Salford Ranger Team have organised a full schedule of themed walks, set to take place all over the city throughout the month of October.

The Salford October Walking Festival will feature over 20 different walks of varying difficulties, designed for people of all ages and abilities.

Elizabeth Charnley will be leading two of the walks, which are designed to recreate the journey that Queen Victoria took through Salford when she visited on October 9th 1851.

A Right Royal Tour – Victoria’s Voyage will trace the monarch’s journey from Patricroft station to Worsley New Hall via Royal Barge, exactly 170 years later.

Elizabeth, who is a Green Badge Tourist Guide, said: “There will be stories of hundreds, if not thousands, of people lining the sides of the canal.

“We will throw in the odd salacious story and a bit of ‘men behaving badly’!”

The two-hour walk will take participants from Patricroft to the site of Worsley New Hall, now RHS Bridgewater, before taking a cruise boat back.

The boat in question is the Francis Egerton Cruise Ship, run by Bridgewater Cruises.

The operator has recently won Best Tour Operator 2021 at the Northern Enterprise Awards.

Speaking of the boat tour, Elizabeth said: “I am very grateful that the ranger team have been able to secure funding.

“I could have subscribed it ten times over, but obviously we are limited to how many the boat can take.”

While tickets for the tour have already sold out, there are still some places left on the Walking in Royal Footsteps walk, which will take place the following day, on Saturday 9th October.

This tour will also attempt to recreate another part Queen Victoria’s visit as closely as possible.

It will take walkers from the John Gilbert Pub in Worsley to the nearby St Mark’s Church, which was newly built at the time of Queen Victoria’s visit.

The walk will be full of interesting stories and anecdotes about what Queen Victoria would have seen and the people she would have met on her journey.

Elizabeth said: “There is a very naughty story about one of the people we will be talking about who met Queen Victoria.

“He actually had a very big secret!”

People who take part in the walk will also hear stories of famous people from the local area, including Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy.

Elmy lived in Salford for most of her life, before becoming an instrumental figure in the fight for women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom.

Her photograph sits alongside 50 other campaigners at the base of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Westminster.

“Every woman in this country who has got her own job, her own property, her own savings, her own stuff, owes everything to people like Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy.

“She is one of my heroines – she’ll get a mention on Saturday!”

A photograph of Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy sits at the base of Millicent Fawcett’s statue in Westminster. Credit.

Other exciting walks taking place throughout the month include the Tiny Tots Ramble, which is set to take place every Friday morning throughout October at Clifton Country Park.

It has been described as an easy walk around the park for young children, allowing them to play and embrace nature alongside their parents and carers.

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For those more experienced walkers, the annual Salford Volunteers 10 Miler will take place on Sunday 24th October at Clifton Country Park.

As the name suggests, the walk will take participants on a 10 mile walk through the Irwell Valley.

The map below shows just a few of the starting points for the walks.

This is the first year of the Salford Rangers’ October Walking Festival, but Elizabeth is hopeful that it may become an annual event for the people of Salford to take part in.

For more information about all the available walks, click here or contact the Salford Ranger Team.

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