Walks you can reach from Heaton Chapel by train

Mostly field tracks with a steep descent and several stiles. Passes the regally-sounding village of King Sterndale.

Time: 3h30

Warnings: Steep downhill section to the railway line and several stiles.

Walk details: Buxton Town Team (PDF).

Spectacular views. Wild landscape of deep valleys and gritstone peaks and studded with peat bogs and pine forests. Buxton developed as a fashionable spa in 18th-19th centuries using profits from Dukes of Devonshire's copper mines. Macclesfield granted borough charter for market in 13th Century. Extensive woodland.

Warnings: Stiles; busy road with no pavement and fast traffic.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Similar walk: Walk Midlands (inc. GPX).

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Walk details: Rail Rambles.

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. Extensive woodland.

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

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

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.

Lunch: Prestbury has a pizzeria and pub.

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

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. Extensive woodland.

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.

Recommended: A flat, mostly straightforward walk through lovely Cheshire countryside, with quiet field and farmland paths past pubs and over Paddock Hill. Some narrower paths have overgrowth, particularly nettles and there are multiple paths to choose from at the Knutsford end requiring care. A frequent bus (number 88) links the two towns; planes can be seen landing at Manchester Airport, and there are alpacas on Paddock Hill.

1 lunch spot: the Bulls Head

Warnings: Some narrow paths are overgrown with nettles; the Longridge to Pavement Lane section near Knutsford has multiple paths and needs a map to stay on route.

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.

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: Fabulous houses to admire en-route. A lovely, very flat and straightforward walk on obvious footpaths through varied fields, woods and countryside, peaceful and well-marked. A few sections can be overgrown, there are about three stiles and but the ground is easy and the ways are clear. Good transport links: buses to Knutsford and trains from Chelford allow a circular trip. Plenty of places to sit and rest with views of the Cheshire Plain. Extensive woodland.

End-of-walk reward: A local grocer's and, with a short diversion, a pub at Chelford.

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.

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

Warnings: 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. Extensive woodland.

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.

A lovely hilly stroll across fields, down some lanes and with a couple of main roads. The ground is decent underfoot in dry conditions.

Walk details: Slow Ways.