Walks you can reach from Salfords by train

Gentle greensand ridge, pasture, arable fields, woodland, bluebell woods, escarpment views and low-lying meadows.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

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).

Nature reserves, wetland lakes, restored sand quarries, Greensand Ridge, farm fields, wooded commons, suburban streets and pedestrianised town centre.

Time: 5h

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Gently undulating High Weald woodland of Worth Forest, past an abbey monastery and managed forest park; bluebells and fungi in season.

Walk details: Travelog Lewes (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Recommended: Views of the North Downs. A direct, mostly off-road route leaving the busy A23 for residential streets and Cycleway 21, a mix of paved and unpaved (asphalt and gravel) surfaces, through Whitebushes and a rural section with bluebells, green fields and views of the North Downs and before a final pavement stretch on the 40mph Orchard Drive into Horley. A non-public footpath into Horley can be overgrown. Follows Cycleway 21; passes 'Asylum Arch Road' and East Surrey Hospital. Local shops at Whitebushes roughly two-thirds of the way.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 2h30–4h30

Lunch: A handy shop at Whitebushes about two-thirds along; multiple shop, pub and eatery options at both ends.

Warnings: Orchard Drive into Horley is a 40mph road, though it has a pavement. A non-public footpath at the Horley end was very overgrown and only just passable.

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.

A good view of the chalk hills of the North Downs. A mostly flat, pleasant route through farmland and past historic spots, with only two minor hills and some cheeky steep footpaths leaving Dorking. There are lots of stiles, some in poor repair and hidden in hedgerows, a couple of fields of cows and plus muddy patches in places. A nicer approach into Horley than the original via the River Mole. The start point is about a 20-minute walk from Dorking Station. Passes livestock fields with sheep, cows, horses and a llama near Tamworth Cottage, and views of the River Mole near Horley.

Time: 4h30–9h30

2 lunch spots: the Seven Stars, or the Plough

1 end-of-walk reward: Ye Olde Six Bells

Warnings: Short sections of road walking with sporadic but very fast traffic, though verges are wide. A very overgrown and inaccessible path just past Brittleware Farm. Many stiles, some in poor repair and hidden in hedgerows; livestock fields with cows and the potential for a bull; an electric fence to cross near Horley.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, mostly hard-surfaced route through arable landscape, much of it on National Cycle Route 21, mixing suburban footpaths between houses with semi-rural paths; nothing remotely wild. Possibly suitable for wheels end-to-end in dry conditions, but it can flood and waterlog and mud is hard to avoid after rain. Passes near Earlswood and Salfords stations, which can be used to break the walk.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h

Lunch: There is a corner shop in Whitebushes on Spencer Way, and pubs and a restaurant on the sides of Earlswood Common in the middle third.

Warnings: A short section on Crossoak Lane has no footpath and a national speed limit; this can be avoided via a marked footpath off Lake Lane. The route is prone to flooding after heavy rain, including the bridge over Salfords Stream.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 4h–8h30

1 lunch spot: the Harrow Pub (2h–4h in)

1 end-of-walk reward: the Home Cottage

Warnings: Pleasant but apparent that you haven't left London.

Source: Trains2Green.

Grassy embankment, wooded open spaces, wetland lakes, restored sand quarries, restored grassland, wooded paths, farm fields, wooded commons and suburban streets.

Time: 3h30

Warnings: Road noise near M25.

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