GM Ringway

The GM Ringway is a long-distance walking trail in Greater Manchester, England. It traces a circular path around the city-region through each of the 10 boroughs and covers approximately 186 mi 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, the walking and countryside charities, respectively.

History
In June 2022, The Ramblers and CPRE 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 and Bury 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 115 miles.

Route
The anti-clockwise route is split into four broad sections:
 * The Southern Start-up – from Manchester city centre to the Peak District, along waterways and green spaces
 * The Exhilarating East – the hills above Stockport, Tameside and Oldham
 * The Noble North – a more challenging section connecting the peaks and valleys of the Pennines with Rochdale, Bury and Bolton
 * The Western Wind-Down – the wetlands, mosslands and canals of Wigan, 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 in Stockport and Haigh Hall in Wigan. There are 14 scheduled ancient monuments including Blackstone Edge 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.