Walks you can reach from Thurston 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.

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.

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).

A walk through open countryside on the fringe of the Breckland, passing the attractive villages of Chippenham and Snailwell with their old chalk-rock ('clunch') buildings and the rare habitats of Chippenham Fen national nature reserve, before approaching Newmarket, the home of British horseracing.

Chippenham Fen: a National Nature Reserve where fen and breckland habitats merge, home to many rare species.

Newmarket

Time: 5h

Lunch: The villages of Chippenham and Snailwell offer good refreshment stops along the way.

Warnings: Keep well clear of racehorses where the path runs alongside exercise tracks or through paddocks near Newmarket.

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

A long and rewarding cross-country walk, presented in two stages with a break point at Barrow village for those who prefer shorter rambles. From high ground near Desning there are long views towards the Fens, the route threading fields and pastures past the earthworks of ancient Denham Castle; the second half traverses the National Trust's Ickworth estate, with its rotunda house and Capability Brown parkland.

Denham Castle: the surviving earthworks of a medieval motte-and-bailey castle.

Ickworth Estate: a National Trust estate of 1,800 acres with a striking rotunda house and parkland partly laid out by Capability Brown.

Bury St Edmunds

Time: 9h

Lunch: Shops and pubs at Barrow, roughly the half-way point (buses from Barrow are infrequent, so check times and stops).

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

A walk from isolated Dullingham station to Newmarket over chalk downland, the highlight being the mighty Devil's Dyke, an Anglo-Saxon earthwork rich in chalk-grassland plants and butterflies. Passes the village of Stetchworth and a former inn by the architect Voysey.

The Devil's Dyke: a great Anglo-Saxon defensive earthwork rich in chalk-grassland plants and butterflies.

Newmarket

Time: 3h

Warnings: Two miles of walking alongside the busy A1304 (avoidable by bus 12, or by following the adjoining exercise track in the afternoons when horses are absent); keep clear of racehorses.

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

A long walk following the ancient Icknield Way Path through countryside dominated by the horse-racing industry, between manicured paddocks and across high ground with views over the Kennett valley towards Dalham Hall. Passes the medieval packhorse bridge at the picturesque village of Moulton.

Moulton Packhorse Bridge: a medieval flint packhorse bridge over the River Kennett in the picturesque village of Moulton.

Time: 7h

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

A route across the fens on well-maintained but rutted field paths and climbing onto Devil's Dyke towards Newmarket. Crosses Newmarket racecourse. Take a copy of the route as turnings are easy to confuse.

Time: 5h30–10h30

Lunch: A pub at Swaffham Prior, roughly midway, plus pubs at both ends.

Warnings: The route crosses Newmarket racecourse, where access may be restricted on race days.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Spectacular views. A long, direct route mixing waymarked footpaths, pavements and quiet country roads with no pavement. Narrow and uneven in places, especially crossing fields, with around ten stiles, a flight of steps and gates and several footbridges concentrated on the Drinkstone-to-Rougham stretch. Best broken at Woolpit, roughly the mid-point, which has shops and amenities. Not suitable for cyclists (use National Cycle Route 51).

Time: 6h30–12h30

Lunch: Woolpit has a Co-op, two pubs, a fish and chip shop and a bakery; Rougham has a convenience store en route.

Warnings: There is a fair amount of road walking on minor roads which can have more traffic on weekdays; numerous stiles and uneven field paths make it unsuitable for those with reduced mobility.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, mainly rural walk on footpaths and farm tracks through farmland, with some stiles and a couple of kissing gates. The approach into Ipswich is along the busy Wherstead Road and which has a pavement but is tedious. A diversion to Pin Mill is highly recommended. St Michael's church near Ipswich high school is open to the public.

Time: 5h30–11h

Lunch: There is also a shop at Chelmondiston.

Warnings: Some stiles and a kissing gate; sheep in fields near the Ipswich high school.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A lengthened route taking in Wicken Fen and Devil's Dyke.

Time: 5h30–11h

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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