Walks you can reach from Shepreth 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.

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

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

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

Walk details: Slow Ways.