Walks you can reach from Carstairs by train

Recommended: Urban walk with some climbing, through parkland with views over the city, and along Portobello promenade.

Warnings: Some climbing.

Walk details: Railwalks.

Recommended: A very green, quiet and largely traffic-free route, gently downhill towards Edinburgh for most of the way, with a good surface throughout. It follows the Water of Leith Walkway and then the Union Canal towpath and ending through the city's parks and streets. A few steepish slopes but no stairs; the river path can be muddy in places. Follows National Cycle Route 75 for most of its length and is part of the John Muir Way; the Colinton Tunnel is a highlight. Princes Street Gardens open at 7am and close at dusk.

Lunch: Cafes near the route at Juniper Green, though most open around 10am.

Warnings: The Slateford Aqueduct has only a narrow, cobbled towpath with a drop, so take care and be patient when passing others.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: Route into Edinburgh along the shoreline and old railway path, with some modest climbing.

Walk details: Railwalks.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Short route through New Stevenston and Riccard Johnston Park, then a wooded track around the golf course (stony underfoot, sturdy shoes advised) down to South Calder Water and before joining the well-surfaced Motherwell Green Link into town. Quiet and remote in the middle. The final stretch follows the Motherwell Green Link footpath into the town centre. Extensive woodland.

Warnings: The wooded track around Colville Park Golf Course is remote, unlit and rough underfoot in places (some very rough hardcore); it may not suit all travellers walking alone.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

lovely views. A mix of residential pavements and parkland paths and with a wooded section and easy lochside walking through Strathclyde Park. Mostly flat with one steep hill in Hamilton and a long downhill section. Extensive woodland.

Warnings: Steep steps up to and down from the footbridge over the railway at the Motherwell end; a level alternative via High Road and Hamilton Road avoids them. There is a dark underpass some may prefer not to walk alone.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Wide pavements out of Bellshill join the tarmac Bellshill-to-Motherwell Greenway, a multi-use path that runs off-road for most of the distance through woodland, crossing South Calder Water and passing under a tall viaduct. One narrow and muddy track section near Forgewood. Follows the Bellshill to Motherwell Greenway for most of its length. Extensive woodland.

Warnings: Near Forgewood the mapped route drops down a steep, muddy, neglected track (overgrown steps, some fallen trees); an easier alternative follows Talisman Crescent back to the Greenway. The Braidhurst Viaduct section feels lonely and some find it intimidating, and lampposts there have been de-activated. Crosses the busy Bellshill Road via a traffic island.

Walk details: Slow Ways.