Walks you can reach from Hendon by train

Recommended

St Albans Cathedral (30m in)

Verulamium Roman City Walls (45m in)

Ruins of Gorhambury House (2h in)

St Albans (2h in)

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

1 lunch spot: Ye Olde Fighting Cocks (30m in)

6 end-of-walk rewards: the Six Bells, the Lower Red Lion, the Snug, the Boot, the Mad Squirrel Tap, or the Peahen

Warnings: A third urban.

Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).

Recommended: Mostly fields and country lanes. Some beautiful new bluebell woods, stunning historic city streeets, commons, golf courses and parkland.

Heartwood Forest (1h30 in)

St Albans Cathedral (4h in)

St Albans (3h30 in)

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

4 lunch spots: Sandridge (2h in) — the Green Man (excellent; reservations recommended), Heartwood Tea Rooms (busy!), the Rose & Crown, or the Queens Head (not great)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Lower Red Lion, the Mad Squirrel Tap, the Peahen, the Snug, or the Boot

Best months: in April (bluebell season).

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Source: Trains2Green.

Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Urban streets, open common, wooded paths, golf fairways, parkland and quiet roads.

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

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

South London green-chain walk from Streatham's Rookery through Dulwich Woods, Horniman Gardens and Nunhead Cemetery to East Dulwich.

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

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

Walk through surviving fragments of the ancient Great North Wood, from Streatham Common via Crystal Palace Park to One Tree Hill.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

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

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

Flat urban riverside parks, nature reserves, chalk stream, industrial heritage and south London commons and green corridors.

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

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

Suburban streets, open common, landscaped park, woodland riverside path, Royal Park grassland, suburban roads and riverside Thames path.

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

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Common heathland, woodland, royal deer park, formal gardens, Thames riverside path and open grassland.

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

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Way-marked trail through the Ver and Colne Valleys and linking all seven Abbey Line stations — can be done end-to-end or as individual sections with a train hop back.

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

Warnings: Sections can become waterlogged after heavy rain, sometimes without obvious alternative routes.

Walk details: the Abbey Line Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

Common woodland, farmland tracks, river meadows, water meadows, quiet residential roads and historic city streets.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

St Albans (3h15 in)

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

3 lunch spots: Moor Mill Watermill & Inn (1h45 in), the Overdraught (2h15 in), or Rumbles Fish Bar (2h15 in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Horn, or the Robin Hood

Warnings: Can be very muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

The countryside views are fantastic, and the scenery is extremely varied; a marvellous view of the rest of the route all the way to St Albans. A very enjoyable and varied route with a mix of fields, woodland, lanes, tracks and urban residential estates, plus a riverside walk; mostly good path and road or pavement with some muddier track and one or two extra-muddy fields. No pavement-less B-roads and all road crossings safe except one. Marvellous mid-point view across to St Albans. Rich wildlife (skylark, woodpecker, red kites, butterflies) and varied features including an air museum, a fishery and a gravel-extraction conveyor belt. Pubs at South Mimms and Tyttenhanger, plus a picnic area and WC at the Willows Lakes fishery. Note St Albans High Street is on the far side of the station.

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

Lunch: Pubs at South Mimms and Tyttenhanger split the route into thirds, plus picnic area and toilets at the Willows Lakes fishery.

Warnings: The crossing of the A414 is uncontrolled on a dual carriageway with fast traffic, though there is a central median so you only cross two lanes at a time; some narrow kissing gates and barriers along the route, and a fair bit of mud in winter.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A direct yet pleasant, largely off-road route following the River Ver across meadows and managed wetlands, then field edges, woodland, fields and tracks to the outskirts of Radlett, finishing on a quiet private road. The Ver meadows are boggy and may flood in winter (gaiters or waterproof boots advised); some steps and narrow paths and a small bridge. Passes the site of a Roman villa and fishing lakes at Frogmore that can encroach over the path.

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

Lunch: Refreshments at Park Street, with a hotel by the M25 useful for those on a long journey.

Warnings: The Ver Valley water meadows are boggy and likely to flood in winter — waterproof boots or gaiters needed. Some steps and narrow paths. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.