Walks you can reach from Manchester Oxford Road by train

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.

Walk details: Penistone Line Trail / Penistone Line Partnership (PDF).

Urban streets, landscaped Victorian cemetery, municipal parkland, narrow wooded valley, open moorland, rugged gritstone edges and a scenic descent into lush valley.

Time: 6h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Walk details: Rail Rambles.

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: The magnificent Lune Aqueduct; a canalside view of the sea, with mountains beyond. A long but very easy route, canal towpath nearly all the way, with short street sections at each end and no stiles, gates or steps. The towpath contours above the Lune valley over the magnificent Lune Aqueduct; surface is tarmac (partly broken) or fine gravel and lumpy in places with a couple of short muddy patches and a short cobbled section. Views across the fields, Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland hills; kingfishers sometimes seen. Cafés at St John's Hospice (Lancaster end) and a shoreside café and micropub at Hest Bank.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Lancaster Canal.

Time: 4h–7h30

Lunch: Canalside pubs and a supermarket at Bolton-le-Sands and a canalside pub at Hest Bank.

1 end-of-walk reward: the Canal Turn

Warnings: The towpath surface is lumpy where the tarmac has disintegrated, with a couple of slightly muddy patches.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Reverse direction: Railwalks (inc. GPX).

The views from the trig point (and some distance before and after) are incredible, covering Lancaster, Morecambe Bay, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales including Ingleborough, and the Forest of Bowland. A long route over Whit Moor, with remote middle miles of muddy to quite wet peat bog, open access land, trodden moorland tracks and a final well-maintained tarmac cycle track into Lancaster. Stiles, gates and steps and short steep sections. Designed to avoid the wet fields and busy roads of the alternative route. Main facilities are about 5 miles from each end, at Wray and at Brookhouse/Caton. Passes the Halton eco-village, Lune Aqueduct, Priory and Castle into Lancaster.

Lancaster Castle: A medieval castle above the city, long used as a court and prison.

Time: 7h30–14h30

3 lunch spots: the Station pub, licensed café at Wray, or the Woodie's

Warnings: The middle 7 miles are remote and can be wet peat bog; navigation on the moor relies on trodden tracks and waymark posts. The A683 at Brookhouse is fast but has big gaps for safe crossing. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A great mix of nature, old and new industrial architecture. An easy and flat walk almost entirely along the canal towpath. The Sheffield half is a little uneven and can be slightly muddy underfoot; after Rotherham it is well-surfaced as part of the cycle route. Off-road for almost the whole way with no steps. Lined with interesting industrial archaeology and some street art at the Sheffield end. Suitable for dogs, buggies and cyclists. The Sheffield canal basin (off the published route) has the famous straddle warehouse plus shops, cafes and toilets.

Waterway: four fifths along the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

Time: 3h–6h

Warnings: Sections of the towpath have been subject to temporary closures with diversions; check before relying on a continuous route.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Some beautiful scenery along the way; excellent views over the fields near Chapeltown. A pleasant, quiet route that does a good job joining up green spaces (parks, woodland, cemetery and fields) with only a few roads between, through varied Sheffield suburbs. It has steep sections, many steps and muddy field paths and with uneven steps in Hartley Brook Dyke. Joins up green spaces including Burngreave Cemetery and woodland; good public transport links at both ends so you can start at either. Shops at Ecclesfield in the final stretch.

Time: 3h30–7h

Lunch: Shops and a chip shop with outside seating along the main road at Ecclesfield.

Warnings: A quarter urban. Steep sections, steep and uneven steps (notably in Hartley Brook Dyke), and muddy field paths; some road crossings without lights (Herries Road, the A6135) need care; kissing gates and narrow barriers throughout.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An otherwise glorious walk. A glorious Peak-to-city route: a steep climb out of Hathersage onto open moorland with criss-crossing, sometimes unclear tracks (map and GPS essential), passing between Iron Age forts, then a contrasting descent through green fields and woods down the Limb Valley and along the Sheaf Valley into Sheffield. Steps, stiles and gates; broken road and dirt and very stony ground; can be boggy and very windy on the tops. Crosses Burbage Moor between the Iron Age forts of Carl Wark and Higger Tor; follows the Sheaf Walk (signed to Granville Square) into the city. Hathersage church has the grave of Little John. No refreshments until Millhouses Park; a Tesco and Sainsbury's with cafes lie near the route.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–5h

Lunch: No refreshments until Millhouses Park (a summer kiosk), then a Tesco and Sainsbury's with cafes near the route.

Warnings: The moorland tracks above Hathersage criss-cross and can be hard to find in poor visibility, requiring map and compass; the tops can be very windy and boggy. A new development blocks a short section of the Sheaf path (divert ~100m along the main road); avoid a closed footbridge on Broadfield Road. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A walk in three parts, urban, countryside and urban, with plenty of hills and a mix of pavement and well-defined but at times very muddy field paths, pleasant woodland (Nor Wood / Moss Valley) and pasture. Stiles, steps and steady climbs. No services half way, so make use of those at the urban edges.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Lunch: A couple of pubs and a supermarket near the water tower beyond half-way.

Warnings: One challenging crossing of the A6102 dual carriageway, with no pelican crossing but a surfaced central refuge near a roundabout; patience is needed. Stiles, steps and potential livestock including horses and cattle. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A long route with a very enjoyable, good-surfaced opening section to Bamber Bridge and with a minor road to cross and a narrow 62 cm gap. Avenham Park near the start has free toilets.

Time: 5h30–10h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An alternative that stays on the Bridgewater Canal all the way to Stockton Heath before entering Warrington and making a very nice canal walk between the urban areas.

Time: 4h30–9h

Lunch: A pub at Moore on the canal.

Walk details: Slow Ways.