Walks in Middlesex by train

Flat urban riverside paths, small river corridors, local parks, Thames towpath, luxury riverside houses and Palladian parkland.

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

Flat South West London parks loop through Bushy Park, Hampton Court Park and Richmond Park, with deer and Thames Path stretches.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–7h

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

Urban green spaces, canal towpath, river Thames towpath, parks, gardens and suburban streets.

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).

River path, urban suburbs, new housing estates, tranquil pastures, ancient woodland and mud-prone bridleway.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Lowland heaths, mature woodland, canal towpath, farmland and historic riverside village.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Entirely flat, urban city-centre streets, royal parks, riverside Thames path, canal towpath and historic financial district.

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

Recommended: Great views of the City. An exceptionally green urban route, almost entirely through parks and open spaces — Alexandra Park, the Parkland Walk with great city views, Highgate Wood and Hampstead Heath — with only short residential-street sections. Excellent paths with lots of shade.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

The Hampstead Heath: A sprawling ancient heath above London with bathing ponds and Parliament Hill views.

Time: 2h–4h

Warnings: A fifth urban.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: An accessible East London route mostly through green spaces and back roads, along the River Lee and past the marshes and with some rough ground beside the river. There are steep ramps over footbridges and a low bridge (about 1.5m) to duck under near Coppermill Lane.

Walthamstow Marshes: One of the last remaining floodplain marshlands in London, home to over 400 plant and animal species.

Time: 2h–4h30

Lunch: Plenty of refreshment stops at either end and in Clapton Village.

Warnings: A third urban. A low bridge (around 1.5m) at the marshes end of Coppermill Lane means many walkers will need to stoop.

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.

Flat royal parkland, ornamental ponds, woodland plantations and suburban streets; bypasses Home Park.

Time: 2h

Source: A shorter variant of Hampton Court Circular – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).