Walks you can reach from Purley Oaks by train

First stage of the Vanguard Way, from suburban East Croydon out through Selsdon Wood and the North Downs to Oxted.

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 5h30–11h

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

Chalk downland, commons, airfield perimeter, wooded valleys, meadows and restored grassland on the London/Surrey border.

Time: 4h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

A walk through London's history around the square mile, past the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral and the Guildhall.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: Two thirds urban. Several sets of steps, cobbled streets and narrow alleys.

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

Chalk downland, meadows, bluebell woods, hillside paths, undulating valleys, residential alleyways and hilltop village.

Time: 2h–4h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Gently rolling countryside, shady footpaths and bridleways, open valleys, woods, chalk downland and quiet rural hamlets near the London/Surrey border.

Time: 4h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

North Downs escarpment, woods carpeted with wild garlic and bluebells, open pasture, arable fields, fine southward views and some M25 road noise early on.

Warnings: Can be slippery.

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

Be prepared for a spectacular view; great views and wonderful flora; beautiful chalk downland valleys. A beautiful but demanding chalk downland route with a series of steep ups and downs across peaceful dry valleys, a steep climb to Woldingham and a long climb up the North Downs escarpment on a narrow, sometimes tricky path. The descent off Oxted Downs is steep. Kissing gates, stiles and steps and uneven paths throughout. Follows the North Downs Way; the top of Oxted Downs is National Trust managed escarpment with an information board showing landscape features as far as the South Downs. Woldingham has a railway station, allowing the route to be split. A water fountain and benches on Woldingham Green. Good refreshments at Caterham and Oxted.

Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–5h

1 lunch spot: the Woldingham Village Shop

Warnings: Crossing the A22 bypass is a fast, busy highway with a central reservation, needing care and patience. Several very steep hills, steps and narrow paths; chalk can be slippery when wet. Possible cattle and horses in some fields. Leaving Caterham involves steps.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Spectacular unimpeded views from the North Downs scarp; a superb view from a bench near the top. A surprisingly rural and varied route with grassy tree-lined rides, woodland paths, grazing pastures, a churchyard, a park, arable fields and chalk-grassland nature reserves, plus six lakes near Redhill. One very long, very steep hill (up to 35%); kissing gates, high stiles and rutted/rooty tracks. Only about 3.5km is on roads and mostly very quiet lanes. Passes the Park Ham and Quarry Hanger nature reserves with rare chalk wildflowers and grazing animals, plus several lakes around Nutfield Marsh. There is no mid-route public transport, though some buses stop at Mill Lane and Doctors Lane in an emergency.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–6h30

Lunch: A food truck near Mercers Lake watersports centre (about 300m off-route) sells hot drinks and snacks. Shops at either end.

Warnings: One very long, very steep hill. A 275m stretch on Pendell Lane has little verge, bends and a humpback bridge that mess with sightlines; walk with care. Possible cows, goats or bullocks in the nature reserves and the fields just north of the M25 underpass, where a stile can also get very muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

North Downs ridge, wooded escarpment, open hilltops, heathland, suburban approaches and motorway crossings.

Warnings: Hilly, multiple ascents.

Source: A longer variant of Box Hill to Merstham and Caterham – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Flat riverside pavement, converted Victorian wharves, residential riverside developments, industrial heritage and pocket parks.

Source: A shorter variant of Westminster to Greenwich via the south bank – the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Chalk downland, commons, wooded valleys, Happy Valley, airfield perimeter and restored grassland.

Time: 3h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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