The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 5 letter word UP NORTH
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
U
P
N
O
R
T
H
More clues leading to the result UP NORTH
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Londoner’s guide to Manchester, for example" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case londoner’s guide to manchester, for example = up north.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.