Walks you can reach from Leigh by train

Highly recommended: Stately home.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Chiddingstone Village

Penshurst Place

Time: 3h30–7h

4 lunch spots: Chiddingstone (1h–1h30 in) — the Tulip Tree, or the Castle Inn; Penshurst (2h–4h 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).

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.

Penshurst Place

St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst: Historic village church next to Penshurst Place.

Time: 3h30–7h

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.

Low-lying farmland, river valley, woodland, low ridges, golf course, ancient churchyards and old coaching village.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Parkland, farm fields, paddocks, orchards, country park, riverside paths, residential streets and fishing and sailing lakes.

Time: 4h30

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

Nature reserves, wetland lakes, restored sand quarries, Greensand Ridge, farm fields, wooded commons, suburban streets and pedestrianised town centre.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Gentle farmland, orchards, river valleys, parkland, country park lakes and riverside paths into a market town.

Time: 3h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

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: 3h–6h30

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.

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: 2h30–4h30

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.

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.

Knole Park (Deer Park)

Ightham Mote: A medieval moated manor house dating to 1340, cared for by the National Trust.

Time: 4h30–9h

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.

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: 3h30–6h30

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.

A pleasant walk following the Eden Valley Walk and Wealdway through woodland, across fields and past streams, lakes and reservoirs, with gentle inclines and descents. Can be very muddy, sticky and slippery after wet weather; steps, stiles and narrow bridges and some sections are overgrown. Follows the Eden Valley Walk / Wealdway for most of its length. Passes Penshurst Place and Hever Castle (little of which is visible from the walk) and the Tonbridge miniature railway. Toilets are scarce, probably only at Penshurst.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Penshurst Place

Time: 5h–10h30

Lunch: A pub at Penshurst about halfway, and a pub at Hever.

Warnings: A short stretch approaching Hever requires walking up a relatively busy road; mind the barbed wire on narrow sections. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Hilly: two fifths on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Chartwell House

Bore Place

Time: 6h–11h30

4 lunch spots: the Carpenters Arms (1h–1h30 in), the Fox & Hounds (2h–4h in), Landemare café (2h–4h in), or the Cock Inn (3h30–7h in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Greyhound, or the Little Brown Jug

Source: Trains2Green.