Manchester United fan Mike Laycock took his son and fellow red to Old Trafford.

Its dimensions are undeniably impressive, perhaps even to the most die-hard haters and baiters of Manchester United and its supporters. With another new tier of seating recently taking its capacity to 67,000, Old Trafford is one heck of a stadium.

And even on a non-match day, without Beckham, Giggs and Co in action on the pitch and the atmosphere generated by a big crowd, it is still a fascinating place to visit.

I took my son on an official tour of the club for a birthday treat, bringing with us a couple of his friends.

We travelled over in comfort to Manchester on Northern Spirit's flagship Transpennine Express service, and then took one of Manchester's Supertrams across the city centre to a dropping-off point half a mile from the football ground.

The stadium has a modern but utilitarian appearance from the outside, massive but without the grace and beauty of many stadiums on the Continent. Somehow rather fitting for an industrial city in the grim north.

We began by visiting the club museum, with its dazzling array of trophy silverware and plenty of images from the glorious recent history of the club. The other dominant story from United's past, the Busby Babes and their tragic demise in a plane crash in Munich more than 40 years ago, is also featured heavily. There are also interactive games and attractions for children, and adults, to play.

We had pre-booked a tour, and joined a group of about 30 other people as we were led around the stadium by a Mancunian with a non-stop commentary worthy of Jon Motson and an occasionally grating sense of humour.

The tour took us to hidden parts of Old Trafford that you would otherwise never get to see, except perhaps on your TV screen. We went to the teams' dressing rooms, visited the room where post-match press conferences are held and where new signings are introduced to the media, sat on the subs bench where Solskjaer seems to have a permanent place and walked down the players' tunnel (although we weren't, sadly, allowed on the pitch because it was in a poor condition at the time).

They were still working on a new tier of seating during our visit, and our guide had to shout above the din of the drilling and welding. But the vertiginous North Stand was built some years ago, and it dominates every view of the ground.

We ended an enjoyable visit with a snack in the Red Cafe (burgers, chips, pizza etc; reasonable value) and a quick look around the club Megastore, where there are Man Utd souvenirs of almost every imaginable description.

Fact file:

* Manchester United Football Club Museum and Tour Centre.

* Entry for museum: £5 adults, £3.50 for children; for museum and tour of stadium: £8, £5.50.

* Open 9.30am-5pm daily, seven days a week - apart from match days when the museum closes 30 minutes before kick-off.

* Booking needed for a stadium tour: call 0161 868 8631.

* For information on Northern Spirit Transpennine Express train times and fares, call 0845 7484950.