Walks you can reach from Bedford St Johns by train

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.

Time: 3h–6h

3 lunch spots: Woburn (1h–2h 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).

A circular from Millbrook station through the Millennium Country Park and surrounding farmland to the village of Lidlington and the Marston Vale Trust's Folly Wood community woodland, with the option of a further mile out into the Vale before returning to the Forest Centre. Surfaces range from firm tracks to uneven cultivated ground; a couple of stiles, several kissing gates and a stepped railway crossing. The route is not waymarked.

Millennium Country Park: the country park at the heart of the Forest of Marston Vale, with lakes, a visitor centre and café.

Folly Wood: a community woodland created by the Marston Vale Trust.

Lunch: A café bar, shops and toilets at the Forest Centre; the Green Man pub in Lidlington.

Warnings: Not waymarked; uneven ground in places, with stiles, kissing gates and a stepped railway crossing.

Walk details: Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

An easy, stile-free circular from Ridgmont station on good waymarked paths, passing the edge of Woburn Safari Park and climbing onto the Greensand Ridge before dropping back to the line. A short steep climb and stepped section, one railway crossing and several road crossings; some stretches get very muddy after rain.

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

All Saints' Church: designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and built in 1854, replacing the old Segenhoe church.

Time: 2h30

Lunch: Refreshments and toilets at the Heritage Centre & café at Ridgmont station; vending refreshments at the Woburn Safari Park entrance; and a shop, café and pub in Ridgmont village (just over a mile from the station).

Warnings: Some sections can be very muddy when wet; includes a short steep climb, a flight of steep steps and a railway crossing.

Walk details: Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

Flat farmland, lake shores, ancient woods, open countryside, quiet lanes and Sustrans cycle tracks.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Undulating Greensand Ridge, mixed woods, open parkland, heathland, historic market town, ancient woodland and flat moors and wetland nature reserve.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Farmland, conifer plantation, semi-ancient woodland, deer park, open grassland, safari park perimeter and muddy field paths.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Woodland paths, pine and beech woods, greensand ridge with valley views, riverside meadows and canal towpath.

Time: 4h

Warnings: Can be muddy. Best avoided in winter.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Woods, golf course, gentle hills, landscaped deer park, village streets, playing fields and golf links.

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.

Time: 5h–10h

5 lunch spots: Woburn (2h–4h30 in) — the Black Horse, Lussmanns, Galloways, Woburn Thai, or the Woburn Hotel

1 end-of-walk reward: the Station Tavern

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Recommended: Stunning with the amazing autumn colours. A mostly flat, easy route, around 90% along the Grand Union Canal towpath and a riverside path by the River Ouzel, with some residential streets and a less pleasant section under railway bridges at the Bletchley end. The towpath is partly traditional and unpaved so can get muddy and the river section can flood after heavy rain. A few sets of steps up to canal bridges. Follows the Grand Union Canal and River Ouzel, with plenty of locks. Easy to return on a short train journey between the two stations. The canal continues to Campbell Park and Milton Keynes if extended.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Grand Union Canal.

Time: 3h30–7h

Lunch: Plenty of shops at the Leighton Buzzard end and throughout into Bletchley.

Warnings: Two short river/canal sections can flood after heavy rain; fine for boots but not trainers. The towpath is not all paved and can be muddy; one or two sections have subsided. A few steps up to bridges where you cross the canal. Watch for cyclists.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: A scenic, mostly off-road route through Milton Keynes connecting green spaces by footpaths, ramps and wide underpasses, well segregated from traffic. Surfaces vary from grass, compacted mud and stone and wood bark to mostly tarmac. There are kissing gates and an avoidable flight of steps.

Time: 3h–5h30

Warnings: Kissing gates at the Woburn Sands end may restrict accessibility. One avoidable flight of steps near Peartree Bridge. Steps down to the Grand Union Canal can be bypassed by ramp.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, easy-going country walk mostly on tracks and good footpaths or bridleways, with road sections generally having pavements or verges. It runs through fields, golf course and woodland and gently rolling farmland; waymarking is good and there are no stiles but at least ten kissing gates. Follows the Greensand Ridge Walk and the John Bunyan Trail in places; an alternative through the safari park grounds is possible.

Time: 3h30–7h30

Lunch: Several refreshment options along the way, though the White Horse in Husborne Crawley is currently closed.

Warnings: At least ten kissing gates; one field path may be uncleared and overgrown with high barley.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Woods, golf course, gentle hills, landscaped deer park and village streets.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Source: A shorter variant of Bow Brickhill to Woburn Sands – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).