Get outdoors in Wigan as popular walking festival returns to Greater Manchester

More than 350 walking and wheeling events are taking place across the city region as the hugely popular Greater Manchester (GM) Walking Festival returns for 2024.

Celebrations for the Big Wigan Walk Week start on Saturday May 25 with nine days of free events planned including nature-themed strolls around beautiful green spaces and walking routes of historical interest.

On Sunday May 26, three walks are planned at Pennington Flash as part of that weekend’s Flashes Festival of Nature offering a fantastic opportunity to get moving and enjoy the great outdoors.

The GM Walking Festival 2024 takes place throughout May, to align with National Walking Month, and is a celebration of walking and wheeling throughout Greater Manchester.

It incorporates Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13-19) as well as Walk To School Week (May 20-24) while the festival itself sees community groups, charities, individuals, and many others putting on free, group-led walks alongside Greater Manchester Walking.

With hundreds of different group walks to choose from, you can search on the GM Walking Festival website for walks based on distance or grading, proximity to public transport, accessibility by wheelchair, buggy-friendly walks, and routes close to cafes and pubs. 

Louise Robbins, Strategic Lead GM Walking, said: “This May we’re encouraging everyone to get walking and wheeling and explore their local area, discovering new places to walk, socialise, and have fun by moving more regularly.

“GM Walking supports everyone to walk regularly in their neighbourhoods and we hope to inspire everyone to do a little bit more by taking part in this year’s festivities

“We’re lucky to live in such a beautiful region - enjoying the great outdoors is just one of many reasons people may wish to get walking this month.

“There’s also the amazing mental wellbeing benefits; better sleep, relieving stress, and building new friendships and connections through group walks.”

Everyone is invited to the GM Walking Festival and you can discover the full programme of free, group-led walking and wheeling events on the GM Walking website: https://gmwalking.co.uk/festival-routes/