This leisurely riverside route takes you from the centre of Bury to Burrs Country Park, with lots of facilities for all the family.

Highlights include:

• A chance to see passing steam trains on the East Lancashire Railway – a popular heritage rail service
• A stroll along the River Irwell, which is astonishingly peaceful even a short way from Bury town centre and is frequented by a wide range of birds
• The attractions of Burrs Country Park, with its industrial heritage and sculptures from the Irwell Sculpture Trail.

Note that parts of the trail may be damp, muddy and slippery at any time of year and especially after periods of wet weather. Please bear this in mind when planning your trip.

Be sure to keep your dog on its lead in sensitive areas, which include upland areas such as moorland, wetlands and mosslands, farmland, and parkland. Keeping dogs on leads helps protect both livestock and wildlife, especially ground-nesting birds.

This walk is available on the user-friendly Go Jauntly walking app. Here, photographs and written directions will enable you to follow the route on your phone. You can also download a printable PDF of the directions from the same link.

Alternatively, you can follow the route (without written directions) on the mobile-friendly Plotaroute site. To use Plotaroute on your phone’s browser, simply click the map. Then, when you’re ready to start walking, click the tracker icon (bottom right) to show your position as you follow the route.

We recommend carrying an additional power source and/or map when following online routes on your phone. For any challenging routes, we would recommend that you also have access to and know how to read an Ordnance Survey map.

The entire route of this walk is very level, with no significant gradients. A mix of hard-surfaced and well-made compacted gravel paths is used. Some of the paths in Burrs Country Park can be slightly uneven in places and damp after wet weather. You will need to watch out for bikes on certain sections, especially on the multi-user path followed from Bury town centre to Woodhill Road.

The paths and terrain encountered on this walk are shown and described on the Go Jauntly version of the walk, enabling you to make your own assessment of whether the route is accessible for you.

While we believe that the route is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs, we cannot guarantee this, so be prepared to retrace your steps if you encounter any problems. There are plenty of other paths within Burrs Country Park to explore, though path surfaces are variable in quality. Please see our Shorter walks page for a selection of further step-free walks on the GM Ringway trail.

Metrolink trams used to reach the start and end point all offer step-free access to and from platforms and level access to and from the trams themselves.

Payable public toilets, including accessible facilities, are available in Bury Interchange at the walk start and end point. While there are no public toilets within Burrs Country Park, toilets are available at the Lamppost Café (during opening hours), though we have been unable to verify whether accessible facilities are available there. In addition, plenty of pubs, cafes and restaurants can be found in Bury town centre, at the ‘Jersey Girls’ farm café and shop en route, and at two other pubs, including the Brown Cow within the country park. For location details, see the Plotaroute map.

There are also several benches and picnic benches within the country park.

As the GM Ringway is designed around the tram, train and bus network, we recommend the use of public transport to access the start and end points. However, we also provide tips for drivers below.

Start and end points

To work out how to get to and from the walk start and end point, simply click the link below to see the location in Google Maps. Then click ‘Directions’ and enter your starting location. For public transport options, click the train icon.

Start point: Bury Interchange BL9 0BL

Alternatively, input the location shown on this page into the TfGM journey planner.

Public transport

The walk starts and finishes at Bury Interchange, served by Metrolink trams from Manchester city centre and elsewhere and by buses from a variety of locations. Details of tram and bus services can be found on the TfGM journey planner.

Recommended tickets

If you are travelling only by tram, you will need a Metrolink ticket to cover the zones you travel through. You can check the price of these on the Bee Network website and then purchase your ticket from the machine at the stop or tap in and out with your bank card.

If you are travelling by a mix of buses, trains or trams, then a combined day ticket might be cheaper. Check the TfGM Tickets and passes page to find the best option (selecting ‘1 day and return’ as your answer to ‘How often would you be travelling?’).

Parking

Drivers are advised to park at Bury Metrolink Park & Ride (postcode BL9 0AY), where there is parking for 96 cars and 4 disabled spaces.

We have no reports of any issues affecting this walk. Please let us know if you encounter any problems by completing this short form.