Walks near Darlington by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Darlington and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Darlington.
Saltburn Circular via Warsett Hill (Yorkshire)
1 hour direct from Darlington.
Cleveland Way cliffs from Saltburn over Warsett Hill, with ironstone-mine remains and a charm-bracelet sculpture above the sea.
Huntcliff: A high coastal cliff east of Saltburn bearing the remains of a Victorian ironstone-mine fanhouse, on the Cleveland Way and England Coast Path.
The Cleveland Way: A National Trail that here follows the cliff-top coastline east of Saltburn, also signed as the England Coast Path.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: The Ship pub on the Saltburn seafront, early on the route.
Warnings: Cliff-top paths with steep climbs; keep dogs on leads near livestock and cliff edges.
Walk details: Northern Railway (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Alnmouth Circular via the Northumberland Coast Path (Northumberland)
1 hour direct from Darlington.
Parkland, woodland and a stretch of the Northumberland coast — beach, dunes and the village of Alnmouth.
The Northumberland Coast Path: A coastal trail along the Northumberland shoreline forming part of the England Coast Path, here running past Buston Links and Alnmouth bay.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Some field sections lack defined paths and can be boggy when wet.
Walk details: Northern Railway (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Sunderland to Seaham (Durham)
45 minutes from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: Scenic for most of its length, with a choice of walking high, low, or on the beach.
Coastal: four fifths along the coast.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.
Seaham to Horden (Durham)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: A quiet walk, separated from built-up areas, with several steep climbs and descents.
Coastal: nine tenths along the coast.
Durham Coast (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: No food or drink en route after Seaham.
Warnings: Several steep climbs and descents.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Horden to Hartlepool (Durham)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: A varied route through nature reserves and beaches.
Coastal: four fifths along the coast.
Time: 7h30 (6h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: About two miles around the port alongside a main road.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Alnmouth to Widdrington (Northumberland)
1 hour direct from Darlington.
Recommended: Varied but mainly flat walk following the King Charles III England Coast Path.
Coastal: three quarters along the coast.
Time: 9h30 (7h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Warnings: Widdrington has only around three trains a day.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Stockton to Middlesbrough (Durham)
30 minutes from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: A direct town-centre-to-town-centre route, under 20% on roads with the rest flat and well-surfaced tarmac path mostly along the riverside. Passes through a semi-industrial landscape and runs close to the river.
Waterway: two thirds along the River Tees.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Selby to Snaith (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: Great views. Very flat and easy walking: a canal towpath, a good-surfaced path across a former airfield, then open countryside, lanes and tracks and a flood bank and a bridge over the River Aire. Just short stretches of busy and verge-only road. Follows the Trans Pennine Trail across Burn Airfield, which has benches and interpretation boards; you may see gliders taking off and landing.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: A short stretch of busy road at the start, and a section of roadside walking with no pavement on a straight part of Hirst Road. Snaith has only around three trains a day.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Selby to Goole (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: An enjoyable route that is remote in parts.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Remote in parts.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Featherstone to Castleford (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: A largely step-free, fairly clear route on roads, paths and through a pair of parks, with a brief stretch of industrial ground between them. A field path leads out of Featherstone and the road into central Castleford is quite long.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: The path runs close beside the M62 for about ten minutes, with heavy traffic noise; you are safely behind a hedge.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Harrogate to Knaresborough (Yorkshire)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: Amazing walk especially the section through the forest following the River Nidd. A varied, scenic and remarkably rural route between two towns, with a highlight stretch through Nidd Gorge following the River Nidd through forest. Starts on the tarmacked, surfaced former-railway Greenway, easy walking and then field and woodland paths that can get quite muddy in places at wetter times of year. Passes through Nidd Gorge, a nature reserve mainly owned by the Woodland Trust, on a route via the Nidderdale Greenway (a Sustrans cycle/pedestrian path along a former railway line).
Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Ashington to Blyth Bebside (Northumberland)
1 hour from Darlington, with one change.
Recommended: A varied walk, with a couple of miles inland before reaching the coast.
Coastal: two thirds along the coast.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.