Walks you can reach from Brandon 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).

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).

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).

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.

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).

Time: 3h30–6h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Reverse direction: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).

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 route making more use of footpaths and quiet country lanes than the alternative, with several railway crossings over stiles and gates, field paths and woodland edges. Some lanes are narrow with occasional traffic; pavements can be very overgrown forcing you into the road in places and pedestrian railway crossings get overgrown. No amenities or shops between Attleborough and Wymondham; plenty at both ends, with buses to Norwich from Wymondham. Wildlife and cottages add interest.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Lunch: No amenities or shops between Attleborough and Wymondham.

Warnings: Bunwell Road is the busiest stretch with little space either side. Care needed crossing to the pavement after the A11 roundabouts at a blind corner, and at the narrow road by Wymondham recycling centre. Frequent trains on the level crossings, so care is needed.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Predominantly road walking (around 90%): busy main roads with roundabouts out of Thetford, then smaller quiet roads through idyllic countryside and villages and with a section of semi-maintained forest track. Fairly accessible but not a great walking route. Passes near Snetterton race circuit (audible but not visible) and a swimming spot in the river at East Harling. Better suited to confident cyclists than walkers or children.

Time: 7h30–15h

Lunch: Quite a few places to eat in Thetford's high street at the start.

Warnings: Leaving Thetford the route is on a busy main road that does not feel safe for walking, without a continuous decent pavement.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A walk that is primarily on roads, but outside the towns mostly on quiet country lanes, with some off-road footpaths and a field section. Footpaths get narrow and overgrown in places, the terrain varies and field paths can be muddy or boggy. Largely flat with steps at the Wymondham end. No facilities in the middle of the route until Cringleford and Eaton, around 8 miles in. Regular trains run between Wymondham and Norwich for the return journey. Eaton Park makes a worthwhile detour.

Time: 5h–9h30

Lunch: No facilities in the middle of the route; bring plenty of food and drink, with shops appearing only on reaching Cringleford and Eaton around 8 miles in.

Warnings: The Lizard Circular boardwalk near Wymondham is in poor condition and the river crossing has been removed, so the route cannot be followed as drawn; an alternative along Browick Road is a 60mph road with no pavements. Crossing the A11 at the roundabouts is unpleasant. Sections are heavily overgrown with tall stinging nettles. Fields contain sheep and cattle. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A walk through forest and farmland that turns difficult in the final third, with a road section on the A134, field paths that are hard to find, a dismantled railway with no crossing and a dual carriageway with no central-barrier gap.

Time: 6h30–13h

Warnings: The A134 near Ingham has no footpath for about 300m, forcing you to walk in the road. A field footpath is blocked by a dismantled railway with no way across, and you must cross a dual carriageway and clamber over its central barrier, which is not safe.

Walk details: Slow Ways.