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M.E.N. Explore

If you're as fascinated by Greater Manchester's people and places as we are, then you'll love our Explore section. It's where you'll find the long reads and features that get to the heart of our amazing region. Whether it's in-depth reporting about what makes our towns, suburbs and villages tick, agenda setting long reads, powerful real life stories, nostalgia, or new places to discover, M.E.N Explore is where you really get to explore Greater Manchester.

'This stereotype has plagued us for years' - The town once accused of being obsessed by money, flash cars and big houses
Wilmslow
Back in 1999, the departing curate of Wilmslow took aim at the town's residents branding them 'posh pagan money worshippers'
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A narrowboat serving up fresh crepes and ice cream has arrived in Greater Manchester
Manchester Family
The Crepe Factory Afloat is back on the Bridgewater Canal this summer
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The 'concrete washing machine' estate where Manchester's homeless wound up
Nostalgia
Many of Manchester's uprooted families lived there when their old homes and streets were demolished
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The rediscovered ‘lost’ garden in Greater Manchester that’s a ‘hidden gem’
Tourism
Tucked away in the corner of a Greater Manchester park is a rare garden inspired by one of the country's greatest writers
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Inside bargain £40k home just outside of Greater Manchester with brand new kitchen and bathroom
M.E.N. Explore
Estate agents say the 'immaculate' two-bed terrace would be 'perfect for a first time buyer'
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We were promised all this by the Northern Powerhouse. Ten years on, what did we get?
Politics
As the Northern Powerhouse turns 10, the Manchester Evening News looks at what was promised and what actually happened
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'Ryan would be almost 30 now. Don't set that monster free'
Bolton
'Who gave him the audacity to snatch innocence from the world? He deserves to rot painfully'. A family's fear and unspeakable loss as a killer nears the end of his minimum term in prison
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'They were ugly but they were ours'
Real Life
They were once iconic landmarks. Now they no longer dominate east Manchester's skyline
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The estate with hundreds of empty flats in a town where 10,000 are desperate for homes
Rochdale
'We've had the sword of Damocles hanging over us since 2017 when they suggested this. Until there's a definitive decision, we are in the same place'
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'We shouldn't have to fight to get the support we need for our kids'
5000 Voices
We spoke to families about who they'll be voting for on July 4
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"We have to get some sense back": The man hoping to oust George Galloway
Rochdale
Paul Waugh is the Labour candidate hoping to be elected as the next MP for Rochdale
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'A cigarette paper away from greatness': Tributes to Jamie Nicholson, Hulme Crescents' 'unsung hero' of Manchester music
Hulme
Jamie, who has died aged 60, ran The Kitchen recording studio and after-hours club in Hulme Crescents
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The rise and fall of Grand Central - from post-industrial wasteland to THE place to be in 1990s Stockport
Nostalgia
For 20 years the area close to Stockport station was a wasteland until Grand Central arrived in 1991
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'There was a flash of light - suddenly, I couldn't hear the children anymore'
Real Life
'I remember this policeman asked me, 'do you know anybody Irish?'. So I said yes - my mum and dad. He asked me for their names and it hit me then what he was saying. That has always stuck with me - I thought, he can't be serious, asking me questions like that'
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'Never used to be like this': The streets where some families live 10 to a house
Ashton and Mossley
Flytipping lines the alleys of a Greater Manchester neighbourhood, but some locals say the sense of decline runs much deeper
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Phil Portus' photographs of Salford life in the '70s
Nostalgia
A new exhibition of Phil's work launches on June 28 at Langworthy Cornerstone Community Centre
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Incredible snapshots of Salford life and its people captured in 1970s photos
Nostalgia
Phil Portus' photos show the reality of life in Salford before many of its streets were demolished and changed forever
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'I took £20 to Greater Manchester's booming car boot sale and it felt like everyone was there for the same thing'
Shopping
The midweek car boot is doing a roaring trade
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What it takes to survive for ten years in a trendy Greater Manchester suburb
Manchester restaurants
The Drop Bar Cafe, situated on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton, is celebrating a milestone this weekend
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Inside the new Greater Manchester Italian restaurant that's like 'going to a show'
Manchester City Centre
"The quality is there but we want it to feel affordable and accessible"
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How much it costs to buy and rent in the Greater Manchester town dubbed 'the new Berlin'
Stockport Town Centre
It is now one of the 'coolest places to live in the UK' thanks to new developments, but many locals claim prices have 'shot up'
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End of an era as the last of east Manchester's gas holders comes down
Miles Platting
For generations they towered over east Manchester
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'My husband went fishing and didn't come back'
Real Life
'I heard the voice and it was Bob's voice, and he said: 'Chris that's me, do you understand?''
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The £1.2m house which you wouldn't believe is in Greater Manchester
M.E.N. Explore
This Spanish villa-style home has come on the market for the first time in more than 45 years
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