Walks near Mansfield 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).

Waterways — River Derwent, Derby & Sandiacre Canal and Erewash Canal.

Time: 5h30–11h

2 lunch spots: Canal Cottage Cafe (2h30–5h30 in), or the Navigation (3h–6h30 in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: Peking House, or the Sawley Junction

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Good paths, nature reserve, canal and river.

Waterway: nine tenths beside rivers and canals.

Time: 4h–8h

4 lunch spots: Beeston Lock (1h–2h in) — the Riverside Bar, Boathouse Cafe, or Canal Heritage Centre; plus Restaurant Sat Bains (2h–4h in)

Warnings: Check for flooding.

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Time: 5h–10h

3 lunch spots: Gotham (3h–6h in) — the Sun Inn, the Cuckoo Bush Inn, or the Star Inn

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Village greens and countryside.

Time: 3h30–6h30

2 lunch spots: Caffe Velo Verde (1h30–3h in), or the Royal Oak (2h–4h30 in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Butter Cross

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Public roads, footpaths and canal towpaths; railway embankments and woodland tracks and grass areas. Extensively documented railway history of the Long Eaton triangle spanning 1840–1968: wagon works, sheet stores and canal-transhipment facilities, with modern flood defences and Ratcliffe Power Station visible.

Warnings: One stretch alongside the River Trent is liable to flooding in very wet weather; beware of traffic turning off the roundabout at Tamworth Road; beware of fast-moving traffic on Fields Farm Road (40 mph). Canal towpath often under water when the river is in flood.

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).

Urban and suburban streets, golf-course path, woodland, abandoned canal towpath (partly waterlogged) and active canal towpath. Bennerley Viaduct gives expansive valley views — Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is visible 10+ miles distant. Approximate walking time 4–5 hours.

Time: 4h–8h

Warnings: Heavy traffic at the dual-carriageway crossing near Nottingham; canal paths shared with cyclists.

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

Flat, mostly on decent paths and along the River Soar and Grand Union Canal.

Waterway: nine tenths along the River Soar.

Time: 6h–12h

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

3 end-of-walk rewards: the Boat Inn, the Navigation Inn, or the Hunting Lodge

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Canal, industrial towns and disused railway viaduct.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Erewash Canal.

Time: 4h–8h

3 lunch spots: Hallam Fields, Ilkeston (2h30–5h in) — Gallows Grub, or the Gallows Inn; plus La Rock (1h30–2h30 in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Dew Drop Inn

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.