The GM Ringway is a long-distance walking trail in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England. It traces a circular path around the city-region through each of the 10 boroughs and covers approximately in total. It is designed around existing footpaths, parks and open-access land. The project is supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority as well as The Ramblers and

CPRE CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

, the walking and countryside charities, respectively.

History

In June 2022, The Ramblers and

charities were awarded a £250,000 grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to establish the GM Ringway. The grant enabled signposting and an improved app and website to be established. It will also support the organisation of community events across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester. In February 2023, it was reported that Tom Ross, the leader of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, was one of the first people to complete the walking trail in its entirety, over the course of around one year. In July 2023, a pilot scheme was announced, with guided walks through the Trafford section of the GM Ringway, in order to obtain feedback from walkers' experience of the route, as well as on the app and website. In December 2023, the

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

and

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

stages of the route became the first to be signposted by volunteers. Ten of the 20 stages of the route had been signposted by early March 2024, covering .

Route

The anti-clockwise route is split into four broad sections: * The Southern Start-up – from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

city centre to the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

, along waterways and green spaces * The Exhilarating East – the hills above

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

Tameside The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through the borough, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Aud ...

and Oldham * The Noble North – a more challenging section connecting the peaks and valleys of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, Bury and Bolton * The Western Wind-Down – the wetlands, mosslands and canals of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, Trafford and Salford The four sections are each divided into five stages (20 in total), with the beginning and end of each accessible by public transport, usually a train or Metrolink station: The GM Ringway passes more than 40 Grade I and II*-listed buildings across Greater Manchester, including

Bramall Hall Bramall Hall is a largely Tudor manor house in Bramhall, Greater Manchester, England. The building is timber-framed and its oldest parts date from the 14th century, with additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. The house functions as a museum ...

in Stockport and

Haigh Hall Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was ...

in Wigan. There are 14 scheduled ancient monuments including

Blackstone Edge Blackstone Edge ( ) is a gritstone escarpment at 472 m (1,549 feet) above sea level in the Pennine hills surrounded by moorland on the boundary between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire in England. History Crossing the escarpment is Bl ...

Roman Road in Rochdale along the route. There are also future plans to add link routes from the city centre to the west, north and east to connect with the GM Ringway.

References

{{reflist

External links

GM Ringway website

CPRE Lancashire

The Ramblers' Association
Greater Manchester Footpaths in Greater Manchester Footpaths in the United Kingdom Long-distance footpaths in England Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom

History

Route

See also

References

External links