Skytrak - Izeria

Skytrak was a flying roller coaster located at Granada Studios Tour amusement park in Castlefield, Manchester, England. Opened in October 1997, it was the first flying roller coaster in the world, in which riders were tilted forward to experience the sensation of flying. It was named after an event from the Gladiators television series, and was the only roller coaster constructed by Skytrak International, a subsidiary of Fairport Engineering. The ride was a "solo coaster" having only one person per car, which along with a complicated boarding process limited capacity to between 200 and 240 riders per hour. Issues with the ride delayed its opening by several months, and it continued to suffer reliability issues. It closed in 1998, with the park closing soon after. The ride was eventually removed and scrapped.

Nearby Places View Menu

Granada Studios Tour

Granada Studios Tour was an entertainment theme park at the Granada Studios complex in Castlefield, Manchester, England, which operated from 1988 to 1999. The park was in the heart of Manchester city centre adjacent to the Granada House building. The tour attracted over 5 million visitors, but visitor numbers were waning by the late 1990s, and Granada Television sought to prioritise other parts of its business such as the ONdigital service (which, under the name ITV Digital, soon failed). As a result, the Granada Studios Tour closed to the public in 1999, and for good in 2001. The Coronation Street set – part of the original theme park – was temporarily reopened to the public in April 2014 for a six-month period, and its popularity meant it stayed open until December 2015.

Factory International

Factory International is an arts organisation based in Manchester, England. It produces the biennial Manchester International Festival (MIF) and operates Aviva Studios, a landmark cultural venue designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). With a focus on commissioning original interdisciplinary works across theatre, dance, music, visual arts and digital media, Factory International collaborates with global artists and institutions, positioning Manchester — and the North — as a significant cultural hub.

Union (towers)

Union is a co-living development of two towers in the St John's area of Manchester, England. The first phase, a 112-metre (367 ft), 36-storey high-rise, is the first rent-by-the-room co-living building in the United Kingdom, where potential renters are matched with housemates based on their responses to a questionnaire. It was designed by Denton Corker Marshall and as of December 2025 is the 19th-tallest building in Greater Manchester. The second phase, consisting of a 32-storey building, is due for completion in 2025.

1830 warehouse, Liverpool Road railway station

The 1830 warehouse, Liverpool Road, Manchester, England, is a 19th-century warehouse that forms part of the Liverpool Road railway station complex. It was built in five months between April and September 1830, "almost certainly [to the designs of] the Liverpool architect Thomas Haigh". The heritage listing report attributes the work to George Stephenson and his son, Robert. It has been listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England since May 1973. The warehouse is of "red brick in Flemish bond, with sandstone dressings and slate roofs". It is three storeys high, though only two storeys present to the level of the railway to allow for direct loading and unloading. At the ground floor at street level, carts could also gain direct access. "The internal structure is of timber, but with cast-iron columns in the basement." The processing of goods within the warehouse was originally a manual operation but "steam-powered hoists [were] installed within a year as the manual system could not cope with the volume of goods". The steam system of 1831 was replaced with a hydraulic system between 1866 and 1880 to increase efficiency. Restoration of the warehouse was undertaken in 1992–96 by the Building Design Partnership. In 2012, the Science and Industry Museum became custodians of the warehouse. As of 2024, the museum is embarking on a phased programme of conservation work to the 1830 warehouse, having undertaken repairs to improve the structural integrity of the building and roof repairs.