Walks near Selby by train

Gentle, flat River Hull valley farmland: the lakes, hides and ponds of Tophill Low nature reserve and the dykes around Cranswick.

Warnings: Very flat and close to the river, so can be muddy after heavy rain. Listen for traffic on the narrow lanes.

Walk details: Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

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).

Disused railway trackbed and the Blackburn Valley Trail through ancient Woolley Wood, following the Blackburn Brook past old mill sites into Chapeltown.

Woolley Wood: An ancient woodland continuously wooded since at least 1600, noted for its hornbeam trees and the locally uncommon Hawfinch.

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

Derelict Barnsley Canal towpath, riverside paths, a stillwater fishery and field paths into Dodworth. Industrial heritage of coal and glassmaking.

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

Spectacular views of valley while crossing dams. Primarily along the Pennine Way. Pennine Way since 1965. Hadfield = Royston Vassey in League of Gentlemen TV series. Longdendale Chain reservoirs (1830s-1884) supplied Manchester. Derelict textile mill at walk's end.

Time: 6h30–13h30

Warnings: Steep section beside Rakes Rocks; cliff edge high above clough; long flight of stone steps to descend near Marsden.

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

Trans Pennine Trail through ancient woods, farmland and disused railway viaducts, past Dearne Valley Park (good for kingfishers), Monk Bretton Priory ruins and the old Barnsley Canal aqueduct.

Monk Bretton Priory: The ruins of a monastery founded in 1154 as a Cluniac house, now in the care of English Heritage.

Dearne Valley Park: A green corridor extending two miles along the River Dearne and one of the best places to see kingfishers in the valley.

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

Recommended: A pleasant walk including woodlands and a stretch along the river and part of it on the Ironstone Way. The first part leaving Scunthorpe can be a little tricky to follow. Part of the route follows the Ironstone Way.

Time: 4h–8h

Lunch: Refreshments at Broughton.

Warnings: Crossing the busy A18 can be hazardous; you could instead cross Brigg Road near Ashbyville. Brigg is served only by the Saturdays-only Brigg line — a few trains on Saturdays, none midweek.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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: 2h–4h

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.

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: 2h30–5h

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: An excellent route; very enjoyable. An off-road and peaceful route using byways, the Chesterfield Canal towpath, farm tracks and with some walking through housed areas on safe pavements at either end. The canal section can get hemmed in by bracken and undergrowth; no serious hills. Follows the Chesterfield Canal towpath; passes Babworth Church, linked to the Pilgrim Fathers, with a display board; few benches in the middle third.

Time: 4h30–8h30

Lunch: The Chequers pub at Ranby is the only refreshment option in the middle third and needs a detour off the towpath; stock up at the start otherwise.

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.