Walks you can reach from Gordon Hill 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).

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).

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).

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.

Recommended: Wide open views; good views. A fairly hilly route, mostly on field-edge paths and good tracks across arable land and with some overgrown stretches and short sections on quiet roads and verges. The Luton end has rather a lot of residential roads. Good views from the higher ground. Follows the Chiltern Way Extension for a significant distance. Whitwell has an interesting tower.

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

Lunch: There is a pub at St Paul's Walden, roughly mid-route.

Warnings: Crossing London Road (B656) needs a little care. Some paths are a little overgrown, occasionally between barbed-wire fences.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Lovely views around Weston in particular. Mostly footpaths and some urban pavements, leaving the concrete of Stevenage to cross gently rolling countryside on footpaths and bridleways, with a small amount on pavement-less country roads. Fairly flat; surprisingly not too muddy even after rain and though some muddy paths.

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

Warnings: Some steps onto bridges over roads at the Stevenage end (some with ramps); a small amount of walking on country roads without pavement.

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.

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.

A pleasant route through leafy suburbs on flat pavements and across grassy farmland and diverting north of Stevenage to avoid a major road and using Stevenage's wide pedestrian/cycleways and underpasses. A short flight of steps at Willian (avoidable via about 50m of road). Makes use of permissive paths in several sections. Subject to footpath diversions near Stevenage Old Town due to new-build development (check in 2025).

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

Lunch: Pubs at Willian and Graveley and a village shop at Willian; Stevenage Old Town has refreshments.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Some lovely open countryside with nice paths and views, let down by uncomfortable verge walking on busy roads with no or sporadic narrow verges, plus muddy open fields and kissing gates and barriers. Steps on both sides of the dual-carriageway crossing. The A602 crossing can be avoided via Todds Green between Little Wymondley and Stevenage; an alternative route via Redcoats Green also avoids it. Little Wymondley has two pubs; convenience shops near the stations at each end.

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

Lunch: Two pubs at Little Wymondley mid-route, plus convenience shops near the stations at each end.

Warnings: Crossing the A602 dual carriageway on foot via the central reservation is the main hazard, with fast traffic (reviewers disagree on how dangerous, but care needed and wear something bright); a 75m in-road dash along a busy road near Titmore Green; an unlit motorway underpass at Symonds Green.

Walk details: Slow Ways.