Walks near Ely by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Ely and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Ely.
Cambridge Circular via Grantchester (Cambridgeshire)
15 minutes direct from Ely.
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.
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.
Bishop's Stortford to Harlow Town (Hertfordshire)
1 hour from Ely, with one change.
Recommended
Waterway: four fifths along the River Stort Navigation.
Time: 4h–7h30
2 lunch spots: the Three Tuns, or Full of Beans Cafe (2h–4h in)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Moorhen
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Reverse direction: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).
Cambridge to Cambridge North (Cambridgeshire)
15 minutes direct from Ely.
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'.
Time: 3h
Warnings: Shared with cyclists along most of the route, so watch out for bikes.
Walk details: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).
Shelford to Cambridge (Cambridgeshire)
30 minutes from Ely, with one change.
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.
Audley End Circular via the Cottage (pargeted house, Wendens Ambo) (Essex)
45 minutes direct from Ely.
Gently rolling chalky uplands, farmland, woods and copses, green lanes, field boundaries and pretty villages with thatched cottages and pargeted houses.
Time: 5h30
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Baldock Circular via Wallington Church (Hertfordshire)
45 minutes from Ely, with one change.
Vast flat Hertfordshire arable farmland, open field edges, big skies, gentle hills, small historic villages and patches of woodland.
Time: 5h
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Stamford Circular via Easton on the Hill (Northamptonshire)
45 minutes from Ely, with one change.
Old railway, Roman road, park grounds and meadows.
Time: 5h–9h30
1 lunch spot: Burghley House café (2h30–5h in)
6 end-of-walk rewards: the Birch Tree Cafe, the Exeter Arms, the Easton on the Hill Village, the Blue Bell Pub, the George, or the Bull and Swan
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk.
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Huntingdon Circular via Portholme Meadow (Huntingdonshire)
1 hour from Ely, with one change.
Flat riverside paths, water meadows, farmland tracks, tarmac lanes, nature reserve and market town streets.
Time: 4h
Warnings: Prone to flooding.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hitchin Circular via Pegsdon Hills (Hertfordshire)
1 hour from Ely, with one change.
Chilterns chalk ridge, farm tracks, field boundaries, grassy lanes, woods, steep chalk downland, flat-bottomed valleys, alder and willow fen woodland, chalk river and historic market town.
Time: 6h
Warnings: Can be hilly.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Harlow Town Circular via Hunsdon (Essex)
1 hour from Ely, with one change.
Flat, easy farmland, open fields, riverside and quiet villages.
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Stowmarket to Elmswell (Suffolk)
45 minutes direct from Ely.
Field and meadow paths from Stowmarket's Greens Meadow, passing a marshy wildlife reserve on the approach to the isolated settlement of Dagworth, then on by pleasant field paths to the attractive green at Haughley, once the site of a market and fair.
Time: 4h
Walk details: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).
Great Chesterford to Shelford (Cambridgeshire)
30 minutes from Ely, with one change.
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).