As the nation emerges from a long winter of lockdown restrictions, Greater Manchester is being urged to #GetOutThisMay by the Greater Manchester Walking Festival
As the nation emerges from a long winter of lockdown restrictions, Greater Manchester is being urged to #GetOutThisMay by the Greater Manchester Walking Festival (GM Walking Festival).
No matter whether you’re a stroller, roamer, shuffler, moocher or a marcher the festival has something for everyone, with guides for those new to walking as well as regular striders! Back for the seventh year, it runs from Saturday 1st- Monday 31st May during national walking month, and offers ideas and inspiration to inspire everyone to get outside and explore towns, cities, the countryside, canals, riversides and parks across Greater Manchester. The GM Walking ambition is to make Greater Manchester the first ‘Walking Region’ in the UK.
In 2021 the message of the festival is to encourage residents of Greater Manchester to enjoy reconnecting with the great outdoors, their friends and neighbours and to get out and about more. A selection of challenges, activities and ideas collated into three daily calendars, (beginner, intermediate and experienced walker) are available as a handy resource to download from the GM Walking website. The calendars can be used by individuals and in small groups.
The links between walking and helping to create a sense of wellbeing are strong so during Mental health awareness week (10-16th May) the walk ideas featured focus on ways to help wellbeing. There are also ideas to incorporate walking into family time during Walk to school week (17th – 21st May).
Louise Robbins, Strategic Lead GM Walking said: “The last year has been challenging for everyone and whilst many have enjoyed the simple pleasures of walking and being outdoors, there are undoubtedly people who are emerging from the lockdown now. The festival is the perfect excuse to kickstart an active lifestyle and to get outdoors more with the kids or a group of friends.”
Join the conversation and share photos and your experiences of walking in Greater Manchester on social media, follow @GMWalks on Twitter.
Here's a strong example of GM Moving’s wider vision: creating positive movement experiences for everyone in Greater Manchester, rooted in community, equity, and joy.
Between July and September, Sport England is shining a spotlight on one of the five big issues in its Uniting the Movement strategy – a deeper exploration of ‘connecting communities’, and how place-based approaches can bring people together to get active in non-traditional settings and ways. This spotlight offers a timely opportunity to reflect on the work of GM Moving and its long-standing partnership with 10GM — a collaboration of Local Infrastructure Organisations (LIOs) that support Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) groups across Greater Manchester.
We’re thrilled to be part of one of the official Fan Zones in Piccadilly Gardens, bringing people together to celebrate across two exciting match weekends.