Walks you can reach from Leigh by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Leigh.
Penshurst Circular via Chiddingstone (Kent)
4 minutes direct from Leigh.
Highly recommended: Stately home.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Chiddingstone Village (National Trust; 45m in)
Penshurst Place (2h in)
Chiddingstone (National Trust; 45m in)
Penshurst (2h in)
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
4 lunch spots: Chiddingstone (45m in) — the Tulip Tree, or the Castle Inn; Penshurst (2h in) — the Leicester Arms Pub, or Penshurst Place café
1 end-of-walk reward: the Little Brown Jug
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Tonbridge to Penshurst (Kent)
5 minutes direct from Leigh.
Fairly flat walk along shaded paths through fields and riverside woodland alongside the River Medway.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
The Tonbridge Castle: A Norman motte-and-bailey castle with a 13th-century gatehouse beside the Medway.
The Haysden Country Park: A lakeside country park on the River Medway floodplain near Tonbridge.
River Medway at Ensfield Bridge: Meadow-set river spot suitable for wild swimming and picnics.
St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst: Historic village church next to Penshurst Place.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
1 lunch spot: Porcupine Pantry Café
Warnings: Can be muddy in places when wet.
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Godstone to Oxted (Surrey)
15 minutes direct from Leigh.
Low-lying farmland, river valley, woodland, low ridges, golf course, ancient churchyards and old coaching village.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley (Kent)
5 minutes direct from Leigh.
Parkland, farm fields, paddocks, orchards, country park, riverside paths, residential streets and fishing and sailing lakes.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Edenbridge Circular (Kent)
15 minutes direct from Leigh.
Gentle farmland, water meadows, riverside paths, farm airstrip and flat Eden Valley.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be waterlogged.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Redhill Circular via Quarry Hanger Nature Reserve (Surrey)
30 minutes direct from Leigh.
Nature reserves, wetland lakes, restored sand quarries, Greensand Ridge, farm fields, wooded commons, suburban streets and pedestrianised town centre.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Hever to Tonbridge (Kent)
5 minutes direct from Leigh.
Gentle farmland, orchards, river valleys, parkland, country park lakes and riverside paths into 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).
Tonbridge to Paddock Wood (Kent)
5 minutes direct from Leigh.
Recommended: More than two-thirds off-road, along footpaths through fields and a quiet lane, passing orchards, cornfields, hedgerows and a walk beside the River Medway into Tonbridge. Flat and sometimes muddy and but fine in boots; a short orchard section can get churned up by tractors. Passes the Grade I listed church of Thomas a Becket at Capel; the route can be left at Moat Farm for the shop and pub in Five Oak Green; good for orchard blossom in spring.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Poacher and Partridge, or the George and Dragon
Warnings: A short orchard section north of Five Oak Green can be deeply churned by tractors; the alternative road through Five Oak Green is fairly busy with a bend on an unpaved stretch.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Redhill to Horley (Surrey)
30 minutes direct from Leigh.
Recommended: Views of the North Downs. A direct, mostly off-road route leaving the busy A23 for residential streets and Cycleway 21, a mix of paved and unpaved (asphalt and gravel) surfaces, through Whitebushes and a rural section with bluebells, green fields and views of the North Downs and before a final pavement stretch on the 40mph Orchard Drive into Horley. A non-public footpath into Horley can be overgrown. Follows Cycleway 21; passes 'Asylum Arch Road' and East Surrey Hospital. Local shops at Whitebushes roughly two-thirds of the way.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: A handy shop at Whitebushes about two-thirds along; multiple shop, pub and eatery options at both ends.
Warnings: Orchard Drive into Horley is a 40mph road, though it has a pavement. A non-public footpath at the Horley end was very overgrown and only just passable.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Sevenoaks to Tonbridge (Kent)
5 minutes direct from Leigh.
The views across Kent are beautiful when you get to Carter's Hill and Rook's Hill. A largely off-road route through Knole Park and along the Greensand Way, on a mix of tracks and grassy paths over hilly terrain with some steep climbs and narrow paths with steep drops. Heavy clay soil means it can be very muddy after wet weather and with a number of gates and stiles. Follows the Greensand Way for a long stretch through the Kent Downs; there is a bench with a pleasant view in Shipbourne churchyard.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust)
One Tree Hill (National Trust)
Knole Park (Deer Park) (National Trust)
Ightham Mote (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Chaser Inn, or Ightham Mote cafe
1 end-of-walk reward: Fuggles Beer Cafe
Warnings: Plenty of mud after wet weather, especially across the ploughed fields around Shipbourne; some downhill paths near Ightham can be slippery; a number of gates and stiles.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
East Grinstead to Edenbridge (Sussex)
15 minutes direct from Leigh.
About half the route is alongside roads, much of it quiet or private lanes and with the middle four miles mostly through fields and farms and a clearly-set path through Jules Wood. There are uphill sections of mud through the woods and some high stiles.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Sections of mud on the uphill woodland paths after rain. A river bridge near Ockhams has heavily worn steps up to the fields that need care, especially when wet. Some stiles are high.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Redhill to Caterham (Surrey)
30 minutes direct from Leigh.
Spectacular unimpeded views from the North Downs scarp; a superb view from a bench near the top. A surprisingly rural and varied route with grassy tree-lined rides, woodland paths, grazing pastures, a churchyard, a park, arable fields and chalk-grassland nature reserves, plus six lakes near Redhill. One very long, very steep hill (up to 35%); kissing gates, high stiles and rutted/rooty tracks. Only about 3.5km is on roads and mostly very quiet lanes. Passes the Park Ham and Quarry Hanger nature reserves with rare chalk wildflowers and grazing animals, plus several lakes around Nutfield Marsh. There is no mid-route public transport, though some buses stop at Mill Lane and Doctors Lane in an emergency.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: A food truck near Mercers Lake watersports centre (about 300m off-route) sells hot drinks and snacks. Shops at either end.
Warnings: One very long, very steep hill. A 275m stretch on Pendell Lane has little verge, bends and a humpback bridge that mess with sightlines; walk with care. Possible cows, goats or bullocks in the nature reserves and the fields just north of the M25 underpass, where a stile can also get very muddy.
Walk details: Slow Ways.