Walks you can reach from Whitchurch by train

Highly recommended

Old Sarum Ruins

Stonehenge

Time: 4h30–9h

1 lunch spot: the Bridge Inn (2h30–5h30 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).

Gently undulating chalk hills, clear river, quaint churches, country houses, farmland and quiet lanes.

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.

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).

Heathland, Horsell Common and a Peace Garden; Chobham Common, Rhododendron Walkway, Basingstoke Canal into Woking.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Chobham Common: The largest National Nature Reserve in the South East, a fine example of lowland heath.

Horsell Common: Sandy common made famous as the Martian landing site in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.

Time: 3h30–7h

Warnings: Longcross has no facilities and trains roughly twice an hour; buy single tickets as the stations are on different lines.

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

Chalk downland, Iron Age hillforts, five hills, Salisbury Plain military range, abandoned village and sweeping views over Wiltshire and Somerset.

Time: 7h

Warnings: MOD closures apply.

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

Recommended: A really easy-to-follow and direct and pleasant route making the most of the Basingstoke Canal and Wey Navigation towpaths. The first section out of Woking is mostly paved; the stretch along the Wey is rougher ground and can be muddy in places after rain. A gradual rise as the locks raise the canal level; away from traffic and mostly quiet. Follows the Basingstoke Canal and Wey Navigation towpaths.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Basingstoke Canal.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–5h

Lunch: There are no refreshments along the way, but it is not a long route.

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: 5h–10h

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.

An excellent route; Delightful route; lovely start and end points. A long route with very little road walking (and only minor roads), much of it on forest tracks through managed woodland, taking in several nature reserves and a National Trust estate. Easy walking for the most part, a little gooey in places after heavy rain and with a few gates and some stiles; the main challenge is the length. Passes through Bentley Wood nature reserve and at least two other nature reserves, and takes in the National Trust's Mottisfont estate. Can be shortened by jumping on the train one stop from Dunbridge to Romsey.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 8h–15h30

Warnings: The approach to Romsey crosses an active gravel pit between Awbridge and Squabb Wood, which can require diversions, and the lower end of Squabb Wood can be very wet and difficult in winter.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Long views. Hill and moorland paths and with substantial climbs.

Time: 7h30–15h

Walk details: Railwalks.

Beautiful; picturesque. Riverside path and flat and easy-going.

Hilly: a quarter on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 6h30–13h

Walk details: Railwalks.

Lovely countryside along the Wey Navigation; Lovely views across water meadows. A generally flat, easy-to-follow route along the River Wey Navigation towpath through lovely countryside and water meadows, with well-kept locks and bridges, a few steep ramps where the towpath crosses roads and steps and stiles. One section can become muddy and slippery; the final mile or so into Woking is more urban. Follows the River Wey/Wey Navigation towpath, owned and managed by the National Trust. An hourly bus from Send allows the route to be split. A short detour can be made to Send Church.

Waterway: nine tenths along the River Wey.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–7h30

1 lunch spot: the New Inn

Warnings: A section between Send and Old Woking can be muddy and slippery with little to hold onto; walking poles and waterproof boots recommended in wet weather. An awkward stile near Woking by the cricket ground. The river dominates the route, so check flood warnings before walking if in doubt.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Fabulous walking through interesting places and with some lovely views. Wonderful varied walking on back lanes, field paths and well-used dirt tracks and climbing onto the chalk plain for lovely views. A short steep climb out of Fonthill Gifford; a muddy bridleway through Eastleigh Woods toward Warminster (a drier signposted alternative exists).

Time: 6h30–13h

Warnings: A stretch along the fast, relatively busy B3089 east of Hindon has no verge; the crossing of the A303 needs care and patience (sightlines are good).

Walk details: Slow Ways.