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Randall Walk, MANCHESTER, M11 3UT

Draped in Manchester City colours, yet they feel the need to have a sign outside saying "Home Fans Only".....

Grey Mare Lane

Queen Victoria would not have been amused at a pub being called the Queen Vic, so probably out of respect to her memory it's a good thing the name was recently changed, after a refit to the pub. This is another pub much frequented by Manchester City football fans, and its new name reflects the local name for the City's ground. Image Image

The name is the local name for Manchester City Football Club's nearby ground. The crest is that of the football club. The Latin words mean "Pride in Battle". United fans should stay well away from here. Image Image

This popular haunt of Manchester City football fans is on the corner of Grey Mare Lane, and Albert Street. Image Image

The East Manchester Academy, on the corner of Grey Mare Lane and Albert Street, is due to open in September 2010. It is substantially but not totally completed. Sponsored by Bovis Lend Lease and Laing O’Rourke, with co-sponsors Manchester City Council and The Manchester College, the Academy will provide 900 places for 11 to 16 year olds as well as post 16 provision. It will also provide a new District Library for people living in the wider east Manchester area. Academy schools have proved quite controversial, because of the input of commercial or religious organisations, with varying success. It will be interesting to see if the new Government will permit more, or possibly this could be one of the last of its type?

This modern church replaced a large Victorian church of the same name in Mill Street. This area of Manchester is sometimes called Bradford - not to be confused with the large City of the same name in West Yorkshire.

Grey Mare Lane

This huge pub used to be a Labour Party club, but for at least 16 years it has been a pub. It can accommodate around 1,200 people and has two machines which are each capable of pouring six pints in 20 seconds. So there is no doubt that some serious drinking goes on here. The busiest days are when Manchester City Football Club is playing at home. It is one of the many pubs around here popular with City fans. At other times it can be quiet, and in 2009 the owner announced he was considering applying for planning permission to demolish the building and replace it with a new hotel and bar complex. The pub is on the corner of Grey Mare Lane and Howarth Close. It extends a long way back along the latter. The owner's mother-in-law owns a Mary D's bar in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria, which is popular with holidaying City fans. At the moment this area is very far from being a tourist destination for visitors to Manchester. The litter on the pavement, the extra protection on the pub's downstairs windows, and the CCT camera on the corner of the building, encased in a metal grill, tell their own story.

Heading west.