Walks you can reach from Ash Vale by train

Highly recommended: Deer park, heathland, MOD training area, Iron Age hillfort, reservoirs, stream valleys, woodland, nature reserve, wet meadows, lakeside sandy shores and common.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 5h30–11h

1 lunch spot: the Foresters (2h30–4h30 in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Crown and Cushion

Warnings: MOD closures apply.

Source: Trains2Green.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Highly recommended: River valley, forest tracks, sandy bridleways, open parkland, country houses and wooded valleys.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Mother Ludlam's Cave: Sandstone cave associated with local folklore.

Time: 6h–12h

1 lunch spot: the Barley Mow, Tilford Green (2h30–4h30 in)

5 end-of-walk rewards: the Cyder House Inn, the Rose and Crown, the Richmond Arms, the Fox & Finch, or the Star

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.

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

Highly recommended: Ancient forests, heathland ridges, Scots pine, heather, large ponds with swimming, remote commons and quiet woodland paths and lanes.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

The Devil's Jumps

Time: 6h30–13h30

1 lunch spot: the Bel & The Dragon (3h30–6h30 in)

Warnings: MOD closures apply.

Source: Trains2Green.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Reverse direction: Blackwater Valley Nature Walks.

An 11-mile ramble over the six hills ringing Alton, with farmland, woodland near Monk Wood, the River Wey and the Hangers Way, gateway to the South Downs.

Warnings: Includes a subway crossing under the A31 and field-edge paths that may be muddy.

Walk details: Wey Valley Community Rail Partnership (PDF).

Quaint cobbled Farnham, St Swithun's Way and the River Wey to Alton, via Bentley and pretty Binsted village.

Time: 5h–10h

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

Countryside crossing over gently rolling Hampshire farmland, with woodland paths, the infant River Wey, a butterfly reserve and the St Swithin's Way pilgrimage route.

Lunch: Station café and a café in Waitrose, both at Alton.

Warnings: Grass and lower paths can be wet after rain; the route crosses the A31 dual carriageway.

Walk details: Blackwater Valley Nature Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Hilly North Downs walk over sandy heathland commons with ferns, ponds and hilltop panoramas.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Watts Gallery & Chapel: Arts and Crafts gallery and memorial chapel dedicated to Victorian artist G.F. Watts.

St John the Baptist Church: Historic parish church.

Puttenham Common: Heathland common with ponds and ferns.

Crooksbury Hill: Pine-clad hilltop with panoramic views toward the South Downs.

Mother Ludlam's Cave: Sandstone cave associated with local folklore.

Time: 5h30–10h30

Warnings: Steep inclines in places. Can be muddy.

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

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Wild, open heathland plus the Grade I listed Brookwood Cemetery and Ash Ranges MOD heathland.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Brookwood Cemetery: A vast Grade I listed Victorian cemetery with an eclectic mix of religious sections.

Ash Ranges: Wide-open MOD-owned heathland with occasional public access and far-reaching views.

Time: 3h–5h30

Warnings: Ash Ranges access varies; do not enter if red flags are flying.

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

Flat canal towpath, riverside Thames Path, tarmaced and paved surfaces, waterside scenery, locks, islands and houseboats.

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

Longer heath-and-forest crossing on the Three Castles Path, past Englemere Pond, Swinley Park forest tracks and Bagshot Heath. Some of east Berkshire's finest open country.

Englemere Pond: A nature reserve centred on a heathland pond near Ascot, rich in dragonflies and wetland plants.

Lunch: Café at The Lookout, and the Coral Reef waterpark, both roughly midway.

Warnings: Crossing the A322 bridge on a busy, narrow road is the most challenging part.

Walk details: Blackwater Valley Nature Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Largely flat Basingstoke Canal towpath, summer water lilies and wildflowers, linking Farnborough, Brookwood and Woking; varying lengths.

Lunch: Station coffee shops at Farnborough and Brookwood, a café in Brookwood, the Rose and Thistle pub at Frimley Green, and many options in Woking.

Warnings: Lords-and-ladies plants along the route are poisonous.

Walk details: Blackwater Valley Nature Walks (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Heathland, Horsell Common and a Peace Garden; Chobham Common, Rhododendron Walkway, Basingstoke Canal into Woking.

Woodland: half under tree cover.

Chobham Common: The largest National Nature Reserve in the South East, a fine example of lowland heath.

Horsell Common: Sandy common made famous as the Martian landing site in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.

Time: 3h30–7h

Warnings: Longcross has no facilities and trains roughly twice an hour; buy single tickets as the stations are on different lines.

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