Walks near Southampton Central by train
Hampshire · South East England
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Southampton Central and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Southampton Central.
Salisbury Circular via Stonehenge (Wiltshire)
30 minutes direct from Southampton Central.
Highly recommended
Old Sarum Ruins (1h in)
Stonehenge (4h30 in)
Stonehenge Landscape: A World Heritage Site famous for its ancient ceremonial landscape of great archaeological interest, set in over 800 hectares of chalk grassland (National Trust; 4h30 in).
1 lunch spot: the Bridge Inn (2h30 in; excellent)
Warnings: Have lunch a café or pub next to the river. Return from Stonehenge to Salisbury by bus (very frequent & reliable but check times).
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Mortimer to Bramley (Berkshire)
45 minutes from Southampton Central, with one change.
Highly recommended: Little known but quietly wonderful. Beautiful rather than spectacular, in a humble village pathways sort of manner. Mostly secluded.
Ruins of Calleva Atrebatum: once a thriving Romano-British city that survived into the Saxon period. Now ghostly ruins. Includes an evocative full circuit of city walls, and what's left of a 7,000-capacity gladiatorial arena (1h15 in).
St Mary the Virgin Church: charming medieval church on the site of a Roman temple (2h15 in).
1 lunch spot: the Calleva Arms (1h45 in; excellent)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Bramley Inn
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Similar walk: Reading to Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership.
Lymington to Brockenhurst (Hampshire)
30 minutes from Southampton Central, with one change.
Recommended
1 lunch spot: the Fleur de Lys (45 mins 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).
Reverse direction: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).
Netley to Botley (Hampshire)
15 minutes direct from Southampton Central.
Coastal country park, stony beach, light woodland, mudflats, riverside causeway with marinas, open farmland and village lanes.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
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.
Bramley Circular via the Vyne (Hampshire)
45 minutes from Southampton Central, with one change.
The Vyne: Explore a former Tudor powerhouse turned 17th-century family home, set in gardens, woodlands and wetlands (National Trust; 2h15 in; 3h to visit).
2 lunch spots: the Bramley Inn, or the Vyne tearoom (2h15 in)
Source: Trains2Green.
Mortimer Circular via Ruins of Calleva Atrebatum (Berkshire)
45 minutes from Southampton Central, with one change.
Long, mostly flat circular: the Calleva Atrebatum Roman amphitheatre and walls, Pamber Forest Reserve and farmland around Mortimer, Silchester and Bramley.
Ruins of Calleva Atrebatum: once a thriving Romano-British city that survived into the Saxon period. Now ghostly ruins. Includes an evocative full circuit of city walls, and what's left of a 7,000-capacity gladiatorial arena.
Calleva Atrebatum: The remains of the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, with substantial surviving flint walls and an amphitheatre.
Walk details: Reading to Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership (turn-by-turn directions).
Reading to Henley-on-Thames (Berkshire)
1 hour direct from Southampton Central.
Flat Thames towpath, riverside parks, wooded sections, pasture fields, meadows and riverside gardens.
Waterway: four fifths along the River Thames.
Warnings: Flood risk sections.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Reading to Shiplake (Berkshire)
1 hour direct from Southampton Central.
Flat Thames Path riverside countryside, the Horseshoe Bridge and the historic Bull Inn at Sonning (of Three Men in a Boat).
The River Thames: England's best-known river, whose towpath (the Thames Path National Trail) carries long stretches of nearly every walk in this set.
Warnings: Shared with cyclists between Reading and Sonning; walkers only beyond.
Walk details: Reading to Basingstoke Community Rail Partnership (turn-by-turn directions).
Mortimer to Aldermaston (Berkshire)
45 minutes from Southampton Central, with one change.
Gentle farmland, clear stream, Roman earthworks and walls, Scots pine woods, gorse and birch commons and river weirs.
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Ashurst New Forest Circular via Lyndhurst (Hampshire)
15 minutes direct from Southampton Central.
Heath and forest inclosures skirting a golf course, between the villages of Lyndhurst and Ashurst. Strenuous.
Warnings: Tracks can be muddy after wet weather; watch for stray golf balls.
Walk details: New Forest Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Brockenhurst Circular via Lyndhurst (Hampshire)
15 minutes direct from Southampton Central.
Forest inclosures and heath between the villages of Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst, with Lymington River bathing spots and spring bluebells. Strenuous.
Walk details: New Forest Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Winchester Circular via Wolvesey Palace (Hampshire)
15 minutes direct from Southampton Central.
Historic cathedral city streets, watermeadows, iron age hillfort, downland ridges, river valley and ancient meadows.
Warnings: M3 motorway noise.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).