Walks you can reach from Shirebrook by train

Off-road walking and cycling alongside canal and river — a waterside network of paths. Passes the historic Trent Bridge.

Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).

Canal, river, wooded track and roadside footpath.

Time: 4h30–9h30

2 lunch spots: Wilford Farm (1h30–3h in), or Dovecote Barn Café (3h–6h in)

Warnings: Short stretch on busy A453.

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Mixture of off-road cycle path and on-road sections. Part of the longer London-to-Lake-District route.

Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).

Tranquil river crossing through gently hilly, wooded Sherwood Forest country. Suburban footpaths, parkland, field paths, woodland, riverside and gravel tracks. Newstead Abbey was Lord Byron's ancestral seat; Byron is buried at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Hucknall. Newstead Colliery (closed 1987) has a pit-wheel monument on the route.

Time: 2h30–5h

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Recommended: A flat, mostly level walk: busy city and built-up streets at each end with a quiet, scenic, well-maintained towpath along the Beeston Canal in the middle. A cobbled bridge joins the towpath and there are a few short and steep inclines. Frequent buses and trams also run between Beeston and Nottingham; the route passes Beeston Station too.

Waterway: two thirds beside rivers and canals.

Time: 2h–4h30

Lunch: A quieter alternative at the Beeston side passes the Star Inn, the Victoria Hotel and a café at the Canalside Heritage Centre.

Warnings: A quarter urban. Cobbled bridge to join the towpath and a few short, steep inclines. Some busy street walking at the ends.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Reverse direction: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership.

Recommended: An excellent route; very enjoyable. An off-road and peaceful route using byways, the Chesterfield Canal towpath, farm tracks and with some walking through housed areas on safe pavements at either end. The canal section can get hemmed in by bracken and undergrowth; no serious hills. Follows the Chesterfield Canal towpath; passes Babworth Church, linked to the Pilgrim Fathers, with a display board; few benches in the middle third.

Time: 4h30–8h30

Lunch: The Chequers pub at Ranby is the only refreshment option in the middle third and needs a detour off the towpath; stock up at the start otherwise.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: A quiet, mostly green suburban route on shared paths, cycle tracks and quiet streets with plenty of tree cover, plus small stretches of pavement by busy roads and a short field path. It is largely level and step- and stile-free, with one short and slightly rough and steep section descending through a wood east of the A611. Largely follows old railway paths and cycletracks. Kirkby and Hucknall are linked by the Robin Hood line and the Trentbarton Threes bus.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: A short, steep and slightly rough wooded section east of the A611, with side paths to ignore, may be tough for heavier wheels.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An excellent route; There are always good views, changing with the seasons. Highly recommended; This is a route to be enjoyed! An easy, flat, direct route running virtually all along the Chesterfield Canal towpath, part of the well-signed Cuckoo Way. The towpath is mostly a bonded or stone surface, with some muddy stretches where the right-of-way path runs north of the canal and plus passages through landscaped former-colliery land and community woodland. A few steps at Turnerwood. Follows the Cuckoo Way along the Chesterfield Canal, with many locks and canal information boards. Turnerwood is a Conservation Area. Served by four stations along the way for bailing out, and passes Kiveton Community Woodland.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Chesterfield Canal.

Time: 3h–6h30

Lunch: Pubs and cafes along or just off the route at Kiveton Park station and Shireoaks, plus a shop at the Shireoaks road crossing.

Warnings: Parts of the path on the north side of the canal can be muddy after wet weather. A few steps at Turnerwood spoil the otherwise easy going.

Walk details: Slow Ways.