GM Walking Festival set

Greater Manchester’s month-long walking festival will start on Friday, May 1, with more than 350 free events across the city region. (ilovemanchester.com) The 2026 programme runs through May as part of National Walking Month and is coordinated by Greater Manchester Moving, the region’s active partnership. (ilovemanchester.com) Organisers say residents can search walks by distance, difficulty, wheelchair access, buggy-friendliness, public transport links, and whether routes finish near cafés or pubs. (gmwalking.co.uk) This year’s theme is “Celebrating Connected Communities,” with group-led walks designed to link neighbours, local groups and community centres across Greater Manchester. (ilovemanchester.com) The festival has been running since 2015, according to GM Ringway, and now sits inside National Walking Month as a regular May fixture in Greater Manchester. (gmringway.org) The event is built around walking and wheeling rather than sport, with organisers framing it as a way to make everyday movement easier to join for people who may be new to walking groups. (ilovemanchester.com) Transport is part of the pitch. Transport for Greater Manchester’s Bee Network includes walking in its journey-planning system, and many festival routes are listed with public transport access in mind. (tfgm.com, ilovemanchester.com) Local partners are also adding their own events. GM Ringway said two guided circular walks using sections of its long-distance trail will be part of the 2026 festival. (gmringway.org) In Trafford, local coverage published on April 23 said borough residents would be offered free group-led walks through parks, waterways and neighbourhoods during the May programme. (news4trafford.co.uk) The full programme is already live, and the month ahead is set up less like a single race day than a region-wide calendar of short, local ways to get out on foot. (gmwalking.co.uk)