Thanks to a £250,000 boost from the national lottery heritage fund, volunteers have started working on a whopping 200-mile pathway winding around the city of Manchester.
The GM Ringway will have twenty stages and has been designed around footpaths and open access land that already exists across the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. It will start and end in city centre and all stages will be accessible via public transport.
The GM Ringway will pass through the parks, waterways and woodlands of the Peak District and the South and West Pennines, as well as stopping by over 40 Grade I- and II-listed buildings, 13 accredited museums (including the Trafford Imperial War Museum) and 14 scheduled ancient monuments.
Volunteers have already finished signposting the Oldham and Bury sections of the route (around 20km), after eight hours of hammering away in wintry weather. They’ve since started work on the 18km stretch from Bury to Bromley Cross.
Each of the ‘handy waymarks’ will ensure hikers don’t get lost and include a QR code to the trail’s website. GM Ringway is also collaborating with Go Jauntly, a free walking and wellness app, which is hoped will encourage more people to give the trail a go and help them along using pictures and route maps. It will also signpost several step-free routes to enable people of all abilities to experience part of the trail.
It’s hoped that work on the GM Ringway will be complete by summer 2024. So, get ready to lace up your boots, pack some snacks and get ready to experience Manchester in a whole new way.
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