Walking in Stockport

Overhead view of a group dance exercise class in a community centre

Across Greater Manchester, there is a clear recognition of the importance of walking to population scale change in physical activity and there is widespread understanding of the critical role of walking - for leisure, for travel and for everyday activity.

Stockport is a great place to walk with an abundance of greenspace, public rights of way and other routes. We are keen to encourage walking as both a leisure activity and a mode of transport supporting both physical and mental health. To do this, Stockport offers a range of self-led and group led walks, these include:

  • Ramblers wellbeing walks
  • Walkaday
  • Green A-Z maps
  • Maps of routes in parks and greenspace
  • Walk Stockport

We also hold a walking and cycling forum which enables you to become involved in the development of walking in the future and links in with the walk/ride groups of the borough.

More information about walking in Stockport

One of Stockports newest additions to our walking offer are a range of maps showing routes for different walking abilities in Woodbank and Vernon park. Developed in collaboration with friends of park group and other associated groups within the park plus wider residents. These maps will be available online, in hard copy and displayed on lecturns throughout the park.

Walk Stockport offers walks to help you get active and stay active at a pace that suits you. All walks are free, friendly, have toilet facilities and end at a café. The shorter walks have resting areas if required. The walks range from 30 to 90 minutes. If you'd like to find out more about the Walking for Health programme, you can email [email protected]. On the day come along to any of our walks a few minutes early so that one of our trained walk leaders can take your details. Please make sure you wear appropriate footwear and clothing.

User Friendly Fellowship weekly Walk and Talk sessions

Stockport User Friendly Fellowship provide mental health and alcohol support for people in the Stockport area who are suffering and recovering from a range of mental health problems. They offer a range of social, therapeutic, leisure, volunteering opportunities /activities that take place in mental health community settings and throughout the wider community recognising individuality and support people on their recovery journey.

Read more here

Walking routes   Walking groups

Community Investment Fund grants

GM Walking has given grants to nearly 90 local voluntary and community groups with the aim of getting Greater Manchester walking. They offered the grants to support a huge range of activities that encourage people who are usually less active to start or to increase the amount they regularly walk. Almost half of the successful applications were from organisations based in the most deprived 20% of the region.

They gave a total of £15,065 to eight organisations across Stockport, including to:

  • The Keenagers to run short walking tours around Stockport for individuals with various physical and mental health challenges
  • Age UK Stockport to help support individuals over 50 to go on short walks around their local area
  • OSCAR to take people who are over 60 walking in parks and other places that hold special memories for them
  • Walthew House to pair visually impaired cane users with volunteers who will meet them to go on walks around their local area
  • Nomad Construction Training CIC to run day hikes into the Peak District to improve the mental health of ex-military personnel
  • Stockport User Friendly Fellowship Charity to run a regular walking and talking project for people experiencing issues with their mental health
  • Disability Stockport to run weekly mindfulness walks for people with autism
  • TLC: Talk, Listen, Change to set up and facilitate sustainable, community-led walking groups for service users with a long-term health condition