from concept to reality Andrew Read
From concept to reality
Trail founder Andrew Read tells the story of the GM Ringway, Greater Manchester’ s walking trail
Did my mad idea come from spotting the Mellor Moor route in‘ Manchester Moorland Walks’, a guidebook by local writer Nick Burton? Did it come when, out on that walk, I heard the squawk of the lapwing and soaked up the views of Kinder Scout and the Dark Peak? Or was it as I stood on the forecourt of Manchester Piccadilly station looking at the map of lines linking the city to the surrounding hills, plains and parkland? Whatever the origin, my dream – the GM Ringway, Greater Manchester’ s 200-mile, 20-stage walking trail – had now become reality. Fifteen or so years after that first trip, here I was again on the platform at Piccadilly, waiting for the train to Marple and nearby Mellor Moor. The goal this time? To meet TV and radio personality Clare Balding, who had arranged to walk part of the now fully waymarked trail with me and some GM Ringway volunteers for her Radio 4 show‘ Ramblings’. So what had happened along the way? Well, after that first walk on Mellor Moor, I spent a great many hours examining the Ordnance Survey maps that cover the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. It struck me that our city-region, as it’ s now known, includes some fantastic and incredibly varied natural landscapes. As well as that lovely Peak District fringe, the eastern part of the region offers more great moorland walking, in the South Pennines of Tameside, Oldham and Rochdale. The hills and valleys there merge imperceptibly into those of the West Pennines within the northern boroughs of Bury and Bolton, topped by mighty Winter Hill with its iconic TV mast. To the south of
Manchester and Stockport, I spotted two tantalising green and blue lines: the valleys of the River Mersey and the lesser-known Ladybrook. In conjunction with the canals that recall the region’ s industrial history, this natural corridor could provide a trafficfree route all the way from Manchester city centre to the edge of the Peak. What, though, of the west, which I knew much less well? Here, the maps offered some enticing prospects. There was a chain of lakes and wetlands – since given National Nature Reserve designation as the‘ Flashes of Wigan and Leigh’ – surrounded by quiet countryside. On the boundary of Wigan and neighbouring Salford, there was Chat Moss, a lowland raised bog. Here, nature restoration efforts have allowed sphagnum moss, common lizards and dragonflies to reclaim the once-exploited peatlands. And in Trafford, we find a patchwork of pretty green spaces and the expansive parkland of Dunham Massey. In conjunction with Lyme Park,
to the southeast of the region, this meant that Greater Manchester had two of the National Trust’ s most popular country estates right on its doorstep. My perusal of the maps, however, confirmed something else I suspected: that a trail linking these landscapes could be designed to fit the public transport network. Thanks to the many train, bus and( new) tram lines that radiate out from the city centre, I was able to combine my scribbles into 20 appealing trail stages that each start and finish at a train, bus or tram stop. As a result, the GM Ringway is probably more integrated with the public transport network than any other major UK trail. Moving the idea forward required both perseverance and luck. First, I spent tens, if not hundreds, of enjoyable days out walking the city-region’ s countryside and parks to map out the most attractive route. Having seen that the GM Ringway could work, I decided it should become
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