Greater Manchester is marking the completion of the GM Ringway walking trail with new installations at locations across the region. Ten boards are being positioned around the 200-mile walking trail, across Greater Manchester, including in Bury, Bolton, Oldham and Trafford. Each board not only displays the entire GM Ringway route but also individualises it, detailing one of 20 stages that can be completed within a day.
The locations include Burrs Country Park, Smithills Hall, Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Uppermill, Sale Water Park and Pennington Flash. Hoping to encourage accessibility by public transport, the boards illustrate main transport points with train, tram, and bus symbols. The idea is that it should be easy for anyone in the region to reach the trail via public transport.
In a technological first for UK footpaths, the trail is marked with 3,200 specially designed discs - 1,600 of which are roundels that include a QR code. Walkers can scan the code with their mobile phone to access the GM Ringway website for more information about the trail. This final addition of information boards was celebrated by GM Ringway’s project lead, Andrew Read.
He said: "Getting the information boards installed is the final stage of the work on this project and marks its completion. "We hope that the panels inform even more people about the trail, which is designed to benefit all of Greater Manchester’s residents and visitors." He also revealed that over the summer, more than 5,000 pe.