Walks you can reach from St Albans City by train

First stage of the Vanguard Way, from suburban East Croydon out through Selsdon Wood and the North Downs to Oxted.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 5h30–11h

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

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).

River valley, wooded wetland fringes, quiet villages, rolling fields, escarpment ridge, nature reserve lakes and ancient woodland.

Time: 5h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

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).

Meadows, solitary chalk hills, ancient woodlands, steep chalk escarpments, chalk downland, Neolithic hill forts, ancient trackways, rolling grassy fields and hilltop village.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Steep chalk escarpments.

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

Steep rolling downlands, chalk escarpments, hilltop views, grassy fields, pastures and ancient woodland.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Can be hilly.

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

Undulating Greensand Ridge, mixed woods, open parkland, heathland, historic market town, ancient woodland and flat moors and wetland nature reserve.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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 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.

A beautiful, mainly off-road countryside walk that is far from flat despite its reputation, with steady climbs and descents and some big fields to cross. After ploughing and footpaths across the fields between Higham Gobion and Pulloxhill may not be reinstated and can be very muddy; good navigation or GPS is essential there. Around 1.5 miles of town walking at the Hitchin end. The Ickleford Nature Reserve riverside path is recommended as an alternative start. The route ends near, but avoids, Flitwick Moor SSSI. Walking from Flitwick eastwards gives a downhill start.

Time: 5h30–11h

Lunch: A very good food pub at Pulloxhill, mid-route.

Warnings: Field paths west of Higham Gobion can be lost after ploughing and replanting; competent navigation or GPS is essential. There is a steady uphill stretch along a fairly busy fast road at Higham Gobion. Fields can be very muddy in wet weather.

Walk details: Slow Ways.