Walks near Newark by train
Nottinghamshire · East Midlands
Stations: Newark Northgate · Newark Castle
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Newark and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Newark.
Nottingham Circular via Attenborough Nature Reserve (Nottinghamshire)
30 minutes direct from Newark Castle.
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).
Derby Circular via Allestree Park (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, 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.
Oakham Circular via Manton (Rutland)
1 hour from Newark Northgate, with one change.
Villages, churches and views across the Vale of Catmose.
Time: 7h (5h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
2 lunch spots: the Horse and Jockey Pub (1h45 in), or the Blue Ball (3h15 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: the Royal Duke, or the Grainstore Brewery
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Nottingham to East Midlands Parkway (Nottinghamshire)
30 minutes direct from Newark Castle.
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.
Derby to Long Eaton (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, 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)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, 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).
Sheffield to Meadowhall Interchange (Yorkshire)
45 minutes from Newark Northgate, with one change.
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).
Sheffield to Bamford (Yorkshire)
45 minutes from Newark Northgate, with one change.
Urban streets, landscaped Victorian cemetery, municipal parkland, narrow wooded valley, open moorland, rugged gritstone edges and a scenic descent into lush valley.
Time: 8h30 (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Derby to Nottingham (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, 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).
Ambergate to Langley Mill (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, with one change.
One of the world’s oldest industrial regions. Overgrown canal towpath, woodland and field crossings and ironworks remains. Follows the route of the disused Cromford Canal. Butterley Tunnel (nearly 3 km) collapsed in 1900, severing the canal into two sections.
Waterway: two thirds along the Cromford Canal.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Substantial tree blockages on overgrown sections; busy A610 road crossing.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Duffield to Derby (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, 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.
Ambergate to Alfreton (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Newark Castle, with one change.
Impressive views back across Amber valley. Predominantly countryside walk. Walk takes in Pentrich, where the doomed Pentrich Revolution began in June 1817 — an early working-class uprising following the Napoleonic Wars. Route follows parts of the former Cromford Canal.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk. Busy A610 with lorry traffic; stiles.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).