Walks you can reach from Narborough by train

Parks, river, country park and canal.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 4h30–9h30

1 lunch spot: the Stag and Pheasant (2h–4h in)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Lord Hop, the Felix Holt, the George Eliot Hotel, the Black Swan In Hand, or the Silk Mill

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Canal towpath and cycle greenway. Route ends at Leicester Cathedral where Richard III's remains were interred in 2013.

Waterway: three fifths along the Grand Union Canal (Leicester Line).

Time: 2h30–5h30

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

Mostly on canal towpaths. Through Anglo-Saxon Mercia's territory, passing sites associated with Queen Æthelflæd.

Waterway: four fifths along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.

Time: 4h30–9h

Warnings: Heavy traffic on narrow ancient bridge across River Tame near Water Orton.

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

Canal towpath (Worcester and Birmingham Canal). Kings Norton was site of a 1642 English Civil War battle.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Time: 2h30–5h

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

Canal towpath, urban paths and suburban streets. Walk along the Worcester-Birmingham Canal from city centre to Cadbury's model village.

Waterway: four fifths along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Time: 2h–4h

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

Flat and on decent paths.

Waterway: four fifths along the River Soar.

Time: 5h30–11h

3 lunch spots: Birstall (3h30–7h in) — the Earl of Stamford, the Old Plough, or the White Horse

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Corn Exchange, or the Rainbow and Dove

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

An almost entirely flat, easy walk: roadside pavements at the Leicester end give way to wide, level tarmac and cycle-path towpaths along the Grand Union Canal and River Soar and with short diversions over grass and wooded paths between lakes. Short grassy stretches can be soft and muddy in winter. Follows Sustrans Route 48 along the canal. Note Abbey Park is locked at dusk (around 6pm in winter); it can easily be walked around.

Waterway: three quarters along the River Soar.

Time: 3h–6h

Lunch: A café by the bridge at Abbey Park, and a café and museum at Belgrave Hall Gardens.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, fairly direct route on a mix of pavements, farm tracks, towpath and lanes and including a stretch along the Ashby Canal and across wide open fields by the infant River Anker. The towpath and a bridleway between hedges can be very wet and muddy. Follows the Ashby Canal for a stretch. Transport links, shops and stops at either end.

Time: 2h30–5h

1 lunch spot: the Lime Kilns

Warnings: A quarter urban. On the A4254 Eastboro Way, stay on the south side as the north pavement disappears where crossing is awkward. The section east of Attleborough is very wet and muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Time: 4h–8h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A relaxing, easy-to-follow route mainly along the Coventry Canal towpath and with short pavement sections through the towns at each end. The towpath surface varies and can be muddy in places. Follows the Coventry Canal; passes canal marinas, evidence of quarrying and an information board on the possible site of Boudica's last battle. A direct train links the two towns.

Waterway: four fifths along the Coventry Canal.

Time: 2h30–5h

Lunch: Shops and a variety of supermarkets in Nuneaton, with stops and shops at both ends.

Walk details: Slow Ways.