The GM Ringway: Greater Manchester
A 200-mile walking trail through the edgelands of a city-region.
Ask someone in Manchester where the countryside is, and they might think of the Peak District, an hour away by car. But step outside the city in almost any direction and, within a few miles, you’re walking through river valleys, along canal towpaths, across Green Belt farmland and up onto moorland with long views in every direction. The countryside on Greater Manchester’s edge has always been there. What was missing was a way to find it.
The GM Ringway – a 200-mile circular trail around the whole of the city-region – was created to provide exactly that. CPRE Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester Trustees worked with The Ramblers to secure Heritage Lottery funding, and volunteers have installed 1,500 waymarking roundels along existing public rights of way. Every one of the trail’s 20 sections is accessible by public transport. The route takes in the upland reservoir landscape of Dovestone and Saddleworth Moor, the former peatlands of Chat Moss, Wigan Flashes, the Bridgewater Canal and the River Mersey, and returns to the city through Salford Quays and Old Trafford – threading together heritage, wildlife habitat and everyday landscape that most people drive past without stopping.
The Ringway is a practical demonstration of what CPRE’s On the Edge campaign is calling for: countryside that is accessible, connected and valued, on the doorstep of the people who need it most. CPRE is calling for five new Regional Parks across England – and Greater Manchester is one of the priority areas. The Ringway already maps much of the green infrastructure that could anchor one.
Visit www.gmringway.org to find out more.
On the Edge
We believe every town and city should be surrounded by countryside that is protected, properly planned and able to thrive — for nature, climate and wellbeing. Stand up for the countryside near you by adding your name to our vision.
