What is the Manchester’s Countryside Project?Since 2005, the Manchester’s Countryside project has workedto attract an increasing number of visitors to the ruraltourism product offer of Greater Manchester. Thispublic/private sector initiative supported the rural businessesand economies of Greater Manchester whilst enhancing thevisitor experience potential of the sub-region.

What we wanted to achieveIn 2010 the Manchester’s Countryside project made asuccessful funding bid to the Rural Development Programmefor England (RDPE). This was supplemented by private sectorand local authority support and for the first time the projectwas able to recruit a full-time Project Manager to managethe partnership working of all stakeholders, butfundamentally, deliver large-scale marketing activity thatwasn’t possible before the RDPE funding.

Five key strategic activities were identified:

Investigating and developing the product in Manchester’s Countryside

Investing in the Manchester’s Countryside brand

Improving the visitor experience

Ensuring we develop the area and act responsibly

Establishing public / private sector partnerships

• 156,800 people have visited Manchester’s Countryside in the past two years

- This is 16% of those who visited Greater Manchester - 144,000 day visitors- 12,500 staying visitors

• Over half of visitors have made multiple trips

• Family groups are the most likely to make multiple trips

• 25% of those who have visited said they would visit again

• Walking routes and trails are the most popular activities

• Over 40% of visitors would recommend Manchester’sCountryside to friends and family

• The website saw nearly 581,000 views in the two yearsup to December 2012

Creation of project website manchesterscountryside.com.

Walking trails – nineteen branded walking trails were cre-ated to form a suite of leaflets which are available in paperand digital formats.

Cycle routes – a cycling specialist was engaged to createnew routes and a guide containing eight trails was producedin print and digital format.

Visit manchesterscountryside.com

Visit manchesterscountryside.com

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Rural activities campaign – a campaign for spring / summer 2011to encourage day visits from local and regional residents.

Short breaks campaign – launched spring 2012, a short breaks guide was produced. A traditional print media advertising campaign targeted visitors from the north west. A digital advertising campaign targeted national visitors.

S H O R T B R E A K S G U I D E

Another wild weekend in manchester

‘ ‘ There is scarcely any writer that has not celebrated the happiness of rural privacy, and delighted himself and his reader with the melody of birds, the whisper of groves, and the murmur of rivulets’’ Samuel Johnson (Writer).

A short ride from the vibrant city centre is an undiscovered outdoor playground just waiting to be enjoyed.Welcome to one of the North West’s best kept secrets…Manchester’s countryside. More than 500 square miles of picturesque landscapes, lush woodlands, lakes and waterways are waiting just for you.You may choose to explore them on foot, on a bike, by boat or in the saddle.With beautiful scenery, historic houses, vast parks, quaint villages, quirky events, outdoor activities and attractions of all types on land or on water; Manchester’s countryside has it all.

After an eventful day exploring why not kick off those walking boots and relax at one of the numerous award-winning restaurants, cosy country pubs or character filled cafes and tearooms.Looking to stay longer? No problem. There’s a wide range of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets. A warm welcome guaranteed. For a brilliant family day out or a holiday to remember, try something new…try Manchester’s countryside.

Manchester’s countryside

What’s on & festivalS 2012

MARCH31st March- 1st April

Ramsbottom Chocolate Festival

With fantastic chocolate market,

workshops and entertainment.

Apr i lThe Greater Manchester Marathon

This 26 mile course takes in the

attractive countryside around

Dunham Massey.

May5-7th MayDays Out With Thomas

Thomas the Tank Engine and his

friends visit the East Lancashire

Railway, Bury.

20th MayScarecrow Making Competition

Chadkirk Chapel, Stockport.

June1st JuneWhit Friday Brass Band Contests

Dating back to 1884, every year

dozens of bands compete in the

picturesque villages of Saddleworth.

2nd- 4th June

1940s Weekend East

Lancashire Railway

This major event includes

renactments, tea dances, music

and parades.

14th-17th June

Horwich Festival of Racing

Set in the picturesque town of

Horwich, the event features British

standard cycling, running and

road walking championships, a

young persons swim and run, and

street orienteering.

24th JuneThe Bury ShowAnnual agricultural show at Burrs

Country Park.

July21st-22nd July

Littleborough Rush

Bearing Weekend

This annual folk event celebrates the

coming of autumn with a procession

of the Littleborough Rush Cart,

accompanied by Morris dancers

and musicians.

22nd JulyIron Man UKReturning to Bolton for the 4th year,

Ironman UK continues to offer a

world-class event, in the heart of the

beautiful North West countryside. This

year’s event also includes Ironkids on

Saturday 21 July, a brand new run-

only event in Bolton town centre for

children aged 3 to 15 years old.

August10th-12th August

Saddleworth Wartime Weekend

A weekend of fabulous 1940s

entertainment.

18th-26th August

Rochdale Canal Festival

Canal and countryside based events

along the whole of the canal from

Manchester city centre, to Sowerby

Bridge in Yorkshire.

24th-27th August

Bolton Food and Drink Festival

Celebrity chef demonstrations, free

family entertainment, a fabulous

speciality market with over 70 stalls,

plus much more.

31st Aug- 1st September

Rochdale Feel Good Festival

Free event featuring celebrity chef

demonstrations, food and drink

stalls and a spectacular music

stage in the evenings.

September1st September

Proms in the Park,

Mesnes Park, Wigan

A fabulous outdoor evening of

music. Bring your picnics and enjoy a

spectacular firework display.

For tickets contact: 01942 828 281

8th-23rd September

South Pennines

Walk and Ride Festival

A fortnight of free walks, talks, horse

and bike rides across Saddleworth and

the wider South Pennines.

8th September

Bury Black Pudding Throwing

ChampionshipsRamsbottom Town Centre.

Tel: 0161 253 5111

October27th & 28th Oct

Halloween Ghost trains

East Lancashire Railway, Bury.

November18th November

Tudor Living History

Take a step back in time and discover

how the Tudors lived. Family event.

Bramall Hall, Stockport.

DecemberRamsbottom Christmas Markets

Regul ar eventsFarmers Markets

Every second Sunday of the month

in Ramsbottom and Littleborough.

April- December

Walks & WaterRelive the fascinating and often

surprising story of Salford’s past on

one of the guided heritage walks or

canal cruses.

July- September

Maize MaizeFun for all the family at Red House

Farm, Dunham Massey.

East Lancashire Railway

Rail Ale TrailsDiscover some of the Irwell Valley’s

most beautiful locations, exceptional

pubs, and fascinating heritage, all

linked together by

the railway.www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk

For further information on events, or to download new walking trails and cycle routes, visit

manchesterscountryside.com or contact 0161 253 5111.

manchesterscountryside.com

Image by Steve Haddican

Match Funding Partners • Bolton Council • Bury Council • Oldham Council • Rochdale Council • Stockport Council • Salford Council • Tameside Council • Trafford Council • Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust • Marketing Manchester • Go Ape• Pennine Prospects • Red Bank Farm • East Lancashire Railway • The Rake Tapas • Huddersfield Canal • The Secret Garden

Breakdown

Activity Costs (£)

Staffing 70,217

Staff on costs 3,150

Overheads 23, 268

Product Development 15,340

Marketing 133, 503

Web Development 7,031

The total project budget was £276,510. This was made up of grant from Defra’s Rural DevelopmentFund of £218,907 plus contributions from public and private sector partners of £57,603.

We leave Manchester’s Countryside in finehealth. The brand continues to be in the publicdomain with branded walks and trails continuing to bedistributed.

Lancashire Living Magazine is running monthly trails withthe Manchester’s Countryside branding and URL. 17,500copies of the magazine are distributed each month, reachingover 75,000 ABC1 readers.

Black’s Leisure is also behind the project, with trails goinginto their store in Manchester city centre as part of a‘discover your local area’ initiative.

Manchester’s Countryside presence also continues in digitalformat. The existing web content has been integrated intovisitmanchester.com, with the URL pointing at these newpages. This allows Manchester’s Countryside to benefit fromthe 200,000 unique visits the site gets each month.

This integration has kept the Manchester’s Countrysidemessage up to date and relevant. Activities and events canbe fed into the site via Marketing Manchester and productinformation downloaded.

Rural tourism businesses can still access information andget promoted through Manchester’s Countryside andMarketing Manchester activity.

Get listed: if you send event information through to yourlocal tourism manager or tourist information centre foraddition on the Manchester’s Countryside website, continueto do so. If you don’t, or you’re not sure, you can emaillistings@visitmanchester.com with the details.

Get involved: if you’d like to get involved in GreaterManchester marketing campaigns please contactaudrey.peers@marketingmanchester.com