Walks near Chesterfield by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Chesterfield and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Chesterfield.
Derby Circular via Allestree Park (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Chesterfield.
Parks, river and heritage trail.
Museum of Making (30m in)
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
6 lunch spots: Darley Park (1h15 in) — Darley Park Terrace Cafe, the Little Darley in the Park, the Abbey Inn, or the Darleys; plus the Joiners Arms (3h in), or the Orangery Café (4h in)
4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Victoria Inn, or the Waterfall
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Similar walk: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership.
Nottingham Circular via Attenborough Nature Reserve (Nottinghamshire)
30 minutes direct from Chesterfield.
Off-road walking and cycling alongside canal and river — a waterside network of paths. Passes the historic Trent Bridge.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Duffield Circular via the Chevin (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
Undulating countryside with several steep climbs.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Several steep climbs.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Similar walk: Visit Amber Valley (PDF).
Grindleford Circular via Surprise View (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
Quite possibly the best views in the whole of the Hope Valley. Ancient mixed woodland with rocky brook and footbridges, open moorland and gritstone edge. Detailed route map, photographs and route preview video available.
Hilly: a quarter on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Woodland: a third under tree cover.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Let's Go Peak District (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hathersage Circular via Stanage Edge (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
Green valley, gritstone escarpment edge, open moorland plateaus, ancient hill fort, narrow wooded gorge with tumbling waterfalls and quiet river pastures.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Belper Circular via Kilburn (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
Hilly countryside with several steep climbs. Alport Heights — a 314 m peak five miles away — is visible from the route on clear days. Route passes Holbrook.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Several steep climbs.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Similar walk: Visit Amber Valley (PDF).
Ambergate Circular via Pentrich (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
Mixture of hilly and flat terrain with stiles along the way. Telling the story of the Pentrich Rising of 1817, exploring the local men who took part. Route passes through Fritchley and South Wingfield.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Hope Circular via Hope Cross (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
The most magnificent views of the Hope Valley, the Edale Valley and even into the Derwent Valley. Hill trails over moorland and an old Roman road. Detailed route map, photographs and route preview video available.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Let's Go Peak District (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Edale Circular via Mam Tor (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Chesterfield, with one change.
Some of the most spectacular views in the Peak District. Footpaths, farm trails, gritstone ridge, hill trails and country lanes. Detailed route map, photographs and route preview video available.
Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Kinder, Edale and the High Peak (National Trust)
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Challenging in places.
Walk details: Let's Go Peak District (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Cromford Circular via Lea Bridge (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Chesterfield, with one change.
Historic cotton mill, former railway track to High Peak Junction, canal towpath, deer park, bluebell woodland in Lea Wood, riverside fields and crossing of the River Derwent.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Visit Amber Valley (PDF).
Similar walk: East Midlands Railway.
Matlock Circular via Nine Ladies Stone Circle (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Chesterfield, with one change.
Nine Ladies is a Bronze Age stone circle constructed between 3300-900 BCE; legend associates stones with women punished for Sunday dancing.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Sheffield to Meadowhall Interchange (Yorkshire)
15 minutes direct from Chesterfield.
Flat urban canal towpaths and riverside paths along the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal and Five Weirs Walk, past Victoria Quays and the Tinsley locks. An easy waterside start to the trail.
Victoria Quays: A large canal basin in Sheffield constructed 1816-1819 as the terminus of the Sheffield Canal.
The Sheffield & Tinsley Canal: A canal opened in 1819 to link the city with the navigable River Don, famous for featuring in the opening scenes of the film The Full Monty.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership (PDF).