Walks in Cheshire by train

Beautiful Peak District fringe landscape. Valley floor walk with canal towpath and former tramway trail. Historic route tracing pioneering industrial transport infrastructure through Peak District foothills.

Waterway: three quarters along the Peak Forest Canal.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: Busy road sections; rough ground with old concrete and limestone blocks.

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

Pedestrianised Altrincham, the Devisdale, woodland, a golf course and the Bridgewater Canal towpath, near the Dunham Massey estate.

The Bridgewater Canal: England's first major industrial-era canal, completed in 1761, whose tree-lined towpath threads continuously from rural Cheshire into central Manchester.

Dunham Massey: A National Trust Georgian mansion set in a 300-acre deer park, lying just west of the Altrincham circular route.

Time: 2h30

Lunch: Various pubs, cafes and takeaways in Altrincham, plus the Axe and Cleaver and Bay Malton pubs on the route.

Warnings: Take care crossing the golf course; towpath can be very muddy.

Walk details: Mid Cheshire Community Rail Partnership.

Flat Cheshire field paths through Tatton Park, its meres and mansion, the moated Holford Hall and the town of Knutsford.

Tatton Park: A historic estate with a Georgian mansion, deer park and two meres (Tatton Mere and Melchett Mere) on the edge of Knutsford.

Time: 3h30

Lunch: Tatton Park Mansion courtyard has cafe facilities roughly halfway round.

Warnings: Field sections have several stiles and can be muddy.

Walk details: Northern Railway (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Walk details: Rail Rambles.

Spectacular views across Cheshire plain. Countryside ridge walk with gritstone outcrops, woodland paths and fields. Mow Cop is where Primitive Methodism began in 1800 with mass prayer meetings by Hugh Bourne and William Clowes.

Hilly: two fifths on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Time: 3h–6h

Warnings: Stiles and steps; steep downhill sections.

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

Walk details: Rail Rambles.

Recommended: A majorly off-road, easy-to-follow walk following the Bollin Valley Way nearly all the way, with steep steps at the Macclesfield end and increasingly marshy ground nearer Wilmslow. Well-marked with gates and steps and infrastructure in good condition. Follows the Bollin Valley Way.

Waterway: four fifths along the River Bollin.

Time: 3h–6h30

Lunch: Prestbury has a pizzeria and pub.

End-of-walk reward: Macclesfield has shops and pubs.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: An excellent route. A route with plenty of amenities, passing through parkland on the banks of the Bollin. The first half between Gatley and Nixon's Farm is fine for prams and wheelchairs apart from muddy patches in Scholes Park, but the section from the farm to Wilmslow crosses fields with numerous stiles and kissing gates and rougher terrain. Trains and buses are available at either end and at Heald Green near the middle. The Carrs is a park on the banks of the Bollin in Wilmslow.

Time: 3h–6h

1 lunch spot: Nixon's Farm tea room

Warnings: The section from Nixon's Farm to Wilmslow has numerous stiles, kissing gates and field terrain; Scholes Park is tricky to navigate when muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: Fantastic country side walk. A fantastic countryside walk with very few roads, across open fields and farmland, past Peover Hall and through woodland with rivers. Flat and clear underfoot and but can be very boggy in places after wet weather; Wellington boots recommended then.

Time: 3h30–7h

Warnings: Can be very boggy after wet weather; Wellington boots recommended. A field gate between Peover and Goostrey warns of horses. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Great views across the Goyt Valley. An almost entirely road-, lane- and track-based route between two towns, with a long steady climb out of Whaley Bridge along a quiet tarmac lane. Good open views across the Goyt Valley. Some rocky, rubbly track sections and a flight of steps. Trains between the two stations are regular and take under 20 minutes. No mid-route facilities, so bring food.

Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Time: 3h–6h

Lunch: No mid-route facilities; bring your own food.

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk. A short section joins the A-road at Long Hill where there is no pavement, so you walk on the verge of a 50mph road. Some rough rocky tracks.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, varied route with generally solid surfaces, taking in a canal, a river, woodland and farm tracks. It is not very direct, with quite a few steps, stiles, kissing gates and at least one cattle grid and some seasonally overgrown and muddy sections. Visits the outskirts of Lyme Park and passes through Disley three miles from New Mills; adding the Millennium Walkway and the Torrs at New Mills is recommended.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–7h

Lunch: Pubs and a Co-op at Disley, about three miles before the end.

End-of-walk reward: Plenty of cafes in New Mills at the end.

Warnings: There are three crossings of the busy A6; use the controlled crossings nearby rather than crossing where the footpaths emerge. Farm tracks may have slow-moving cars. Steps, stiles and gates. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Stunning National Trust Lyme Park. A rapid change from town to country, with a road climb out of Poynton before reaching open Peak District country. The eastern half is characteristic Peak walking with hill views, gorse and sheep pasture, rocky farm tracks and many stiles; the western half is gentler, mostly narrow woodland paths winding through farms and beside streams. A short section of disused railway path and canal towpath and with occasional deep mud around gateways. Passes through the National Trust's Lyme Park. Uses a short section of the Middlewood Way, a disused railway now a multi-use route.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Lunch: Lyme Park (National Trust), roughly mid-route, has facilities.

Warnings: A footpath near Hagg Farm has been closed since 2022 due to a dangerous footbridge and is expected to stay closed until at least June 2026; continue along the Middlewood Way to the next bridge and rejoin via the canal towpath. Two higher-speed road crossings near Lyme Park need care. Stiles and ladder stiles throughout, and watch for nettles. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.