GM Walking Festival returns

Greater Manchester’s GM Walking Festival will return on Friday, May 1, 2026, with more than 350 free walking and wheeling events scheduled across the city-region through May. (ilovemanchester.com) The month-long program is tied to National Walking Month and is coordinated by Greater Manchester Moving, which says community groups, charities, local organisations and residents are hosting the events. (ilovemanchester.com) Listings on the festival site already sort events by borough, distance, accessibility, buggy-friendliness and links to public transport, with individual walks ranging from short lunchtime routes to longer community outings later in May 2026. (gmwalking.co.uk) The 2026 theme is “Celebrating Connected Communities,” with organisers framing walking and wheeling as a way to bring neighbours together in the places where they live. (ilovemanchester.com) That local focus sits inside a wider Greater Manchester transport push. Transport for Greater Manchester’s Bee Active program says its Wheels and Walks scheme is running from early 2025 to late 2026 to help community groups deliver walking, wheeling and cycling activities. (beeactive.tfgm.com) The festival has been running for more than a decade. GM Ringway, which is promoting its own 2026 events, says the festival was first held in 2015 and is now part of National Walking Month. (gmringway.org) Past editions have operated at similar scale. A Greater Manchester Moving project brief said the festival started as a free, led group walk offer backed by Transport for Greater Manchester, and a 2024 update said that year’s program also topped 350 submitted walks. (greatersport.co.uk 1) (greatersport.co.uk 2) This year’s listings show how broad the offer has become, with routes tagged for wheelchair access, family use and specific communities, including women’s walks, age-friendly walks and events aimed at reducing isolation. (gmwalking.co.uk 1) (gmwalking.co.uk 2) The immediate next step is simple: the full May 2026 schedule is live now, and the first festival events begin on Friday, May 1. (gmwalking.co.uk)