Walks near Thorne 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).

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).

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: 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: 4h–7h30

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.

Recommended: An enjoyable route that is remote in parts.

Time: 5h30–11h

Warnings: Remote in parts.

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.

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.

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.