIRPORT

While the compact terminal has a limited number of shops and restaurants (more are being added) the convenience of flying out of a smaller airport makes up for it. This is particularly true for passengers who live west of Toronto or downtown. There is a shuttle from downtown Toronto that costs $16 each way. There is a lot of reasonably priced parking close to the terminal, check-in is quick and going through security can be speedy compared to the lineups at Pearson.