Walks you can reach from Grove Park by train

Recommended

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Down House: home of Charles Darwin.

Time: 4h30–9h

4 lunch spots: Downe (3h–6h in) — Down House café, the George and Dragon, or Rajdoot of Downe; plus the Blacksmith's Arms (2h–4h in)

4 end-of-walk rewards: the Rose and Crown, the Royal Oak, the Queens Head, or the Chelsfield

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

Wooded hills, steep ridges, hidden downland valley, bluebell woods, beech and sweet chestnut woodland and fields.

Warnings: Descents can be slippery.

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

Suburban woodlands, wide woodland tracks, heathland, valleys, moated manor ruins and open green spaces.

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).

Rural fields with wildflowers, bluebell woods and several village churches.

Time: 5h30

Warnings: Numerous stiles throughout.

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

Fields, woods, valleys, heathland, commons and London Green Belt countryside.

Warnings: Can be waterlogged.

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

North Downs escarpment, woods carpeted with wild garlic and bluebells, open pasture, arable fields, fine southward views and some M25 road noise early on.

Warnings: Can be slippery.

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

A commuter-belt rural walk over the North Downs through woodland, chalky fields and rolling downland, with a fair amount of up-and-down and a long road-walking section. Mixed underfoot with gates, kissing gates, stiles, earth steps, tree roots and rutted paths and moderately steep for short stretches. Knockholt station is about 1 km off route, allowing the walk to be split.

Time: 4h30–8h30

Lunch: Pubs on the route at Pratts Bottom and Knockholt Pound, with a shop and a garden centre cafe at Knockholt Pound.

End-of-walk reward: A pub on the route at Riverhead, near the end.

Warnings: Several busy road crossings where traffic moves fast, though most have crossings or a central island. A stretch of road walking begins with no verges and high hedges on a tight bend. Pay attention to flying golf balls when crossing Chelsfield Lakes Golf Course. The footpath at Fairtrough Farm has been diverted and the OS maps are out of date.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant walk starting and ending with quiet residential streets in Orpington and Swanley, with the peaceful middle section across fields and woods with wild flowers, on tracks that are walking-boot territory in wet weather. Several stiles to cross. Wide views over Kent/London countryside and with Canary Wharf visible in the distance on a clear day. Part of the route follows the Bromley Chelsfield walk and the Windmill Hill Wood Walk.

Time: 2h30–4h30

Lunch: There is a pub and a post office just off route in Crockenhill, and a Tesco and other shops in Orpington at the start.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Flat riverside pavement, converted Victorian wharves, residential riverside developments, industrial heritage and pocket parks.

Source: A shorter variant of Westminster to Greenwich via the south bank – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).