Walks you can reach from Portsmouth Harbour by train

Beginner-friendly: Just follow the coast and come back along a straight walk. It’s almost too simple! Flat, short and plenty of choices for lunch. Chichester Harbour is a little-known National Landscape. Its protected saltmarsh landscape feeds an abundance of birdlife. It’s a major recreational harbour but somehow has a romantically melancholy and isolated air — you can imagine sea shanties being composed here.

Coastal: three fifths along the coast.

Chichester Harbour

Bosham

Fishbourne Roman Palace & Gardens

Time: 3h–6h

4 lunch spots: Bosham (1h30–3h in) — the Anchor Bleu, Timberley's, the Berkeley Arms, or Marwick's

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Bull's Head Pub, or the Woolpack Inn

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

Highly recommended: Remote heathland, pretty lakes, sandy bridleways, ancient woodland, heather and gorse commons and a dramatic natural amphitheatre.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Devil's Punch Bowl

Time: 4h30–9h30

Lunch: Nowhere to eat en route — pack lunch!

1 end-of-walk reward: the Harper's Steakhouse

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Highly recommended: River valley, forest tracks, sandy bridleways, open parkland, country houses and wooded valleys.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Mother Ludlam's Cave: Sandstone cave associated with local folklore.

Time: 6h–12h

1 lunch spot: the Barley Mow, Tilford Green (2h30–4h30 in)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Cyder House Inn, the Rose and Crown, the Richmond Arms, the Fox & Finch, or the Star

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Mixed National Trust woodland, heathland with bracken, gorse, heather and bilberry, hilltop plateau, open views, rhododendron tunnels and undulating bridleways.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

A gorgeous, gentle route; The scenery is stunning. A gentle, mostly flat riverside route along the towpath of the River Wey and Godalming Navigations. On rough paths in places, with a few muddy parts and a sandy and eroded section near Guildford that needs care. Part runs along an old railway line. Mostly follows the towpath of the River Wey and Godalming Navigations; part runs along the old railway line and much of the path is National Trust land. Narrow boats, locks and a pillbox along the way.

Waterway: four fifths along the River Wey.

Time: 2h30–4h30

Lunch: A pub/restaurant with a children's playground roughly half way; note some venues have reported closures.

Warnings: The towpath at Guildford between the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and the rowing club has been closed since 2019 due to a collapsed footbridge, with an unsigned diversion via the A281 and Shalford Road; the diversion includes steep steps and a narrow gate. The approach to Guildford station is traffic-heavy with awkward crossings. A sandy, eroded section near Guildford needs care.

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

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Reverse direction: Wey Valley Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

Largely level riverside trails along the River Wey, the Wey Navigation canal towpath and a former railway line, passing Phillips Memorial Park.

Phillips Memorial Park: A riverside park commemorating Jack Phillips, the wireless operator of the Titanic.

The River Wey Navigation: A historic canalised waterway with towpaths linking Godalming towards Guildford.

Lunch: Queen Victoria, Shalford.

Walk details: Surrey Hills National Landscape (turn-by-turn directions).

Mixed oak, beech and chestnut woods, bridleways, streams, open countryside, horse paddocks and a final climb into a market town.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Time: 4h–8h30

2 lunch spots: Fernhurst (2h30–5h in) — the Red Lion Pub, or the Fern Café

1 end-of-walk reward: the Harper's Steakhouse

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Gentle farmland, bridleways, mixed woodland, open fields, National Trust copses and a medieval village green.

Time: 4h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Reverse direction: Surrey Hills National Landscape.

Linear countryside walk on bridleways and country lanes through woodland and an arboretum, finishing along the Wey Navigation towpath.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Busbridge Lakes: Ornamental lake gardens with rare waterfowl.

Winkworth Arboretum: National Trust arboretum with over 1,000 species of trees and shrubs, noted for autumn colour.

Hydon's Ball: Hilltop viewpoint with an Octavia Hill memorial and views toward the South Downs.

Wey and Godalming Navigations: Historic navigable waterway opened in 1653, now owned by the National Trust.

Phillips Memorial Park and Cloister: Riverside park with a cloister commemorating Titanic radio operator Jack Phillips.

Time: 3h30–7h

3 lunch spots: Godalming — the Rose and Crown, or the Star; plus Winkworth Arboretum Tea Room

Warnings: A new housing estate at Tuesley has been built over the footpath with no signage; walkers can cross the estate to reach the road. Can be muddy.

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

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Open fields, North Downs ridge, vineyard, golf course, mixed woodland, riverside path along the River Wey and historic market town.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Guildford

Time: 3h30–7h

2 lunch spots: the Tea Shop (1h30–2h30 in), or the Withies Inn (2h–3h30 in)

3 end-of-walk rewards: the Star, the Fox & Finch, or the Richmond Arms

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

A village, the wildlife-rich Enton Lakes and field paths, finishing by the Pepper Pot landmark in Godalming; some steady inclines.

Enton Lakes: A cluster of wildlife-rich lakes set in the countryside near Witley.

The Pepper Pot: Godalming's distinctive former Market Hall, an 18th-century landmark in the town centre.

Lunch: White Hart, Witley.

Walk details: Surrey Hills National Landscape (turn-by-turn directions).

Flat coastal sea wall, tidal harbour, salt marsh, sand dunes, beach, mudflats, tidal lake and historic village high street.

Warnings: Check tide timings.

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