Walks you can reach from Esher by train

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

Time: 2h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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: 3h30

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.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

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).

Waterways, a foot ferry and D'Oyly Carte Island, past Dumsey Meadow, the Thames Path and the Wey Navigation.

Waterway: three quarters beside rivers and canals.

Dumsey Meadow: A rare surviving Thames-side water meadow with open access for wild swimming.

D'Oyly Carte Island: A small Thames island that was the home of Victorian impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte.

Time: 3h–6h

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

Woods, fields, open sandy heathland, commons, canal towpath and suburban road.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, 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).

Recommended: A really easy-to-follow and direct and pleasant route making the most of the Basingstoke Canal and Wey Navigation towpaths. The first section out of Woking is mostly paved; the stretch along the Wey is rougher ground and can be muddy in places after rain. A gradual rise as the locks raise the canal level; away from traffic and mostly quiet. Follows the Basingstoke Canal and Wey Navigation towpaths.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Basingstoke Canal.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–5h

Lunch: There are no refreshments along the way, but it is not a long route.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Lovely countryside along the Wey Navigation; Lovely views across water meadows. A generally flat, easy-to-follow route along the River Wey Navigation towpath through lovely countryside and water meadows, with well-kept locks and bridges, a few steep ramps where the towpath crosses roads and steps and stiles. One section can become muddy and slippery; the final mile or so into Woking is more urban. Follows the River Wey/Wey Navigation towpath, owned and managed by the National Trust. An hourly bus from Send allows the route to be split. A short detour can be made to Send Church.

Waterway: nine tenths along the River Wey.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–7h30

1 lunch spot: the New Inn

Warnings: A section between Send and Old Woking can be muddy and slippery with little to hold onto; walking poles and waterproof boots recommended in wet weather. An awkward stile near Woking by the cricket ground. The river dominates the route, so check flood warnings before walking if in doubt.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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

Time: 2h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Source: A shorter variant of Wimbledon to Putney – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Common heathland, woodland, royal deer park, Thames riverside path, Palladian riverside park and Italianate gardens.

Source: An alternative variant of Wimbledon to Kingston – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).