Best walks near Watford by train
Hertfordshire · South East England | Walks by foot
Stations: Watford North · Watford Junction
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations in South East England and plan your next day of green.
Aspley Guise Station Circular via the Woburn Estate (Bedfordshire)
45m from Watford Junction, with one change.
13km. Moderate ascents. 3h–5h.
Beginner-friendly: A shortish but satisfying walk. It’s hard to go wrong and, if you do, it’s easy to recover. Lunch is in the pleasant village of Woburn, where there are many choices, so no faffing with making reservations needed. Plus it goes through a safari park and you’ll likely spot some of the beasts.
A rambler favourite!
Highlights: Woburn Safari Park.
Lunch stops in Woburn (1h–2h in): the Black Horse, Lussmanns, or the Woburn Hotel.
End-of-walk reward: the Anchor.
Tring Station Circular via Ashridge Estate (Hertfordshire)
15m direct from Watford Junction.
13km. Moderate ascents. 3h30–6h.
Beginner-friendly: It’s nearly all in a big National Trust estate that’s extremely well sign-posted. It’s completely fine to deviate from the route — explore and shorten as you like! The lunch options are simple cafés, so no messing around with booking a table in advance.
An essential walk! The Ashridge Estate is very beautiful if you appreciate woodland, and covers more then enough ground to cover a day of hiking in itself. There are paths everywhere and you can wander freely. Ancient trees, rolling chalk downlands, and lush meadows. Relatively busy. Take the minor paths to avoid the crowds. Can be muddy.
Highlights: Ashridge Estate and Ashridge House.
Lunch stops: the Ashridge Estate Café (1h–1h30 in), or Ashridge House café (2h–3h30 in).
End-of-walk reward: the Valiant Trooper.
Garston Station to St Albans City Station (Hertfordshire)
2m direct from Watford North.
13km. Gentle ascents. 3h30–6h.
Common woodland, farmland tracks, river meadows, water meadows, quiet residential roads, and historic city streets. Can be very muddy.
Highlights: St Albans.
Lunch stops: Moor Mill Watermill & Inn (1h30–3h in), the Overdraught (2h30–4h in), or Rumbles Fish Bar (2h30–4h in).
End-of-walk rewards: the Horn, or the Robin Hood.
Tring Station to Wendover Station (Hertfordshire)
15m direct from Watford Junction.
Tough: 22km. Moderate ascents. 6h–10h.
Flat canal towpath, reservoir banks, open arable fields, wooded Chilterns hills, and steep descents. Steep chalky descent.
Lunch stop: the Partridge (3h–5h in).
End-of-walk reward: Wendover Woods Café.
Bow Brickhill Station to Woburn Sands Station (Buckinghamshire)
30m from Watford Junction, with one change.
19km. Moderate ascents. 5h–8h30.
Woods, golf course, gentle hills, landscaped deer park, village streets, playing fields, and golf links. Can be muddy.
Highlights: Woburn Safari Park.
Lunch stops in Woburn (2h–4h in): the Black Horse, Lussmanns, Galloways, Woburn Thai, or the Woburn Hotel.
End-of-walk reward: the Station Tavern.
Nuneaton Station Circular via Hartshill (Warwickshire)
1h from Watford Junction, with one change.
18km. Moderate ascents. 4h30–8h.
Parks, river, country park, and canal.
Lunch stop: the Stag and Pheasant (2h–3h30 in).
End-of-walk rewards: the Lord Hop, the Felix Holt, the George Eliot Hotel, the Black Swan In Hand, or the Silk Mill.
Adapted from a route by the Leicester Ramblers — download GPX route
Tring Station Circular via Ivinghoe Beacon (Hertfordshire)
15m direct from Watford Junction.
Tough: steep ascents. 15km. 4h–7h.
Ridgeway escarpment, gravel track through beechwoods, and optional bluebell woodland diversion. Very exposed and windy.
Highlights: Ashridge Estate.
Lunch: Nowhere to eat except close to the end of the walk.
End-of-walk rewards: the Ashridge Estate Café, the Greyhound Inn, or Church Farm Café.
Coventry Station to Berkswell Station (Warwickshire)
1h direct from Watford Junction.
10km.
Picturesque village. Urban, suburban, and then rural. Walk traverses Coventry's historic common land including Hearsall Common and Tilehill Wood, medieval survivals preserved in the 1920s, before reaching Berkswell in the Meridian Gap. Muddy sections possible.
Documented by Walk Midlands — download GPX route
Market Harborough Station to Northampton Station (Leicestershire)
45m from Watford Junction, with one change.
29km.
Rolling hills of the south east Midlands. Brampton Valley Way: former railway opened 1859, closed 1981, converted to multipurpose path in 1993; one of the longest ex-trackbed paths in the UK; runs through former ironstone quarrying area. Two unlit tunnels (Oxendon Tunnel and Kelmarsh Tunnel).
Documented by Walk Midlands — download GPX route
Euston Station to South Hampstead Station (Middlesex)
15m direct from Watford Junction.
Easy: 5km, gentle ascents. 1h30.
Excellent view. Hill paths and with gentle gradients.
Documented by Railwalks — download GPX route
Marylebone Station to Euston Station (Middlesex)
15m direct from Watford Junction.
Easy: 2km, flat terrain. 30m.
Short stretch on a fast-traffic road with limited verge.
Documented by Railwalks — download GPX route
Shepherd's Bush Station to Acton Main Line Station (Middlesex)
30m direct from Watford Junction.
Easy: 4km, moderate ascents. 1h30.