Walks you can reach from Sawbridgeworth by train
Hertfordshire · South East England
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Sawbridgeworth.
Bishop's Stortford to Harlow (Hertfordshire)
6 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Recommended
Waterway: four fifths along the River Stort Navigation.
Thorley Wash Nature Reserve (1h30 in)
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Three Tuns, or Full of Beans Cafe (2h in)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Moorhen
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).
Shelford to Cambridge (Cambridgeshire)
45 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Flat walk through traditional villages and along the River Cam, finishing through Grantchester Meadows into Cambridge city centre.
Great Shelford: Traditional village with thatched cottages and a striking parish church.
Little Shelford: Village with period architecture.
Hauxton Mill: Historic watermill on the River Cam.
Trumpington Meadows: Open meadow nature reserve on the edge of Cambridge.
Byron's Pool: Wild-swimming spot on the Cam named after the poet Lord Byron.
The Old Vicarage (Rupert Brooke's House): Former home of poet Rupert Brooke, with sculptures in the grounds.
Grantchester Meadows: Open riverside meadows along the Cam between Cambridge and Grantchester.
King's College: World-famous University of Cambridge college with its renowned chapel.
The Orchard Tea Garden
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Red Lion, or the Orchard Tea Garden
Warnings: Busy A10 road crossing; shared cyclist path before the M11 bridge.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Harlow Circular via Hunsdon (Essex)
3 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Flat, easy farmland, open fields, riverside and quiet villages.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Broxbourne Circular via Waltham Abbey (Hertfordshire)
15 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Flat river floodplain, towpaths, water meadows, lakeside paths, woodland strips, farmland fields and open parkland.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Cheshunt Circular via Royal Gunpowder Mills (Hertfordshire)
15 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Flat river floodplain, gravel-pit lakes, water meadows, country park sculptures, farmland and a market town.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Audley End Circular via the Cottage (pargeted house, Wendens Ambo) (Essex)
30 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Gently rolling chalky uplands, farmland, woods and copses, green lanes, field boundaries and pretty villages with thatched cottages and pargeted houses.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Bishop's Stortford to Newport (Hertfordshire)
6 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Historic churches and fields of Essex, along the River Stort past Waytemore Castle and Hassobury Mansion.
Waytemore Castle: The earthwork remains of an 11th-century motte-and-bailey castle beside the River Stort.
Hassobury Mansion: An imposing Victorian country mansion glimpsed from the route near Manuden.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Great Chesterford to Shelford (Cambridgeshire)
30 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Villages, mills and river crossings along the River Cam, past Hinxton Water Mill and a ford into Duxford.
Hinxton Mill: A 17th-century working watermill on the River Cam.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Great Chesterford to Newport (Cambridgeshire)
30 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Rolling Essex farmland, grassy field edges, small woods, river valleys, historic market town, parkland and pylons over crop fields.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Reverse direction: Walking Post (inc. GPX).
Ware to Bishop's Stortford (Hertfordshire)
6 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
A pleasant and interesting walk on undemanding local footways, with nothing too challenging underfoot, though gates can be limiting for some and wet periods may cause flooding and especially along the Ash Valley section.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Gates may limit access for some. Wet periods can result in flooding, especially along the Ash Valley section.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale (Middlesex)
30 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
Urban north London, disused railway trackbed nature reserve, ancient woodland, reservoir wetlands, residential streets, riverside path and open parkland.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Ware to Harlow (Hertfordshire)
3 minutes direct from Sawbridgeworth.
An easy-to-navigate towpath walk following the Rivers Lea and Stort for the whole route, full of wildlife. The path can be narrow and uneven with steps and gets muddy after heavy rain. Follows the River Lea and River Stort navigations; abundant wildlife. Steps and narrow uneven parts.
Waterway: almost all along the River Stort Navigation.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Some care is needed at the junction of the two rivers as signage is slightly confusing.
Walk details: Slow Ways.