didsbury village

Here's some info. on Didsbury Village, East Didsbury, West Didsburyand the surrounding areas. It's an overview of this lovely place, a personal observation for the benefit of those who don't know what it looks, smells, or sounds like or what it's like to live in Didsbury.

Didsbury History

Didsbury is one of the most historic areas of the City of Manchester. The name Didsbury comes from "Dyddi's burgh", a burgh or fortification built by the Saxons to guard against raids from invading Norsemen.

Didsbury is a "village" within a city. Although only around three miles from the centre of Manchester, it proudly retains its village community identity.

But whilst Didsbury is proud of its self-sufficiency and its old-world character, it is far from insular. Alongside its traditional shops and businesses, with the emphasis on personal service, Didsbury is also home to many of the big high-street names. (Welcome back Marks and Spencers!)

At the 1991 census it had a population of 13,387 people, with 5,798 households and the second highest number of detached houses in Greater Manchester. Like us, the people of Didsbury and Didsbury Village are proud to be local.

Didsbury Village - The social scene

In recent years it has also become one of the city's liveliest wining-and-dining enclaves with a plethora of smart restaurants and café bars springing up alongside its many traditional pubs.

On weekdays the bars are always fairly busy, busier if there's a game on, and especially during the summer when the weather is fine. But on any day, Didsbury's continental-style pavement cafe bars are the perfect spot to watch the world go by.

There's a good choice too. If you like traditional pubs, trendy bars or more family oriented spaces, there's something for everybody. On a weekend Didsbury is packed. It's always been popular with the younger revellers and in recent years new trendy bars have sprung up in the village centre and around the Burton Road area of  West Didsbury.

If you don't like queuing for your beer... don't go to Didsbury on Friday or Saturday evenings, but if you must, then try The Fletcher Moss for a quieter drink.

Living in Didsbury

If you're considering moving to Didsbury, buying or renting, then here are the facts. It's not cheap to buy or rent in Didsbury. It's one of the most expensive areas in Manchester; prices have soared between 20-30% per year in the last few years. Good for sellers, bad for buyers and the reason there's so many estate agents on the high street.

Average price for a two bed terrace is around £140,000+ and to rent a one bed flat is around £600 per month plus about £90 council tax. It's difficult to park if you don't have a driveway and when it rains there are more slugs on the pavements than I've seen anywhere.

So it's expensive but in return for your money Didsbury has a lot to offer. It's close to Manchester City Centre. About 3 miles. There are lots of good schools and of course Universities and colleges. Public transport is very good in terms of how many buses service the route between Didsbury and Manchester. Congestion along this route is another matter but there are fledgling plans to extend the metro tram service to the town.

Lots of period property and modern accommodation, lovely parks and they make a lot of TV programs around Didsbury so you can say to your friends, 'that's our street' or 'we go in there all the time'.

If you're the sporting type

There's a club for you in Didsbury. Rugby, golf, tennis, lacrosse, hockey, cricket and football are all well represented and from what we believe, successful. If you want to learn more about the Didsbury sporting life then you should visit the website links below.

The best of Didsbury Village

Best Pubs: Dog and Partridge, The Royal Oak or The Metropolitan in West Didsbury.
Best Cafe Bar: Rouge or Cafe Uno
Best Restaurant: Rouge or Felicinis
Best Hotel: Didsbury Park Hotel
Best free experience: Didsbury Park. Fletcher Moss Park. Watching Didsbury Lacrosse Team
Best kept secrets: The country path from Didsbury to Heaton Mersey. The real bus timetables
Best shops: The Cheese Hamlet and Zero Records.

The worst of Didsbury Village

Worst pub: The Slug and Lettuce
Worst Cafe Bar: The Slug and lettuce
Worst Restaurant: the one that shuts down
Worst Hotel: the one that shuts down
Worst Free experience: Trying to get served in a pub on a Saturday night
Worst kept secrets: Why there's nowhere to go after 11pm
Worst shops: None we can think of

Didsbury "Village" - as it has always been known locally - is a place with a fascinating past, a thriving present and an exciting future.