Calling all adventurers! We’re looking for teams to take on a Slow Ways Trail this summer
Our spring call-out for groups to walk particular trails of Slow Ways was a great success! Throughout March and April small groups headed out to walk trails, and have sent in beautiful stories of their experiences, including films, songs, architectural models, prose poetry, and photo essays. Keep an eye out on Stories channel as they appear over the next weeks.
We were so delighted that we’re doing it again, and this time with more trails available to apply for!
There are Trails all around Britain and we are offering £600 as a contribution towards the expenses of you and your team. Teams need to be three people or more, and you can choose your preference and two back-up trails from this list:
| Trails | Km/miles | Tell me more! |
| Glasgow – Sanquhar | 117/73 | These two beautiful-looking routes will connect Carlisle and Glasgow, and stop off at Sanquhar, an historical Scottish town with railway access to both Glasgow and Carlisle |
| Sanquhar – Carlisle | 130/81 | |
| Carlisle – Ripon | 173/107 | This route skirts the Pennines and crosses the Yorkshire Dales, connecting Carlislie to Ripon and Leeds |
| Carlisle – Newcastle | 109/68 | A cross-country route running east to west, almost coast to coast |
| Hereford – Machynlleth | 147/92 | An exciting route taking you through Hay-on-Wye and central Wales |
| Leeds – Lancaster | 118/73 | Help us connect Yorkshire and Lancashire with this route via Preston |
| Newark-Lincoln-Doncaster | 113/70 | We’d love to make a connection from the verified routes of south Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire out to the picturesque cathedral city of Lincoln |
| Norwich – Ely – Peterborough | 167/104 | Taking on this trail would help us create a verified route into East Anglia and connect Norwich, Ely, Cambridge and Peterborough to our network in one go |
| Bristol – Gloucester – Oxford | 173/107 | While much of the West Country has Slow Ways routes, Gloucester is a barren patch. This would be an important connection to join up the network |
| Perth – Dundee – Aberdeen | 183/114 | By the end of the summer you should be able to walk from Aberdeen to Plymouth on verified walking routes but we need a team to connect Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen first |
| Bangor – St Asaph – Wrexham | Connecting St Asaph and Wrexham to England | |
| South Coast Curve | 94/58 | This route will connect four southern cities to the Slow Ways network: Salisbury, Southampton, Portsmouth and Chichester |
| Colchester – Southend | 85/53 | This important section will provide a trusted route out eastwards from London and will join with existing routes going up through Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk |
| Leeds – Bradford – Manchester | 93/58 | Why not provide a slow alternative to the M62 and take on this Trail connecting Leeds and Manchester via Bradford |
What you need to do
- Please take a look at the Slow Ways Trails Application Information and decide which you want to apply for. You can apply for up to three routes but first preferences will take precedence so please do select carefully.
- Assemble your team and ensure all of you can walk all of the routes in the Trail by the deadline, though this doesn’t have to be in one go.
- Fill in your application, including telling us about each of your team members as well as the story you want to tell, and how your story might inspire others. You can be as creative as you like!
- The deadline for your submission is the 4th of June and we will be briefing those selected between the 10th-18th June. All walks and reviews need to be completed by 11th August with final stories submitted by the 31st August 2024. Please check the Application Information for more information.
