Morgana: Ah, the Yorkshire Dales look beautiful, and my guidebooks did show me that Skipton is a "gateway to the Dales." My husband and I do love a nice field of sheep.

But I think that the fact that Manchester is 45 minutes by train, and Haworth 30 minutes by bus, has decided us in favor of quirky and lovely Hebden Bridge.

Sheila: Thank you so much for that link to West Yorkshire Metro!

Owain: Yes, the 3:00 a.m. Rusholme curry type of evening was exactly what I had in mind. But my husband has reminded me that we are middle-aged, and rarely do that sort of thing anymore. As far as venturing out of the city center, I do want to make an excursion to Disbury to see where Noel and "our kid" are from. I understand it's trendy, too, so that would be fun.

Morgana: I meant to add that you are just like me... I start to look at a place and get excited about it, and then I find out about another possibility and get excited about that, too, and then I'm confused by all the options of wonderful places to go! Also, I have to say that I love it up north, even in the more dreary industrial cities. But for our vacation base it would be nice to stay somewhere pretty.

Yes, I am very sad (according to the rest of my family!) as whenever we plan a holiday I start 'one of my folders'. I'm famous for them!
They are my collection of all I want to see, best places to eat, transport info etc etc. I wonder if other people have 'folders' as well!

Noel & Liam were born in Longsight and grew up in Burnage.....certainly not as trendy as Didsbury, either then or now!

And if you're determined to be middle-aged, then the curry houses are all open at 3pm as well :p

Hi Owain,

We'll just have to see how middle-aged we are. If there's a great gig on during our trip, we might take an afternoon nap first! What are the best clubs for people who like Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, BRMC, and the like?

Web sites tell me the Gallaghers went to St. Bernard's Primary in Burnage and St. Mark's Secondary in Didsbury. Plus Sifter's Records is in Didsbury ("Mr. Sifter sold me songs when I was just sixteen."). Are these places reachable and manageable? I would love to see where they grew up, and also I love any excursion that gets me off the tourist path and into a real neighborhood.

Search 'sifter' on www.yell.com and you'll find it - how welcoming they are to Oasis tourism, I've no idea! I've not lived in the place for a couple of years, and so am not the best person to advise about clubs, but the Manchester Academy is probably the best place to start: http://www.manchesteracademy.net/

There's no St Mark's in Didsbury, so either the school no longer exists, or that information is inaccurate. St Bernard's is here: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap...mp;A=Y&Z=1

Hi Julie. I was recently in Manchester and Yorkshire. You might enjoy my trip report. Search "Dreams of an English Summer". I used to have the screen name "Guy18". (I won't top it, because I've been doing that a lot lately and don't want to seem light an attention-hog!) Anyway, I stayed at a wonderful b & b called Smithy Fold in Dentdale. The moors there are terrific, and you have your choice between them and much sweeter, welcoming countryside as well. The owner will give you lifts to accomodate your walks in the area and make terrific suggestions for making the most of your time there.

Cimbrone: You don't need to keep topping your thread - just post the link. Here it is http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34819889

JulieG - It is a great report I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Oh darn - meant to say "You don't need to keep topping your thread if it makes you uncomfortable - just post the link. . . . . "

Thanks janisj. That's a great tip. And I knew what you meant :)

My mom's from Keighley and I lived there in middle school.

I can't speak from experience, but according to friends that still live there, this place is decent...
http://www.selfcatering-directory.co...ering-3223.htm

Also, if you're not dead set on a cottage, the Innkeeper's Lodge (www.innkeeperslodge.com) in Keighley is very nice. My kids and I stayed there last year. It's the old Beeche's pub and hotel, that was taken over by the Innkeepers and a Toby Carvery. It's about a 5 minute walk from the Keighely train station, and maybe 10 minutes from town (buses).

There is regular train service between Keighley and Leeds. I don't know if there's direct service from Keighley to Manchester, but you should have no problem connecting to Manchester from Leeds. The Keighley Worth Valley Railway is the steam train that runs between (I'll probably get this wrong) Keighley, Haworth and Oxenhope (I think!). We took the steam train last year back and forth between Keighely and Haworth, and the kids (their first time riding) and I loved it.

Enjoy!

Owain, I'm sure Sifters Records welcomes Oasis tourism if the tourists buy a CD!

Cimbrone, I loved your trip report. It was a great antidote to the frightening news about terrorism this week - walks and pubs and antiquing. "And all they can make now is egg cartons!"

Thanks, Julie! There's lots of beauty in the world. It's a shame these murderous thugs are too busy hating to see it...