Walks you can reach from Welwyn Garden City by train

Undulating Hertfordshire countryside, woodland, large open arable fields, quiet lanes, deer park and pretty villages.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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.

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.

The views were magnificent; good views, you can see the Shard. A varied route through fields, woods, hedged farmland tracks and picturesque villages, with steep hills around Cuffley (good views, including the Shard) and stretches of suburban and roadside walking. Frequently very muddy and marshy and especially in Morven open space and the wet field paths south of Cuffley. Passes the Leefe Robinson Memorial and Sopers Viaduct, and joins the Hertfordshire Way. Northaw is a picturesque village with a tap inside the church gate. Cuffley has shops and cafes for a refreshment stop.

Time: 4h30–9h

Lunch: Lots of refuelling opportunities in Cuffley around the half-way point.

Warnings: Many muddy and marshy sections, including waterlogged kissing gates and very muddy bridges over brooks (care needed); some narrow rooty paths; a temporary signposted detour around new road works near the New River at the Cheshunt end.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A varied but not greatly varied route mixing suburban streets, cycle paths, hedged farm tracks through fields and woods, wooded tracks up to a picturesque village. Includes a steep 19% hill with good views and a steep downhill through woodland and plus a narrow winding rooty path. Marked paths in places have gone or are overgrown. Follows the Hertfordshire Way through Hemps Hill. Northaw is a picturesque village with a tap inside the church gate and a pub; Cuffley has shops and cafes for refreshment.

Time: 4h–8h

Lunch: Shops and cafes at Cuffley, and a pub at Northaw.

Warnings: Some marked paths have gone or are overgrown, with diversions needed around new road works. A steep 19% hill up to Cuffley, then a steep downhill through woodland.

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.