Walks from Gerrards Cross

Parkland, lakes, woods, beech forest, open fields, Thames riverside, village lanes and National Trust common.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

A scenic, varied route starting through woods, then alongside lakes and the Grand Union Canal, with field and woodland sections in between. Some woods are steep in places and the canal walking is easy and beautiful. Several stiles. Ongoing HS2 works add diversions and length to the route. Bury Lake has benches for watching wildlife.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h30

Warnings: After rain the section leaving the canal towards West Hyde can flood to above mid-calf depth, and the woodland near the HS2 works gets very muddy. A short section runs alongside a busy road on a bark-mulched verge.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A varied, undulating walk over fields, through woods and across a golf course, with quiet lanes and a few short steep hills and a couple of muddy patches. Many stiles and narrow sections make it inaccessible to wheels. Look out for golf balls when crossing Gerrards Cross Golf Club.

Time: 3h–5h30

Warnings: A dual carriageway is crossed shortly after leaving Gerrards Cross, though it has a large central reservation; the A413 must be crossed near Gerrards Cross at the end. Some stiles are rickety.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Very beautiful, an idyllic walk. A mostly flat walk through the open Misbourne valley with steep hills at both ends, following the South Bucks Way along compacted-mud field paths with tree roots and stones and between beech woods and across fields. The paths can be muddy and slippery after rain; a steep paved climb leads up through woods at the Amersham end. Largely follows the South Bucks Way along the River Misbourne. There are gates but no stiles. Can be broken at Chalfont St Giles or Chalfont St Peter.

Time: 3h–6h30

Lunch: Places to stop for refreshments at Gerrards Cross, Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont St Giles and Old Amersham.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Gorgeous nature reserves and rural estates. A varied route taking in nature reserves and rural estates alongside roads, former tips and unusual edge-land spaces. Stiles, narrow paths, broken gates and mud and deep puddles; Stoke Common is boggy either side of the path. Some grassland sections with grazing livestock. Passes through Stoke Common nature reserve (boggy, with a Scandinavian feel) and Bulstrode Park, plus Gerrards Cross Common. A road with pavement passes close to shops in Stoke Poges.

Time: 3h–6h

Lunch: Shops close to the route in Stoke Poges.

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a quarter of the walk. The B416 out of Slough is busy, with a pavement that becomes narrow and close to traffic. Crossing a busy road later, plus a long stretch beside a busy road with a narrow path against a wall to enter Slough. Mud and deep puddles persist even in dry spells; fields with cows.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Some beautiful sights, wonderful woods and pleasant paths; some great views and many bluebells. Mostly footpaths, many narrow and overgrown with barbed-wire or high fences on one or both sides, plus quiet roads, a golf course crossing and lovely beech woods. Some short and steep hills and stiles; can be muddy in wet weather. A long flight of stairs at the Beaconsfield end. Passes through Jordans, a Quaker village, and touches on Seer Green.

Time: 2h30–4h30

Warnings: A roughly 100m section runs along a fairly busy road (Bull Lane) with no verge or pavement; care needed, or detour right along Bull Lane where there is a pavement. The route crosses a golf course where balls may come head-on. Narrow paths likely muddy in wet weather.

Walk details: Slow Ways.