Walks you can reach from Whitechapel by train

Dorneywood Garden: 1930s-style garden, with herbaceous borders, cottage garden and lily pond (National Trust; 2h45 in; 1h30 to visit).

2 lunch spots: the Blackwood Arms (2h15 in), or the Beeches Eco Cafe (3h15 in)

Source: Trains2Green.

Thames riverside path, wooded escarpment views, short steep hill and pretty 18th-century town.

Warnings: Riverside can flood.

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

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

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).

Ancient woodland, open flats, commons, forest rides, gravel tracks, residential roads and meadows.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Suburban parks, ancient woodland, leafy avenues, Victorian gardens and urban pavements.

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).

Flat urban start, parkland, deer park, historic royal landscape, ornamental gardens and lake.

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

Leafy Georgian avenues, open heath, parkland, Royal Observatory hill, riverside Thames Path, Docklands waterfront and financial district.

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

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.

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

Hills, escarpment with valley views, beech woods, open fields, riverside Thames Path, wooded estate banks and town outskirts.

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

Recommended: A scenic, mostly traffic-free route using waterside and green paths out of Maidenhead through Braywick Nature Reserve, then crossing the Thames on the Summerleaze footbridge to follow a wooded stretch of the Thames Path and before leaving the river at Boveney to cross meadows and pass under railway arches into Eton. Mostly flat apart from the bridges; can get muddy after rain in Braywick Park and along the riverside. Passes Dorney Lake; no refreshment stops between Bray and Eton, though there are picnic places. Take a toilet break at Braywick Leisure Centre as facilities are sparse afterwards.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

End-of-walk reward: Plenty of refreshment options in Eton, with Windsor just across the river.

Warnings: The riverside path is rugged and can get very muddy after rain. Cycle barriers on the Cut Foot Bridge. Direct access to the river along a long stretch — watch for tripping hazards.

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.

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.