Walks in Cambridgeshire by train

Beginner-friendly: A straightforward walk along the River Cam with many lunch options in Granchester. Within Cambridge itself, feel free to wander about randomly rather than following the route — there’s plenty to appreciate.

King's College Chapel

Fitzwilliam Museum

Hobson's Conduit Monument, Cambridge

Cambridge

Time: 3h30–6h30

4 lunch spots: Grantchester (1h30–3h in) — the Orchard Tea Garden, Grantchester, the Red Lion, the Rupert Brooke, or the Blue Ball Inn

1 end-of-walk reward: the Panton Arms

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Highly recommended

Waterway: two thirds beside rivers and canals.

Ely Cathedral: the 'ship of the fens', a great Norman cathedral visible for miles across the flat fenland.

Oliver Cromwell's House

Ely

Time: 5h30–11h30

2 lunch spots: the Five Miles Inn (2h–4h in), or Wren Cafe (3h–6h in)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Cutter Inn, the Drayman's Son, the Kings Arms, the Minster Tavern, or the Prince Albert

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Flat walk through traditional villages and along the River Cam, finishing through Grantchester Meadows into Cambridge city centre.

Great Shelford: Traditional village with thatched cottages and a striking parish church.

Little Shelford: Village with period architecture.

Hauxton Mill: Historic watermill on the River Cam.

Trumpington Meadows: Open meadow nature reserve on the edge of Cambridge.

Byron's Pool: Wild-swimming spot on the Cam named after the poet Lord Byron.

The Old Vicarage (Rupert Brooke's House): Former home of poet Rupert Brooke, with sculptures in the grounds.

Grantchester Meadows: Open riverside meadows along the Cam between Cambridge and Grantchester.

King's College: World-famous University of Cambridge college with its renowned chapel.

The Orchard Tea Garden

Time: 3h30–7h30

2 lunch spots: the Red Lion, or the Orchard Tea Garden

Warnings: Busy A10 road crossing; shared cyclist path before the M11 bridge.

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

A short city and riverside walk linking Cambridge's two stations, taking in some of the best-known views of the ancient colleges, punting on the upper river, and riverside paths across the commons where college and town crews race their traditional 'bumps'.

Cambridge

Time: 3h

Warnings: Shared with cyclists along most of the route, so watch out for bikes.

Walk details: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).

Villages, mills and river crossings along the River Cam, past Hinxton Water Mill and a ford into Duxford.

Hinxton Mill: A 17th-century working watermill on the River Cam.

Time: 4h

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

A walk from isolated Dullingham station to Newmarket over chalk downland, the highlight being the mighty Devil's Dyke, an Anglo-Saxon earthwork rich in chalk-grassland plants and butterflies. Passes the village of Stetchworth and a former inn by the architect Voysey.

The Devil's Dyke: a great Anglo-Saxon defensive earthwork rich in chalk-grassland plants and butterflies.

Newmarket

Time: 3h

Warnings: Two miles of walking alongside the busy A1304 (avoidable by bus 12, or by following the adjoining exercise track in the afternoons when horses are absent); keep clear of racehorses.

Walk details: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).

A moderate walk from one village through another, then across open countryside and beneath the railway before heading into the town — on field paths, tracks and a stretch of road.

Time: 2h30

Lunch: The Dolphin in Melbourn, and a café at the Royston Tesco near the finish.

Walk details: Cam Valley Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

A walk through open countryside on the fringe of the Breckland, passing the attractive villages of Chippenham and Snailwell with their old chalk-rock ('clunch') buildings and the rare habitats of Chippenham Fen national nature reserve, before approaching Newmarket, the home of British horseracing.

Chippenham Fen: a National Nature Reserve where fen and breckland habitats merge, home to many rare species.

Newmarket

Time: 5h

Lunch: The villages of Chippenham and Snailwell offer good refreshment stops along the way.

Warnings: Keep well clear of racehorses where the path runs alongside exercise tracks or through paddocks near Newmarket.

Walk details: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).

Rolling Essex farmland, grassy field edges, small woods, river valleys, historic market town, parkland and pylons over crop fields.

Time: 4h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Reverse direction: Walking Post (inc. GPX).

Stunningly gorgeous; This is a lovely route, and by far the best of the three options. A lovely route that follows the River Ouse for most of the way through open country, then wiggles into the city centre, taking in housing, Ely Country Park and common land. Mostly off-road and flat along the exposed flood bank, with several stiles and gates and a short steep embankment; muddy in places after rain. Follows the River Ouse, passing through Ely Country Park and common land rich in vegetation and wildlife. Facilities in Ely and Littleport but little en route.

Waterway: two thirds beside rivers and canals.

Ely Cathedral: the 'ship of the fens', a great Norman cathedral visible for miles across the flat fenland.

Time: 2h30–5h

Lunch: No facilities en route between the two towns.

Warnings: Two footpath crossings of railway lines without automated barriers, one on a bend with poor visibility, so listen out as well as look. Several stiles and the likelihood of grazing cattle in the riverside fields. The flood bank is exposed to wind, sun and rain with little shelter.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, mostly flat route across the Fens, largely off-road on grass paths, gravel tracks, green lanes and quiet roads and following the Lodes Way cycle route for the central section. A single stile and a couple of stepped bridges; the landscape is very flat and open. Follows part of the Lodes Way cycle route (NCN 11) and is very well signposted. Wicken Fen National Trust nature reserve, just off-route, has rare birds and dragonflies; look out for them if you detour.

Time: 4h30–9h

Lunch: A pub in Wicken village, plus a cafe, shop and toilets at the National Trust Wicken Fen visitor centre just off the route.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Idyllic countryside with some roadside walking and mostly through picturesque villages.

Time: 3h30–7h

Lunch: Plenty of places to eat and drink in the villages along the way.

Walk details: Slow Ways.