200 mile walking trail hits milestone
GREATER Manchester’s newest walking trail that passes through all ten boroughs has hit a major milestone as spring approaches.
The new 200 mile GM Ringway that stretches through woodland, runs beside canals and snakes around reservoirs is now halfway to completion.
With longer days on the horizon a team of volunteers have this week installed half the signage for the 323km trail. Designed around existing footpaths, parks and open-access land, the walking trail is divided into 20 stages starting and ending in Manchester city centre.
The trail travels through a variety of natural and historical sites across the city region giving walkers the chance to explore Greater Manchester’s rich cultural heritage and iconic landscapes.
Easily accessed by public transport, each of the trail’s 20 stages offers a unique walking experience through a range of landscapes, from rugged moorland to magical woodland.
Along the way it passes more than 40 Grade I and II*-listings, including Stockport’s Bramhall Hall, 13 accredited museums and 14 scheduled ancient monuments, including Blackstone Edge Roman Road in Rochdale.
Ten out of the 20 stages of the route have now been signposted, stretching in an anti-clockwise direction all the way from Marple in Stockport (Stage 7) through Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Bolton to Leigh in the borough of Wigan (Stage 16). The volunteers have painstakingly covered 115 miles (or 57 per cent) of the 200-mile trail, affixing small white wayfinding discs to posts, pillars, gates and stiles. Known as ‘roundels’, they point walkers in the direction of travel.
The roundels also include a QR code that when scanned guides users to the GM Ringway website
You can also use the free app Go Jauntly to guide you through all 20 stages of the trail using pictures and route maps. The app also includes ten shorter GM Ringway walks, including several step-free routes.
Andrew Read, GM Ringway’s project lead, said: “This is a fantastic achievement. To have waymarked more than half of the trail is amazing and will help walkers follow the route and avoid getting lost.
“It’s been a challenge doing this in the winter months, particularly with the amount of rain we’ve had, but it means we’re ahead of schedule and ready for more people to walk the GM Ringway as we approach spring and the longer days.”
The GM Ringway has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players through a £250,000 grant awarded by the Heritage Fund to the countryside charity CPRE, together with The Ramblers, Britain’s walking charity. In addition, the project has received a £2,000 grant from Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust and £10,000 from TfGM’s Cycle & Stride for
Active Lives initiative. »●You can find more information on the route on the GM Ringway website here and download the free Go Jauntly app at https:// www.gojauntly.com/ download-1
It’s been a challenge doing this in the winter months, particularly with the amount of rain we’ve had, but it means we’re ahead of schedule and ready for more people