Walks near Wellingborough by train
Northamptonshire · East Midlands
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Wellingborough and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Wellingborough.
Aspley Guise Circular via the Woburn Estate (Bedfordshire)
45 minutes from Wellingborough, with one change.
Beginner-friendly: A shortish but satisfying walk. It’s hard to go wrong and, if you do, it’s easy to recover. Lunch is in the pleasant village of Woburn, where there are many choices, so no faffing with making reservations needed. Plus it goes through a safari park and you’ll likely spot some of the beasts.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Woburn Safari Park: a 300-acre wildlife park opened in 1970, home to over 80 species including critically endangered hoofed mammals (2h in).
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
3 lunch spots: Woburn (1h in) — the Black Horse, Lussmanns, or the Woburn Hotel
1 end-of-walk reward: the Anchor
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
St Albans Circular via Ruins of Gorhambury House (Hertfordshire)
45 minutes from Wellingborough, with one change.
Recommended
St Albans Cathedral (30m in)
Verulamium Roman City Walls (45m in)
Ruins of Gorhambury House (2h in)
St Albans (2h in)
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
1 lunch spot: Ye Olde Fighting Cocks (30m in)
6 end-of-walk rewards: the Six Bells, the Lower Red Lion, the Snug, the Boot, the Mad Squirrel Tap, or the Peahen
Warnings: A third urban.
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Harpenden to St Albans (Hertfordshire)
45 minutes from Wellingborough, with one change.
Recommended: Mostly fields and country lanes. Some beautiful new bluebell woods, stunning historic city streeets, commons, golf courses and parkland.
Heartwood Forest (1h30 in)
St Albans Cathedral (4h in)
St Albans (3h30 in)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
4 lunch spots: Sandridge (2h in) — the Green Man (excellent; reservations recommended), Heartwood Tea Rooms (busy!), the Rose & Crown, or the Queens Head (not great)
5 end-of-walk rewards: the Lower Red Lion, the Mad Squirrel Tap, the Peahen, the Snug, or the Boot
Best months: in April (bluebell season).
Warnings: A quarter urban.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).
Derby Circular via Allestree Park (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
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)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
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).
Melton Mowbray to Oakham (Leicestershire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
Rural countryside.
Time: 7h30 (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
2 lunch spots: Little Spice Box (3h15 in), or the White Lion Inn (3h15 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: the Railway Inn, or the Grainstore Brewery
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Derby to Long Eaton (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
Waterways — River Derwent, Derby & Sandiacre Canal and Erewash Canal.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Canal Cottage Cafe (2h45 in), or the Navigation (3h15 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: Peking House, or the Sawley Junction
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Derby to Peartree (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
Largely urban walking on pavements and a riverside path, through parks and along the line of the Derby Canal.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
1 lunch spot: Waterside Café
Warnings: Only a few trains a day call at Peartree.
Walk details: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership (tips and turn-by-turn directions).
Derby to Nottingham (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
Mixture of off-road cycle path and on-road sections. Part of the longer London-to-Lake-District route.
Time: 8h30 (7h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Nottingham to East Midlands Parkway (Nottinghamshire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
Canal, river, wooded track and roadside footpath.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Wilford Farm (1h30 in), or Dovecote Barn Café (3h in)
Warnings: Short stretch on busy A453.
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Duffield to Derby (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Wellingborough, with one change.
Repurposed railway track along the Great Northern Greenway.
Duffield Castle (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Bell and Harp (1h in), or the Three Horseshoes (2h15 in)
4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Waterfall, or the Merry Widows
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk.
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Kettering Circular via Pytchley (Northamptonshire)
6 minutes direct from Wellingborough.
Villages and countryside.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
5 lunch spots: Broughton (3h30 in) — Best Plaice, the Red Lion, Broughton Fish and Chips, or the Broughton & Cransley WMC; plus the Overstone Arms (1h15 in)
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.