Best walks in South East England by train

Beginner-friendly: No coast or river to follow, but pretty straightforward long lines nonetheless, and Watt’s Chapel provides a lovely reward for reaching the midpoint of the circuit. The lunch stop is a simple café in the vicinity of Watt’s Chapel, so no messing around with booking a table in advance.

Watts Chapel: Beautiful Arts and Crafts creation of Mary Watts (1h45 in).

Watts Gallery (1h45 in)

St Catherine's Chapel Ruins (30m in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: Watts Gallery café (1h45 in)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Withies Inn, Ye Olde Ship Inn, the Britannia, the White House, or the George Abbot

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Similar walk: Walking Post (inc. GPX).

Beginner-friendly: A gigantic well-signposted park. It’s completely fine to deviate from the route — explore as you like! Plenty of options for lunch — no need to reserve a table. It's an easy walk from the station to the beautiful, vast (and free) grounds of the finest example of English baroque architecture. For a somewhat extortionate fee you can also visit the house, but you'd probably want a whole day for that.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Blenheim Palace (1h in)

Woodstock (1h30 in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

3 lunch spots: Woodstock (1h30 in) — the Crown, the Back Lane Tavern, or the Star Inn

1 end-of-walk reward: the George and Dragon

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Beginner-friendly: Just follow the coast and come back along a straight walk. It’s almost too simple! Flat, short and plenty of choices for lunch. Chichester Harbour is a little-known National Landscape. Its protected saltmarsh landscape feeds an abundance of birdlife. It’s a major recreational harbour but somehow has a romantically melancholy and isolated air — you can imagine sea shanties being composed here.

Coastal: three fifths along the coast.

Chichester Harbour (1h15 in)

Bosham (1h30 in)

Fishbourne Roman Palace & Gardens (2h30 in)

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

4 lunch spots: Bosham (1h45 in) — the Anchor Bleu, Timberley's, Marwick's, or the Berkeley Arms

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Bull's Head Pub, or the Woolpack Inn

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Beginner-friendly: A shortish but satisfying walk. It’s hard to go wrong and, if you do, it’s easy to recover. Lunch is in the pleasant village of Woburn, where there are many choices, so no faffing with making reservations needed. Plus it goes through a safari park and you’ll likely spot some of the beasts.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Woburn Safari Park: a 300-acre wildlife park opened in 1970, home to over 80 species including critically endangered hoofed mammals (2h in).

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

3 lunch spots: Woburn (1h in) — the Black Horse, Lussmanns, or the Woburn Hotel

1 end-of-walk reward: the Anchor

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Beginner-friendly: Cross the river, make sure it’s on your left, and keep walking all the way to Marlow! You can't go wrong.

Waterway: two thirds along the River Thames.

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: There’s nowhere to eat en route so either pack a lunch or eat in Marlow at the end — there are many cafés, pubs and restaurants there.

4 end-of-walk rewards: the Bull Inn, the Old Brewery, the Prince of Wales, or the Marlow Donkey

Warnings: Very popular and busy. Be warned that the river bank is prone to flooding, making sections of the route impassible — if that happens there will be many other ramblers who you can follow for the alternative route.

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Beginner-friendly: A beautiful, varied walk with a number of sights along the way and the experience of seeing Arundel Castle gradually emerge on the horizon. Arundel itself is a romantic little town that’s worth exploring and appreciating if you have the time. Visiting the castle and its grounds would require a day in itself. Simply follow the river and cross over when you get to Arundel. You can’t go wrong! There’s only one place to have lunch en route (the George) and it can be busy on weekends, so reserve a table to avoid a wait — book for 2.5 hours after your arrival at Amberley to allow for a leisurely pace with time to dilly-dally and appreciate sights on the way. Book for 3 hours after your arrival for a slow pace or extra contingency! (or just pack lunch).

Waterway: nine tenths along the River Arun.

Arundel Castle (3h15 in)

Arundel (3h in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: the George (1h45 in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Eagle

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Beginner-friendly: Just keep the sea on your left and follow it to Broadstairs.

Coastal: almost all along the coast.

Margate

Broadstairs (2h45 in)

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: the Captain Digby (1h30 in)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Tartar Frigate, the Neptune's Hall, Siam Kitchen, the Magnet Micropub, or the Prince Albert

Warnings: Very popular and busy.

Adapted from: Railwalks.

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Beginner-friendly: It’s nearly all in a big National Trust estate that’s extremely well sign-posted. It’s completely fine to deviate from the route — explore and shorten as you like! The lunch options are simple cafés, so no messing around with booking a table in advance. The Ashridge Estate is very beautiful if you appreciate woodland, and covers more then enough ground to cover a day of hiking in itself. There are paths everywhere and you can wander freely. Ancient trees, rolling chalk downlands and lush meadows.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Ashridge Estate (National Trust)

The Ashridge Estate Café (National Trust; 45m in)

Pitstone Common Woodland Walk (National Trust; 1h in)

Ashridge House (2h15 in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

2 lunch spots: the Ashridge Estate Café (45m in), or Ashridge House café (2h15 in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Valiant Trooper

Warnings: Relatively busy. Take the minor paths to avoid the crowds. Can be muddy.

Source: Trains2Green.

Beginner-friendly: A gigantic well-signposted park. It’s completely fine to deviate from the suggested route — explore as you like! The lunch stop is a simple café, so no messing around with booking a table in advance.

Windsor Great Park

Windsor Castle (15m in)

Windsor (4h30 in)

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

3 lunch spots: Windsor Great Park (2h30 in) — the King And Castle, or Savill Garden Visitor Centre Cafe; plus Water Lilies at Windsor Great Park (2h45 in)

3 end-of-walk rewards: the Two Brewers Pub, the Prince Harry, or the Royal Windsor

Source: Trains2Green.

Beginner-friendly: This short walk is nearly all National Trust territory and signposted. If you want to make it even shorter and simpler, just skip the detour through the woods. The lunch stop is a simple café, so no messing around with booking a table in advance. Mostly secluded.

Standen House (National Trust; 1h15 in)

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: Standen House café (1h15 in)

Source: Trains2Green.

Highly recommended: Pleasantly rolling hills and dales, fields and vales, oast houses and hay bails. Beautiful expansive views to the South, which make you appreciate well preserved the wooded hills of the Kent Downs are. Wandering through Knole Park is idyllic, especially toward the evening when the humans are gone and the deer are in force. Mostly secluded.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself (45m in).

The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 45m in)

Knole Park (National Trust; 45m in)

One Tree Hill (National Trust; 1h30 in)

Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (2h15 in).

Deer in Kent Downs National Landscape (National Trust; 3h45 in)

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

2 lunch spots: Ightham Mote café (2h15 in; not bad), or the Bucks Head (3h30 in)

Warnings: Some mud inevitable.

Source: Trains2Green.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Highly recommended: Quiet country lanes, meadows, rolling wooded hills, and two very attractive villages.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Shoreham (1h30 in)

Otford (3h30 in)

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

3 lunch spots: Shoreham (1h15 in) — the Samuel Palmer (Plenty of seating, including outdoors; excellent), the Kings Arms, or the Mount Vineyard

3 end-of-walk rewards: the Crown, the Bull, or the Woodman

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.