Walks you can reach from Knebworth by train

Rolling Hertfordshire countryside, landscaped parkland, arable fields, picturesque village and Gothic church ruin.

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

Chilterns chalk ridge, farm tracks, field boundaries, grassy lanes, woods, steep chalk downland, flat-bottomed valleys, alder and willow fen woodland, chalk river and historic market town.

Time: 6h

Warnings: Can be hilly.

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

Vast flat Hertfordshire arable farmland, open field edges, big skies, gentle hills, small historic villages and patches of woodland.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Urban north London, disused railway trackbed nature reserve, ancient woodland, reservoir wetlands, residential streets, riverside path and open parkland.

Time: 3h30

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

A moderate walk from one village through another, then across open countryside and beneath the railway before heading into the town — on field paths, tracks and a stretch of road.

Time: 2h30

Lunch: The Dolphin in Melbourn, and a café at the Royston Tesco near the finish.

Walk details: Cam Valley Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

Chalk stream meadows, field boundaries, hilltop village, open farmland with far views, green lanes, lavender farm and Garden City.

Time: 5h30

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

Recommended: Wide open views; good views. A fairly hilly route, mostly on field-edge paths and good tracks across arable land and with some overgrown stretches and short sections on quiet roads and verges. The Luton end has rather a lot of residential roads. Good views from the higher ground. Follows the Chiltern Way Extension for a significant distance. Whitwell has an interesting tower.

Time: 5h–10h

Lunch: There is a pub at St Paul's Walden, roughly mid-route.

Warnings: Crossing London Road (B656) needs a little care. Some paths are a little overgrown, occasionally between barbed-wire fences.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Lovely views around Weston in particular. Mostly footpaths and some urban pavements, leaving the concrete of Stevenage to cross gently rolling countryside on footpaths and bridleways, with a small amount on pavement-less country roads. Fairly flat; surprisingly not too muddy even after rain and though some muddy paths.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Warnings: Some steps onto bridges over roads at the Stevenage end (some with ramps); a small amount of walking on country roads without pavement.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Suburban residential streets out of Stevenage give way to scenic farmland and woodland, with road walking only on quiet lanes. Mostly field paths and farm tracks; can be very muddy in the woods (Stocking Grove) and on field edges after rain and with some steep verge walking. Town walking out of Stevenage is mostly kept away from traffic on cycle paths and underpasses. No shops or pub at Datchworth; places to eat near the cinema by Stevenage station.

Time: 3h–5h30

Lunch: No shops or pub at Datchworth mid-route.

Warnings: Deep mud and puddles in the woods after rain; narrow verges and a steep (25%) step up off the road onto the verge near Datchworth; slippery when wet.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

The rest of the walk is stunning, varied, and very enjoyable. A varied route through Hertfordshire, beginning on dull town streets and an industrial estate before reaching Panshanger Park with its meadows, woods, the River Mimram and a lake, then an undulating cut-through into Hertford. Paths are mostly good and mud-free and but narrow with a camber and several kissing gates; one stretch on Panshanger Lane has no pavement. The permissive paths through Panshanger Park are safe and quiet; long-horned cattle graze in some meadows, and wildlife includes spoonbills. No village halfway, but shops at either end and benches by the lakes.

Time: 2h30–5h30

Lunch: No facilities midway; shops at either end.

Warnings: A quarter urban. A short stretch on Panshanger Lane has no pavement and only a poor verge on a curved road; take care. A footbridge over the railway at both ends involves stairs.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A varied walk through scenic, rolling Hertfordshire countryside, mixing narrow woodland paths, broad cycle tracks, farm tracks and urban streets, with field, wood and downhill woodland sections. Lumpy and muddy underfoot in places and with gates. There is a stretch on a wide pavement beside the A414 dual carriageway. Follows the River Lee for a while and makes use of the Chain Walk. Can be split at Bayford station.

Time: 4h–8h

2 lunch spots: the Candlestick, or the Black Horse

Warnings: Includes a pedestrian crossing of the A1 and a stretch alongside the busy A414 dual carriageway, on a wide pavement set back from the road. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant walk mostly on footpaths away from roads, through woods, fields with horses and sheep, residential streets and alleyways and picking up a cycle path into Hatfield. Field paths are sometimes barely visible through harvested crops; steps and narrow rooty paths. Follows Cycle Route 12 towards Hatfield. Main roads are paved and well lit. A few minutes by train returns you to the start.

Time: 2h30–5h

1 lunch spot: the Sibthorpe Arms

Warnings: Many points where it is easy to go astray, so follow the GPS map carefully.

Walk details: Slow Ways.