Walks from Marlow

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: 3h30–6h30

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).

Thames riverbank, tranquil meadows, overhanging trees, ancient villages, wooded hills and Georgian market town.

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

River Thames, Spade Oak Lake reserve and the village of Little Marlow with its manor and church.

Spade Oak Nature Reserve: a former gravel-pit lake by the Thames at Little Marlow that attracts a wide variety of waterfowl.

The River Thames: England's best-known river, whose towpath (the Thames Path National Trail) carries long stretches of nearly every walk in this set.

Time: 2h30–4h30

Lunch: The Marlow Donkey by the station, the Queen's Head in Little Marlow and the Spade Oak by the nature reserve.

Warnings: Steep steps up to the A404 footbridge; cross the railway only on a green light.

Walk details: Round Reading Walk.

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).

A beautiful walk with views and woodlands, quite idyllic in many places. An undulating route with some long climbs and steep parts (around 30%), mostly on woodland paths and a few minor single-track roads, joining the Chiltern Way and passing through Horton Wood and Keep Hill Wood. Stairs, gates, narrow and a few overgrown paths and fallen trees to hop over; finishes across The Rye park. Joins a stretch of the Chiltern Way and sensibly tunnels under the busy A404. The Rye has a picturesque watermill.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h

1 lunch spot: the Three Horseshoes

Warnings: Long, steep climbs and some narrow, overgrown paths; a footpath may be closed for tree felling near Marlow.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Fine views. Riverside path and with gentle gradients.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 2h–3h30

Walk details: Railwalks.

Rewarded with good views; Some stunning parts; the walk through Mill Wood was lovely. A varied route taking in stretches of the Thames Path and Chiltern Way, with a flat, often muddy riverside flood-plain section to Bourne End, then a gentle rise along a dismantled railway before a steep climb onto undulating wooded hills, finishing with an urban walk into Beaconsfield. Many stiles, some rickety and muddy when wet; narrow in places. Takes in the Thames Path and Chiltern Way National Trails, plus a dismantled railway that once ran to High Wycombe. Count the corners in Seven-Corner Alley by The Two Brewers, the towpath taken by horses unharnessed from their barges. Red kites overhead; egret and muntjac deer seen on the railway section. The station is about an eight-minute walk from the route's end at Marlow church.

Time: 3h30–7h

2 lunch spots: the Bounty, or the Old Bell

End-of-walk reward: Amenities on Station Road in Beaconsfield.

Warnings: The Thames Path section is flat but quite muddy, with several very muddy kissing gates. The Chiltern Way climbs steeply, up to 20% in places, with stiles and steps. A short stretch on the busy A40 crosses the M40 motorway bridge. A narrow, unlit passage round the back of an industrial estate at Bourne End could feel dodgy after dark.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Riverside path from Marlow to Cookham and then hill over Winter Hill back to Marlow.

Warnings: Riverside can be slithery.

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

Thames riverbank, meadows, wooded hills, valley, field tracks and Georgian market town.

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

Thames Path towing path, riverside meadows and Hambleden Lock.

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

Thames riverbank, riverside villages and Remenham Hill.

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

Flat riverside Thames Path, meadows, riverside gardens and railway bridge crossing.

Source: An alternative variant of Cookham to Maidenhead – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).