Walks you can reach from Radlett by train

Recommended

St Albans Cathedral

Verulamium Roman City Walls

Ruins of Gorhambury House

St Albans

Time: 4h–8h

1 lunch spot: Ye Olde Fighting Cocks (30m–1h in)

6 end-of-walk rewards: the Six Bells, the Lower Red Lion, the Snug, the Boot, the Mad Squirrel Tap, or the Peahen

Warnings: A third urban.

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

Recommended: Mostly fields and country lanes. Some beautiful new bluebell woods, stunning historic city streeets, commons, golf courses and parkland.

Heartwood Forest

St Albans Cathedral

St Albans

Time: 4h30–9h

4 lunch spots: Sandridge (2h–4h in) — the Green Man (excellent; reservations recommended), Heartwood Tea Rooms (busy!), the Rose & Crown, or the Queens Head (not great)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Lower Red Lion, the Mad Squirrel Tap, the Peahen, the Snug, or the Boot

Best months: in April (bluebell season).

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Source: Trains2Green.

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

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

St Albans

Time: 3h30–6h30

3 lunch spots: the Swan (1h–2h in), the Bull (1h–2h30 in), or the Wicked Lady (2h–4h in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Marquis of Granby, or the Amble Inn

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

A walk through London's history around the square mile, past the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral and the Guildhall.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: Two thirds urban. Several sets of steps, cobbled streets and narrow alleys.

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

Common woodland, farmland tracks, river meadows, water meadows, quiet residential roads and historic city streets.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

St Albans

Time: 3h30–7h

3 lunch spots: Moor Mill Watermill & Inn (1h30–3h30 in), the Overdraught (2h30–4h30 in), or Rumbles Fish Bar (2h30–4h30 in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Horn, or the Robin Hood

Warnings: Can be very muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Urban London, genteel residential streets, Georgian and Victorian estates, large open heathland, well-kept parks, river valleys, Victorian cemeteries and green hilltops with panoramic city views.

Time: 5h

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.

The countryside views are fantastic, and the scenery is extremely varied; a marvellous view of the rest of the route all the way to St Albans. A very enjoyable and varied route with a mix of fields, woodland, lanes, tracks and urban residential estates, plus a riverside walk; mostly good path and road or pavement with some muddier track and one or two extra-muddy fields. No pavement-less B-roads and all road crossings safe except one. Marvellous mid-point view across to St Albans. Rich wildlife (skylark, woodpecker, red kites, butterflies) and varied features including an air museum, a fishery and a gravel-extraction conveyor belt. Pubs at South Mimms and Tyttenhanger, plus a picnic area and WC at the Willows Lakes fishery. Note St Albans High Street is on the far side of the station.

Time: 4h–8h30

Lunch: Pubs at South Mimms and Tyttenhanger split the route into thirds, plus picnic area and toilets at the Willows Lakes fishery.

Warnings: The crossing of the A414 is uncontrolled on a dual carriageway with fast traffic, though there is a central median so you only cross two lanes at a time; some narrow kissing gates and barriers along the route, and a fair bit of mud in winter.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A fantastic Slow Ways route; a totally pleasant, easy to navigate, accessible, direct, and beautiful route; the complete forest bathing experience. An easy, flat route almost entirely along a disused railway line, the Alban Way, on paved and wide paths separated from traffic and shaded by trees. Accessible and suitable for all types of wheels; some find the tree-tunnel monotonous as there are no views. Follows the Alban Way disused railway almost the entire route, with displays at one of the former stations and benches to rest. Good pubs, cafes and shops at the St Albans end.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Lovely views over the Lea Valley; Excellent views over the rolling countryside. A route through some nice scenery, following an old railway path (the Ayot Greenway) on compacted grit, plus a river walk, rolling hills and farmland, with the lovely Sherrardspark Wood near Welwyn. Largely free of mud thanks to sand and gravel over chalk; hills, narrow paths and kissing gates and steps. Follows the Ayot Greenway, a former railway bed, with views over the Lea Valley; passes Sherrardspark Wood; there is a picnic spot en route.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Lunch: Plenty of food and drink at both ends; Wheathampstead has a Tesco Express, cafes and pubs, and a farm cafe at Croft Farm (check opening hours).

Warnings: The roads at Ayot Green can flood after heavy rain.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Lovely views. Begins with a long uphill road out of Luton, then transitions through farm tracks, common land, narrow paths and footpaths across open fields and small woods. Steep in places with steps and kissing gates; paths are generally good. Some short road walking in quiet places and plus an unavoidable roadside stretch into Hitchin. Expect fields of barley and skylarks; field paths shift as crops change and fields are ploughed.

Time: 4h–8h

1 lunch spot: the Red Lion

Warnings: Field paths can be narrow through crops and steep in places; expect kissing gates and some steps. An unavoidable roadside walk leads into the town centre at the Hitchin end.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

An easy, well-surfaced route mostly along the off-road Upper Lea Valley Way (a combined cycle and footpath), passing woodland and agricultural fields with countryside views and after about 2km of urban walking out of Luton. Tarmac all the way — good for wheels but hard underfoot — with some minor inclines and a few cycle-barrier pinch points. Follows the Upper Lea Valley Way; an information board at the highest point notes local connections including a memorial to Eric Morecambe. No refreshment opportunities between the town centres.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–5h30

Lunch: No refreshment opportunities between the town centres, but it's not a long route.

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Walk details: Slow Ways.