Walks you can reach from Whittlesford Parkway by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Cambridge Circular via Grantchester (Cambridgeshire)
15 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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.
Waterbeach to Ely (Cambridgeshire)
30 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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.
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).
Bishop's Stortford to Harlow Town (Hertfordshire)
30 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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).
Ely Circular (Cambridgeshire)
30 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
Open fenland, flat drained farmland, long straight tree-lined farm tracks, hedge-lined meadows, river banks, dykes and catchwater drains, quayside and historic city.
Ely Cathedral: the 'ship of the fens', a great Norman cathedral visible for miles across the flat fenland.
Time: 4h
Warnings: Exposed river banks.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Shelford to Cambridge (Cambridgeshire)
5 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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.
Cambridge to Cambridge North (Cambridgeshire)
15 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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).
Audley End Circular via the Cottage (pargeted house, Wendens Ambo) (Essex)
8 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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).
Harlow Town Circular via Hunsdon (Essex)
30 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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).
Broxbourne Circular via Waltham Abbey (Hertfordshire)
30 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
Flat river floodplain, towpaths, water meadows, lakeside paths, woodland strips, farmland fields and open parkland.
Time: 4h
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Cheshunt Circular via Royal Gunpowder Mills (Hertfordshire)
45 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
Flat river floodplain, gravel-pit lakes, water meadows, country park sculptures, farmland and a market town.
Time: 3h30
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Great Chesterford to Shelford (Cambridgeshire)
4 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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).
Great Chesterford to Newport (Cambridgeshire)
4 minutes direct from Whittlesford Parkway.
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).