Walks you can reach from Drayton Park by train

Rolling Hertfordshire hills, farmland, woods, hedgerows and riverside path along the River Beane.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

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: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

Woodland, waterways and pre-history, through Broxbourne Woods and Celtic Harmony Camp to the River Lee at Ware.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Celtic Harmony Camp: A reconstructed Stone Age and Iron Age village offering a free weekend visitor experience.

Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

Recommended: Excellent views across the River Beane to Heath Mount. A varied route taking in the Woodhall estate and the valley of the River Beane and with a short section along the River Lea towpath in Ware.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: Pretty views on the canal and at the church in Stapleford. An easy-to-navigate, pleasant country walk through beautiful countryside, following the River Beane chalk stream and water meadows for much of the way, with hedgerows, views of a stately house and a few sections of roadside walking along the A119 (paved verges throughout). Mud in winter is still manageable. Follows the River Beane, a chalk stream (one of only around 210 in the world). Tons of wildlife and plenty of park benches. The river has been restored to natural banks. Watton-at-Stone has a Budgens for local baked goods.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

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.

The rest of the walk is stunning, varied, and very enjoyable. A varied route through Hertfordshire, beginning on dull town streets and an industrial estate before reaching Panshanger Park with its meadows, woods, the River Mimram and a lake, then an undulating cut-through into Hertford. Paths are mostly good and mud-free and but narrow with a camber and several kissing gates; one stretch on Panshanger Lane has no pavement. The permissive paths through Panshanger Park are safe and quiet; long-horned cattle graze in some meadows, and wildlife includes spoonbills. No village halfway, but shops at either end and benches by the lakes.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: No facilities midway; shops at either end.

Warnings: A quarter urban. A short stretch on Panshanger Lane has no pavement and only a poor verge on a curved road; take care. A footbridge over the railway at both ends involves stairs.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Suburban residential streets out of Stevenage give way to scenic farmland and woodland, with road walking only on quiet lanes. Mostly field paths and farm tracks; can be very muddy in the woods (Stocking Grove) and on field edges after rain and with some steep verge walking. Town walking out of Stevenage is mostly kept away from traffic on cycle paths and underpasses. No shops or pub at Datchworth; places to eat near the cinema by Stevenage station.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: No shops or pub at Datchworth mid-route.

Warnings: Deep mud and puddles in the woods after rain; narrow verges and a steep (25%) step up off the road onto the verge near Datchworth; slippery when wet.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Disused railway trackbed nature reserve, urban green spaces, woods, heathland, parkland, ponds, garden suburb streets and panoramic hilltops.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Source: A longer variant of Highgate to Hampstead (Saturday Walkers Club).

Urban park, reservoir wetlands, residential streets, riverside path and open marshland.

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Source: A variant of Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale (Saturday Walkers Club).

Disused railway trackbed nature reserve, ancient woodland, reservoir circuit and residential streets.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Source: A shorter variant of Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale (Saturday Walkers Club).

Disused railway trackbed nature reserve, ancient woodland and urban park.

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Source: A variant of Alexandra Palace to Tottenham Hale (Saturday Walkers Club).