Walks in Essex by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations in Essex and plan your next day of green.
Bures to Sudbury
1 hour 15 minutes from Liverpool Street, with one change.
Gently rolling farmland, river meadows, woodland, open fields, historic market town and pastoral common lands.
Time: 4h30–9h
1 lunch spot: the Bulmer Fox (3h–5h30 in)
3 end-of-walk rewards: the Angel, the White Horse, or Ree's
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.
Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership.
Laindon Circular via Langdon Hills
30 minutes direct from Fenchurch Street.
Hilly Essex countryside, ancient and modern woods, flower-rich meadows, farmland, panoramic Thames Estuary views and conservation village.
Time: 5h
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Rayleigh Circular via Rayleigh Mount
45 minutes direct from Liverpool Street.
A heritage trail from the station around the historic town of Rayleigh, whose origins predate Saxon times — its name means 'a clearing of deer', it appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, and by 1222 its forests were royal hunting grounds. Takes in Rayleigh Mount and the parish church.
Walk details: Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Benfleet Circular via Leigh-on-Sea
45 minutes direct from Fenchurch Street.
Hilly woodland, narrow grassy paths, open estuary waterscape, wide flat creek-side track and gentrifying seaside town.
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Rochford Circular via Rochford
45 minutes direct from Liverpool Street.
A circular across countryside and along part of the sea wall, returning along the banks of the River Roach to the attractive historic market town of Rochford.
Rochford
Time: 4h
Lunch: Passes a convenient pub for refreshment.
Walk details: Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Manningtree Circular via Parish Church of Stratford St Mary
1 hour direct from Liverpool Street.
River valley, water meadows, arable fields, light woodland, estuary embankment, quaint villages and Constable-painted landscapes.
Time: 5h
Warnings: Can flood after rain.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Kelvedon Circular via Grange Barn
45 minutes from Liverpool Street, with one change.
Gentle valley, river stretches, country lanes, green lanes, field boundaries, rolling Essex countryside, fields and woods.
Time: 5h
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
South Woodham Ferrers Circular via Marsh Farm
45 minutes from Liverpool Street, with one change.
A circular with views over the River Crouch, passing through Woodham Fenn and the Marsh Farm saltmarsh nature reserve, managed by Essex Wildlife Trust.
Time: 3h30
Walk details: Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Audley End Circular via the Cottage (pargeted house, Wendens Ambo)
1 hour from Liverpool Street, with one change.
Gently rolling chalky uplands, farmland, woods and copses, green lanes, field boundaries and pretty villages with thatched cottages and pargeted houses.
Time: 5h30
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Wivenhoe Circular via Wivenhoe
1 hour from Liverpool Street, with one change.
River estuary mudflats, sea wall paths, woodland, water meadows, saltmarshes, farmland and quaint riverside villages.
Wivenhoe
Time: 4h30
Warnings: Check ferry timetable.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Althorne Circular via St Andrew's Church
1 hour from Liverpool Street, with one change.
A pleasant circular over fields, woodland and several short road sections, with stunning views across the Crouch estuary, taking in the marina, Bridgemarsh Island, St Andrew's church and the war memorial.
2 lunch spots: althorne — the Three Horseshoes, or the Huntsman and Hounds
Warnings: Several short road sections have no pavement — watch for passing traffic.
Walk details: Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Burnham-on-Crouch Circular via Wallasea Island Wild Coast
1 hour from Liverpool Street, with one change.
A family-friendly circular around the Essex coastal town of Burnham-on-Crouch — from parkland to the marina, along the quay beside the Crouch estuary and out into open countryside, passing the commemoration site of a First World War airfield.
Wallasea Island Wild Coast
1 end-of-walk reward: the White Harte Hotel
Walk details: Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (local insights).