Walks you can reach from Ashurst New Forest by train

Recommended

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

1 lunch spot: the Fleur de Lys (45m in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Snakecatcher Pub, or the Huntsman

Warnings: Can be EXTREME mud in Lymington Reeds Beds Nature Reserve.

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

Similar walk: Railwalks (inc. GPX).

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

Forest inclosures and heath between the villages of Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst, with Lymington River bathing spots and spring bluebells. Strenuous.

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

Walk details: New Forest Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Open heath and forest inclosures, a caravan park and a dead-straight stretch of the disused Castleman Corkscrew railway, now a cycle route. Strenuous.

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Some short road sections have no footpath; watch for traffic.

Walk details: New Forest Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Uses Forestry England approved routes.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

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

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Solent Way with an inland section and a ferry crossing to Hythe.

Time: 9h (7h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

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

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a fifth of the walk.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Coastal path, with a long section from the station to reach the coast.

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

Walk details: Railwalks.

Baddesley Common was gorgeous; the next stretch, through Knight Wood, was wonderful. A varied route mixing tarmac with footpaths, woods and countryside, including Tadburn meadows nature reserve, Baddesley Common and Knight Wood. A few stiles and gates; the common can be wet and muddy after rain and the final suburban miles run near the M3.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

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

Warnings: A quarter urban. Flexford Road is a nasty stretch with almost no refuge from frequent traffic and no footpath; an alternative via Fleming Park avoids it. The bridge over Monk's Brook near Chandler's Ford may be broken and closed, requiring a short diversion. Stiles and gates on North Baddesley Common.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A beautiful way of entering Southampton; all the way to Eastleigh which is delightful. Easy walking on roads and surfaced paths through parks at first, then an open riverside stretch along the Itchen before a pleasant woodland walk following the Itchen Navigation. The towpath becomes narrow, overgrown and tricky in places and can get very muddy or flooded in wet weather. Follows the Itchen Way along the route of the Itchen Navigation. Refreshment facilities accessible at Itchen Valley Country Park.

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

Lunch: Refreshment facilities at Itchen Valley Country Park.

Warnings: The Itchen Navigation towpath is narrow, overgrown and neglected in places, with obstacles and dense vegetation; cover arms and legs against nettles and consider boots, as long grass can be wet. The river path can flood in winter. Loud aircraft noise where the route passes beneath Southampton Airport's flight path by the M27. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

The beautiful Barton Common (with grazing New Forest ponies); the coast along from Barton is quite rugged and wild. A varied route taking in coast, New Forest countryside, common land with grazing ponies, the town of Lymington and with a ploughed-field crossing that gets very muddy in winter and an exposed clifftop path. The approach into Lymington is along a busy main road on a pavement. Lymington has a regular shuttle train back into the New Forest.

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

Lunch: Food, drink and supplies available at the New Milton start.

Warnings: The clifftop path along from Barton is very exposed and on permissive land with active cliff erosion. Crossing the ploughed field between Lymington Road and Lymington Lane is very muddy in winter. The A337 (Milford Road) approach to Lymington is a busy main road, hard to cross, with a pavement on only one side.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Reverse direction: Railwalks.

Waterway: four fifths along the Itchen Navigation.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Winchester City Mill (National Trust)

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

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Beautiful low-lying test valley walk. A low-lying Test valley walk on field paths, quiet lanes and a riverside boardwalk and with woodland and pasture. Largely flat but uneven and prone to mud and seasonal flooding; numerous kissing gates. Follows the Test Way, passing the edge of the Broadlands estate. Best walked mid-spring to mid-autumn; winter flooding can make it impassable.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

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

Warnings: The Test Way south of Romsey floods deeply in winter and can be impassable; the riverside boardwalk near Totton has a section of deep mud/bog and has been subject to closure. A short stretch on Station Road at Nursling has no footpath, and the approach into Romsey has no safe crossing of a busy road. Numerous kissing gates and stiles.

Walk details: Slow Ways.