Walks you can reach from Newport by train

Beginner-friendly: A straightforward walk along the River Cam with many lunch options in Granchester. Within Cambridge itself, feel free to wander about randomly rather than following the route — there’s plenty to appreciate.

King's College Chapel (2h45 in)

Fitzwilliam Museum (2h45 in)

Hobson's Conduit Monument, Cambridge (3h in)

Cambridge (2h45 in)

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

4 lunch spots: Grantchester (1h30 in) — the Orchard Tea Garden, Grantchester, the Red Lion, the Rupert Brooke, or the Blue Ball Inn

1 end-of-walk reward: the Panton Arms

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Recommended

Waterway: four fifths along the River Stort Navigation.

Thorley Wash Nature Reserve (1h30 in)

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

2 lunch spots: the Three Tuns, or Full of Beans Cafe (2h in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Moorhen

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Reverse direction: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Flat walk through traditional villages and along the River Cam, finishing through Grantchester Meadows into Cambridge city centre.

Great Shelford: Traditional village with thatched cottages and a striking parish church.

Little Shelford: Village with period architecture.

Hauxton Mill: Historic watermill on the River Cam.

Trumpington Meadows: Open meadow nature reserve on the edge of Cambridge.

Byron's Pool: Wild-swimming spot on the Cam named after the poet Lord Byron.

The Old Vicarage (Rupert Brooke's House): Former home of poet Rupert Brooke, with sculptures in the grounds.

Grantchester Meadows: Open riverside meadows along the Cam between Cambridge and Grantchester.

King's College: World-famous University of Cambridge college with its renowned chapel.

The Orchard Tea Garden

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

2 lunch spots: the Red Lion, or the Orchard Tea Garden

Warnings: Busy A10 road crossing; shared cyclist path before the M11 bridge.

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

A short city and riverside walk linking Cambridge's two stations, taking in some of the best-known views of the ancient colleges, punting on the upper river, and riverside paths across the commons where college and town crews race their traditional 'bumps'.

Cambridge

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Shared with cyclists along most of the route, so watch out for bikes.

Walk details: Mid Anglia Rail Passengers Association (PDF).

Gently rolling chalky uplands, farmland, woods and copses, green lanes, field boundaries and pretty villages with thatched cottages and pargeted houses.

Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

Flat, easy farmland, open fields, riverside and quiet villages.

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Flat river floodplain, towpaths, water meadows, lakeside paths, woodland strips, farmland fields and open parkland.

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Flat river floodplain, gravel-pit lakes, water meadows, country park sculptures, farmland and a market town.

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Villages, mills and river crossings along the River Cam, past Hinxton Water Mill and a ford into Duxford.

Hinxton Mill: A 17th-century working watermill on the River Cam.

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

A pleasant and interesting walk on undemanding local footways, with nothing too challenging underfoot, though gates can be limiting for some and wet periods may cause flooding and especially along the Ash Valley section.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Gates may limit access for some. Wet periods can result in flooding, especially along the Ash Valley section.

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Gently rolling Hertfordshire countryside, wheat fields, woods, waterways, green lanes, quiet country roads, river stretches and navigation canal.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Cattle in pastures. Avoid end Oct–Easter.

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

An easy-to-navigate towpath walk following the Rivers Lea and Stort for the whole route, full of wildlife. The path can be narrow and uneven with steps and gets muddy after heavy rain. Follows the River Lea and River Stort navigations; abundant wildlife. Steps and narrow uneven parts.

Waterway: almost all along the River Stort Navigation.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Some care is needed at the junction of the two rivers as signage is slightly confusing.

Walk details: Slow Ways.