Walks you can reach from Micheldever by train

Historic cathedral city streets, watermeadows, iron age hillfort, downland ridges, river valley and ancient meadows.

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

Warnings: M3 motorway noise.

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

Heathland, woodland, military training lands, levada water channel, canal towpath, residential outskirts and nature reserves.

Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: MoD closures apply.

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

Largely flat Basingstoke Canal towpath, summer water lilies and wildflowers, linking Farnborough, Brookwood and Woking; varying lengths.

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

Lunch: Station coffee shops at Farnborough and Brookwood, a café in Brookwood, the Rose and Thistle pub at Frimley Green, and many options in Woking.

Warnings: Lords-and-ladies plants along the route are poisonous.

Walk details: Blackwater Valley Nature Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Leisurely, hill-free chain of green spaces, following the Cove Brook Greenway through country parks and butterfly habitat to Fleet Pond, Hampshire's largest freshwater lake.

Fleet Pond: Hampshire's largest freshwater lake, a nature reserve of reedbeds, heath and woodland.

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

Lunch: Southwood Country Park visitor-centre café, midway.

Walk details: Blackwater Valley Nature Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Coastal country park, stony beach, light woodland, mudflats, riverside causeway with marinas, open farmland and village lanes.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

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

3 lunch spots: the Harpers Steakhouse (2h45 in), Little Canton (2h45 in), or the Jolly Sailor (3h in)

4 end-of-walk rewards: Manor Farm Café, the Dolphin, the Brewery Bar, or the Railway

Warnings: Check tide timings.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Recommended: One of the most enjoyable routes in that area. A gentle, straightforward and very enjoyable route, mostly along the quiet Basingstoke Canal towpath through a deep cutting and dense woodland and with some residential streets at Frimley Green and Farnborough. The towpath has a fairly small gradient but can get quite muddy after wet weather; the last kilometre into Farnborough is a bit uphill on roads. The towpath switches sides at the Bisley Camp Road bridge. Adjacent army ranges at Deep Cut produce occasional sound effects along the canal.

Waterway: three quarters along the Basingstoke Canal.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: the Harvester

Warnings: There are railway lines to cross leaving Farnborough where visibility can be poor; take care. The towpath can be quite muddy after wet weather.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A scenic, almost entirely off-road walk crossing picturesque estates (War Memorial Park, Hackwood Park), woodland and arable farmers' fields, with a variety of landscapes. Some narrow and overgrown stretches (notably White Lane), a couple of stiles and kissing gates and a small amount of quiet-lane road walking; firm underfoot in dry spells. Not much in the way of resting places; the church at Weston Patrick has seating. A bus runs between the two endpoints.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

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

1 lunch spot: Avenue Nurseries café

Warnings: Several stiles and kissing gates, and an overgrown stretch of track (White Lane). The B3349 crossing has good sightlines south but a northbound bend, so take care. Cattle, including Highland cows, often in a field near Alton.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A gorgeous route; Beautiful, flat walk through the water meadows; Stunning views. After a dull few kilometres on pavement beside the main road out of Romsey, the route becomes a pleasant walk on forestry tracks, woodland paths and field boundaries through water meadows, with a steady climb and finishing alongside the Itchen into Winchester. Some rough terrain and narrow gaps. Within the South Downs area, passing Ampfield Wood, Hursley Forest and the Itchen water meadows.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Winchester City Mill (National Trust)

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

Lunch: Two pubs and a small shop at Hursley (midway), and a tea room at St Cross on the edge of Winchester.

Warnings: A busy road crossing near Badger Farm (Winchester) is best made at a nearby footbridge; a narrow footbridge over the mainline railway near St Cross makes the route walkers-only. Woods can be muddy in winter.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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 route of three parts: easy pavement and on-road walking through Bramley and Basingstoke's suburbs, with a more challenging middle section on rural footpaths through woodland that is muddy, rutted, waterlogged and narrow, with open ditches and occasional fallen trees. You need to be sure-footed and brambles and nettles encroach in summer. The medieval parish church at Bramley is worth a short detour.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: No facilities in the middle section.

End-of-walk reward: Bramley has shops, a bakery cafe and The Bramley Inn near the station.

Warnings: Cufaude Lane is narrow with surprising amounts of traffic and no pavement, so care is needed. The woodland middle section has open ditches, flooding and fallen trees. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A mix of easy paved sections and cross-country walking on field paths, tracks and gates and with cultivated stretches that turn sticky after rain and several stiles. One section across Hook Common is totally undefined across very boggy ground.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

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

Warnings: The path across Hook Common, between the cricket club and Rectory Road, is undefined and crosses very boggy ground — it is better to stay on the A30 pavement. Several stiles and gates; a section near Old Basing may be diverted for housing construction. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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.