Walks you can reach from Foxton 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 (2h45 in)

Fitzwilliam Museum (2h45 in)

Hobson's Conduit Monument, Cambridge (3h in)

Cambridge (2h45 in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

4 lunch spots: Grantchester (1h30 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.

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: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

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

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: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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.

Vast flat Hertfordshire arable farmland, open field edges, big skies, gentle hills, small historic villages and patches of woodland.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

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: 8h (6h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)

Warnings: Can be hilly.

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

Undulating Hertfordshire countryside, woodland, large open arable fields, quiet lanes, deer park and pretty villages.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Rolling Hertfordshire countryside, landscaped parkland, arable fields, picturesque village and Gothic church ruin.

Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

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: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

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

Gently undulating woodland, open fields, deer park, golf course, nature reserve and formal garden city streets.

Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Chalk stream meadows, field boundaries, hilltop village, open farmland with far views, green lanes, lavender farm and Garden City.

Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

Recommended: Wide open views; good views. A fairly hilly route, mostly on field-edge paths and good tracks across arable land and with some overgrown stretches and short sections on quiet roads and verges. The Luton end has rather a lot of residential roads. Good views from the higher ground. Follows the Chiltern Way Extension for a significant distance. Whitwell has an interesting tower.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: There is a pub at St Paul's Walden, roughly mid-route.

Warnings: Crossing London Road (B656) needs a little care. Some paths are a little overgrown, occasionally between barbed-wire fences.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant route through leafy suburbs on flat pavements and across grassy farmland and diverting north of Stevenage to avoid a major road and using Stevenage's wide pedestrian/cycleways and underpasses. A short flight of steps at Willian (avoidable via about 50m of road). Makes use of permissive paths in several sections. Subject to footpath diversions near Stevenage Old Town due to new-build development (check in 2025).

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: Pubs at Willian and Graveley and a village shop at Willian; Stevenage Old Town has refreshments.

Walk details: Slow Ways.