'A little piece of New York in Manchester has become a sad, grey ghost of the past'

An overwhelming sense of nostalgia washed over me when I scaled the 55 steps from the cobbled street outside The Salisbury up to Oxford Road station this week.

It will forever hold memories of racing from the bus to the train during holidays, suitcase in hand, the whole summer ahead of me.

The alternative is to scale the steep, curved Station Approach which always felt a bit like free climbing El Capitan.

But whichever slightly sweaty route you chose, the reward was the same. A good view of Manchester from the wonderful, wood-panelled station entrance.

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Little has changed since the Grade-II listed station was last revamped back in 1960.

It still sits atop the hill like some