Oldham residents have been invited to sign up for Greater Manchester’s "biggest ever" sponsored walk.
The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity has teamed up with the GM Ringway, a 186-mile walking route through all 10 of the region’s boroughs using existing footpaths, parks, rights-of-way and other open-access land.
The "ringway" launched in 2022, and is even longer than the similar London Outer Orbital Path or "LOOP", which is only 150 miles long.
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The "Circle Home" weekend of sponsored walks will take place from Friday, September 8 to Monday, September 11.
Oldhamers have been invited to take part by signing up to do a sponsored walk along one or more of the ringway’s 20 stages, as well as pledging a minimum of £1 per mile for the charity.
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A series of five guided sponsored walks will be on offer for all fitness levels.
The event will kick off in Eccles, with a 3.5-mile circular walk from the Salford Red Devils’ AJ Bell Stadium on Friday, September 8.
The next day, an eight-mile guided walk from Strines to Marple will take place, as well as a separate accessible step-free 4.8-mile circular walk at Salford Quays.
On the Sunday, an accessible step-free four-mile circular walk around Greenfield and Uppermill will take place, ensuring Oldham borough residents are not left out. On the same day, a 10-mile walk from Wigan to Leigh will also be available.
Sign-up pages for all the walks can be found on Eventbrite.
Those who prefer to do things their own way won’t be left out. You can raise funds by walking the ringway independently by using the "Go Jauntly" walking and well-being app, with all 20 stages of the ringway set to be available by the weekend.
Each stage starts and finishes near a public transport stop – in most cases a train station or tram stop.
The full list of all 20 stages can be found on the GM Ringway website.
Talking about the partnership, Andrew Read, GM Ringway’s project lead said: “Together, GM Ringway and the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity look forward to fostering a sense of community spirit and addressing homelessness head-on through the Circle Home fundraising event.
“By taking part, the people of Oldham can make a lasting impact and create positive change for those most in need.
“Homelessness is an issue that affects our community deeply, and by encouraging local people to lace up their walking boots and sign up for a sponsored walk, we hope to play our part in ending homelessness in our region. Every step counts.”
Fran Darlington Pollock, CEO of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, added: “We’re looking forward to seeing the Oldham community coming out in droves to support this event.
“Nobody in our city region should be without a safe, secure place to call home. Yet there are many for whom this is out of reach. It isn’t right. Not anywhere, certainly not here.
"With your help, we can show the world that homelessness has no place in Greater Manchester.
“Circle Home brings together many organisations across Greater Manchester, and connects with the people and places of our city region in such a powerful way.
“We’re excited to bring the people of Greater Manchester an event to return to year-on-year, raising funds to end homelessness while connecting with the wonderful place that we call home.”
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