The Unforgettable Experience that is...The Didsbury Dozen

Anybody who has ever been a student in Manchester will know exactly what The Didsbury Dozen is, and will no doubt have a selection of amusing/disgusting/unrepeatable stories linked with their last attempt.

So what is it? Well, Didsbury is a suburb in South Manchester that just happens to have a number of pleasant watering holes all within staggering distance from one another, conveniently arranged along one straight road which makes getting lost an impossibility even for the very drunk (although getting run over is of course still a risk). The Didsbury Dozen is a baker's dozen: that is, 13 pubs that you must visit in the course of one evening.

Obviously, some sort of warning is in order here: the potential to binge drink and end up in some kind of trouble is huge, so in order to save face AND live to tell the tale, might I suggest the following.

• Don't have a pint in every pub! Go for a half or even a soft drink.
• If you are a bloke who would never live it down if seen with a half, perhaps try shandy? I know someone who did this very successfully by being in charge of the beer kitty and getting the drinks in each time - no-one ever knew his guilty secret!
• Eat something! Lots of the pubs do really nice food (especially The Didsbury), so make sure you soak up some of that alcohol.

A suggested running order would be as follows. Most of these are located along Wilmslow Road M20.

• The Didsbury
• The Olde Cock
• The Famous Crown
• The Royal Oak
• Fletcher Moss
• The Parrswood
  
• The Pitcher and Piano
  
• Dog and Partridge
• The Nelson
• The Station
• O'Neils
  
• Slug and Lettuce
• The Barleycorn
• The Woodstock

Hopping onto a bus to nearly Rusholme for a curry afterwards is optional: you may wish to go home to bed instead.