Walks from Maidenhead

Thames riverside path, wooded escarpment views, short steep hill and pretty 18th-century town.

Warnings: Riverside can flood.

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

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Hills, escarpment with valley views, beech woods, open fields, riverside Thames Path, wooded estate banks and town outskirts.

Time: 5h

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

Recommended: A scenic, mostly traffic-free route using waterside and green paths out of Maidenhead through Braywick Nature Reserve, then crossing the Thames on the Summerleaze footbridge to follow a wooded stretch of the Thames Path and before leaving the river at Boveney to cross meadows and pass under railway arches into Eton. Mostly flat apart from the bridges; can get muddy after rain in Braywick Park and along the riverside. Passes Dorney Lake; no refreshment stops between Bray and Eton, though there are picnic places. Take a toilet break at Braywick Leisure Centre as facilities are sparse afterwards.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h

End-of-walk reward: Plenty of refreshment options in Eton, with Windsor just across the river.

Warnings: The riverside path is rugged and can get very muddy after rain. Cycle barriers on the Cut Foot Bridge. Direct access to the river along a long stretch — watch for tripping hazards.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: A beautiful, mostly traffic-free route via Bray, Dorney and the Jubilee River, leaving Maidenhead on green paths through Braywick Nature Reserve, crossing the Thames on the Summerleaze footbridge, passing Dorney Lake, then following the Jubilee River on a flat, well-maintained cycle path with lakes and bird hides and before a final busy-road stretch into Slough. Mostly good path; can get muddy in Braywick Park and along the river after rain. Passes Dorney Lake, a venue for the 2012 Olympic Games; carry refreshments as options are limited between Bray and Slough.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Lunch: Two refreshment options at Dorney mid-way: a garden centre cafe and the Palmer Arms pub.

Warnings: A brief section joins the road with no segregated footpath (quiet). The final stretch along Windsor Road into Slough is busy and a bit unpleasant but safe. The Jubilee River path is rugged and can get very muddy after rain, with little shade.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Fine views, big skies with kites. A varied and beautiful walk through woods, fields, deer parks and manicured parkland, with hills, fine views and many red kites, ending with suburban streets into Maidenhead. Good paths but lots of stiles and kissing gates, narrow rooty paths and steep in places; squelchy and likely very muddy in winter. Follows parts of the Chiltern Way and Thames Path; High Wood is managed by the Berkshire College of Agriculture, which asks walkers to keep to the designated path.

Time: 5h–9h30

3 lunch spots: the Olde Bell, the Honey Pot, or the Rising Sun

Warnings: Several stiles and kissing gates; narrow rooty paths, steep in places, can get very wet and muddy in winter.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Rewarded with a semi-circular bench with stunning views. Attractive stretches of the Thames Path and the Chiltern Way through woods, bookended by urban walks, with some lane walking and woodland mud and steep rooty woodland paths and steps. Mostly shaded by trees. Follows part of the Thames Path and the Chiltern Way Berkshire Loop. A short, very steep detour leads to Hedsor Church of St Nicholas for views to Lord Boston's Folly.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 4h–8h

Lunch: Cookham makes a good midway break with shops, cafes and public toilets.

Warnings: There is a stretch along the busy A40, which must be crossed without a pedestrian crossing. Narrow kissing gate and steep rooty paths.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Mostly quiet residential streets, narrow lanes and field footpaths and with some stretches on roads that lack a pavement. Largely under tree cover.

Time: 4h30–9h

Warnings: Braziers Lane has no pavement and only a narrow road edge; make yourself visible to drivers, and reflective clothing helps in poor light.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An easy, flat route that essentially follows the Thames Path, with a short amount of street walking to reach the towpath. No stiles, plenty of benches; the surface alternates between grass and hard-packed soil or gravel and concrete or tarmac. A few narrow points and a couple of stretches that cut through gardens. Essentially follows the Thames Path National Trail.

Waterway: nine tenths along the River Thames.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A rural route on a mixture of footpaths, byways, bridleways and quiet country lanes, with gates but no steps. It skirts Bracknell via parks and an underpass, runs through woodland and across fields and finishes through Braywick Park Nature Reserve. Footpaths through woods can be narrow and lined with thorny bushes. Passes Frost Folly wildlife park and Braywick Park Nature Reserve. The route lacks a pub at its mid-point, but there are pubs in Warfield and Holyport.

Time: 4h–8h30

Lunch: Two pubs off the attractive Holyport village green.

Warnings: A short stretch of fast-traffic road (Drift Road) with uneven grass verges, though the route turns off it quickly. Narrow woodland paths with thorny bushes — a jacket helps. Few benches outside the towns.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An absolutely gorgeous series of woodland, field and lane; Slow Ways don't get better than this. A flat but varied route, mainly traffic-free and quiet, through town footpaths, fields and woods, taking in a rural middle section between Ruscombe and Lillibrooke Manor with pretty villages and old manors and historic churches. Many parts can be very muddy after rain; some stiles and kissing gates. Passes a landscaped estate at Shottesbrooke where sheep graze. The earliest pub heading from Maidenhead is at Waltham St Lawrence, just over six miles in.

Time: 4h–8h

2 lunch spots: the Bell, or the Beehive

Warnings: The route just south of Southbury Farm runs very close to a river and is commonly flooded, with no path where one is marked; an alternative also floods badly after heavy rain. At Lillibrooke Manor the right of way runs alongside the gravel drive, not up it, but is poorly signed and can lead walkers into private grounds. Plenty of mud after rain.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Thames riverside path, hill, town and then riverside return to Bourne End.

Warnings: Riverside can flood.

Source: A longer variant of Maidenhead to Marlow – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Thames riverside path, hill, town and then riverside return to Cookham.

Warnings: Riverside can be slithery.

Source: A longer variant of Maidenhead to Marlow – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).