Walks you can reach from Axminster by train

A steady climb to two Iron Age hillforts and a toll house, with wide country views.

Warnings: Includes a sustained climb.

Walk details: Great Scenic Railways of Devon & Cornwall (PDF).

Rolling farmland to a market town, reaching the River Otter, home to wild otters and reintroduced beavers.

Walk details: Great Scenic Railways of Devon & Cornwall (PDF).

Dry chalky U-shaped downland valleys, wooded ridges, grassy valleys, picturesque villages, rolling hills and river valley.

Time: 5h

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

A walk in open country and Devon green lanes linking the city's two outer stations, climbing out of the suburbs through Mincinglake Valley Park and over Stoke Hill, with superb views opening up over Exeter and down the Exe Estuary before a long descent past the University to St David's.

Mincinglake Valley Park: a wooded valley park and Local Nature Reserve climbing out of the city, with views opening back over Exeter.

Exeter

Time: 2h30

Lunch: Pubs and shops at the start (the Queen's Head by Polsloe Bridge) and at the finish (the Jolly Porter and Great Western, opposite St David's station).

Walk details: Avocet Line Rail Users Group (PDF).

Beautiful; picturesque. Riverside path and flat and easy-going.

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

Woodland: a third under tree cover.

Time: 6h30–13h

Walk details: Railwalks.

Hill and moorland paths and with substantial climbs; surfaced.

Time: 8h–16h30

Warnings: Short stretch on a fast-traffic road with limited verge.

Walk details: Railwalks.

Woodland paths and flat and easy-going.

Time: 5h30–10h30

Walk details: Railwalks.

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Fine views over the surrounding countryside. A very rural route following the Macmillan Way: pasture and arable farmland, quiet lanes and footpaths through Honeycombe Wood. Poorly maintained and overgrown in places, with muddy fields and field exits and fine countryside views. Follows the Macmillan Way; combines well with the Yetminster-to-Crewkerne route.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: The trail is poorly maintained: expect overgrown stretches and stiles, many through reclaiming hedgerow (difficult and low for tall walkers), and nettles. Fields and Honeycombe Wood get very muddy in the wet, and some paths are hard to spot. Cattle (including a bull on one occasion) graze some fields.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Reverse direction: Visit Dorset.

Incredible views from Stoke Hill. A long, varied route alternating quiet country lanes with footpaths through the Devon countryside and with a stretch along the River Creedy and a high crossing over Stoke Hill. Some mud in wetter seasons; road sections are short and quiet. Several points intersect the Exeter-Crediton bus route (369 or 5) if the walk is too long. Starts through Shobrooke Park past ancient trees.

Time: 5h30–11h30

1 lunch spot: the Beer Engine

Warnings: Crossing the A396 Tiverton Road is a fast road, so cross only when clear in both directions.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Fabulous walking through interesting places and with some lovely views. Wonderful varied walking on back lanes, field paths and well-used dirt tracks and climbing onto the chalk plain for lovely views. A short steep climb out of Fonthill Gifford; a muddy bridleway through Eastleigh Woods toward Warminster (a drier signposted alternative exists).

Time: 6h30–13h

Warnings: A stretch along the fast, relatively busy B3089 east of Hindon has no verge; the crossing of the A303 needs care and patience (sightlines are good).

Walk details: Slow Ways.