Walks you can reach from Bentham by train

Limestone hill country of caves, cairns and crags, dropping to the hamlet of Feizor and rising again with views to Pendle Hill and Giggleswick School Chapel before a steep descent. One of the finest of the Bentham Line walks.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Strenuous full day over limestone hill country; sturdy footwear and a map recommended.

Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Ribble Way riverside through the market town of Settle, Runley Mill, Turnpike House and a viewpoint towards Pendle Hill.

Time: 3h

Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Southern Dales fields and woodland crossing the River Aire, past Otterburn and Airton, descending over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to St Andrew's Church at Gargrave.

Time: 3h–5h30

Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Easy, peaceful Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath: locks, swing bridges, wharves and the River Aire near St Andrew's Church, Gargrave to Skipton.

Waterway: almost all along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Time: 2h–4h30

Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Fields, lanes and canal towpath through the Lune valley, past Loyn Bridge near Gressingham, then over Kellet along the Lancaster Canal into Carnforth.

Time: 5h30

Warnings: Strenuous full-day walk; can be split into shorter legs.

Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Limestone scenery of the Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape: lanes, woodland and outcrops, climbing Warton Crag for sweeping views over Morecambe Bay. Rare butterflies, moths and lizards on the crag.

Time: 2h30

Walk details: Discover Bowland (PDF).

Coast, quiet farmland lanes and the lock-free Lancaster Canal towpath into Carnforth, the station of Brief Encounter fame.

Time: 2h

Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).

Similar walk: Railwalks.

Recommended: The views are great - especially from the top of the hill. Climbs steadily out of Settle, the first kilometres uphill and quite steep but on tarmac and good tracks, then becomes a wide track over open moorland before descending towards Long Preston, finishing across lanes and fields. A few gates, no stiles and a lot of it is on old tarmacked tracks. Long Preston, about two thirds of the way, has pubs and a station, so the walk can be split there.

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

Time: 2h30–5h30

Lunch: A couple of pubs at Long Preston, roughly two thirds of the way.

1 end-of-walk reward: the Black Horse

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).

A stunning revelation of quiet, high moorland, Great views throughout, a fabulous last mile. A stunning route over a succession of quiet, high moors culminating in iconic Ilkley Moor, with soft rolling moorland, narrow paths and natural rock sculptures, great views down into Wharfedale and over the mill villages. The middle is remote farmland with well-kept stiles and gates, then a short steep climb onto the main moor and with a fabulous descent into Ilkley. Many stiles and some lack of footpath signs. Follows the Dales High Way and Millennium Way. Passes prehistoric cup-and-ring marked rocks and the Swastika Stone. A bench is well placed on the first climb and again at Windgate Nick.

Time: 5h–9h30

1 lunch spot: Roman bathhouse cafe

Warnings: Many, many stiles, some requiring agility, and in places a lack of footpath signs; map or GPS competence is needed.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Great views; amazing views to the south and east. A varied route climbing from town onto open moorland: cobbled paths and stone steps through Riddlesden, field and farm paths, then a long stretch of quiet but pavement-less moorland road (partly gravel) over Ilkley Moor and descending via steep cobbled and stepped paths and the tarmac paths of Mill Ghyll. Some unmarked sections. Crossing the moors there is rich birdlife including meadow pipits, curlew, lapwings, skylarks, swifts and buzzards. Good facilities at both ends.

Time: 3h–6h

Warnings: A long stretch of road onto Ilkley Moor with no usable verge (quiet but care needed); steep, rubbly short-cuts (Spicey Gill) that can be slippery and muddy when wet; some stiles and dilapidated gates; cattle and sheep in fields.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Numerous extensive views across Morecambe Bay. A walk through varied landscapes and habitats with extensive views across Morecambe Bay, with a big hill up and down at each end and a level stretch through the middle. Includes a steep and stony track that can be slippery when wet. Passes Arnside Tower and the viewpoint at Arnside Knott; the embankment path is scheduled to become part of the English Coast Path. Good train connections between Carnforth and Arnside.

Arnside Knott: A wooded limestone hill in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB with a plateau summit giving panoramic views over Morecambe Bay and the southern Lake District fells.

Leighton Moss: An RSPB reedbed reserve near Silverdale with a visitor centre and birdwatching hides.

Time: 4h–8h

Lunch: Several refreshment opportunities in Silverdale.

Warnings: Should not be walked during very high tides or in particularly wet weather. The fields between Millhead and Warton flood occasionally in very wet weather, when Mill Lane can be used instead.

Walk details: Slow Ways.