I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I just had to look up Manchester on a map to work out where it is, well, slightly better than 'up there'...
To explain slightly, this is how I viewEngland Britain mentally:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/print_maps/NationalRailSchematicMap.pdf
So to me, Manchester = somewhere north out of Euston of Kings X, and probably about half way to Scotland. To me, Coventry is further north than Birmingham, because it's easier to get to Birmingham on a fast train! I always get surprised on maps about how much of Scotland there is, because it has much less in the way of major train station, so I somehow forget that there is a far greater distance between them than in England...
To explain slightly, this is how I view
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/print_maps/NationalRailSchematicMap.pdf
So to me, Manchester = somewhere north out of Euston of Kings X, and probably about half way to Scotland. To me, Coventry is further north than Birmingham, because it's easier to get to Birmingham on a fast train! I always get surprised on maps about how much of Scotland there is, because it has much less in the way of major train station, so I somehow forget that there is a far greater distance between them than in England...