Walks in Gloucestershire by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations in Gloucestershire and plan your next day of green.
Moreton-in-Marsh Circular via Longborough
1 hour 15 minutes from Cheltenham Spa, with one change.
Gentle Cotswold hills, open fields, ridge with fine views and honey-coloured villages.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Ashchurch for Tewkesbury to Pershore
7 minutes direct from Cheltenham Spa.
Dramatic outlying northwestern limb of the Cotswolds. Walk crosses from Gloucestershire into Worcestershire at Carrant Brook.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Dangerously busy lane with tight bends near Aston-on-Carrant.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Honeybourne to Stratford-upon-Avon
1 hour from Cheltenham Spa, with one change.
Beautiful line through the northern Cotswolds. Trackbed of old railway line, fields, roads through villages and flat greenway. Route follows the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway from 1859, closed for passenger services in 1968-1969, finally closed in 1976. Now a greenway.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: First section still in use for goods traffic; moderately busy road between Pebworth and Long Marston.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Gloucester Circular via Gloucester Docks
9 minutes direct from Cheltenham Spa.
Medieval friaries, Gloucester Cathedral's fan-vaulted cloisters, the historic docks and the river-meadow Alney Island reserve on the Severn.
Gloucester Docks: Britain's most inland port, the 1827 terminus of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, ringed by Victorian warehouses.
Gloucester Cathedral: A great medieval cathedral with celebrated fan-vaulted cloisters, near the start of the walk.
Llanthony Secunda Priory: The surviving buildings of a 12th-century Augustinian priory beside the Gloucester docks.
Alney Island Nature Reserve: A river-meadow nature reserve on an island between two channels of the River Severn.
Over Bridge: A single-span masonry bridge over the Severn designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1829.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Bristol Rail Campaign (photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
St Andrews Road to Avonmouth
1 hour 15 minutes from Cheltenham Spa, with one change.
Flat and heavily industrial Avonmouth: distribution centres, wind turbines, an old level crossing and the greenery of Avonmouth Park.
Time: 3h (1h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Heavily industrial; some footpaths overgrown or eroded by trail bikes.
Walk details: Bristol Rail Campaign (photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Ashchurch for Tewkesbury to Cheltenham Spa
Wonderful views. Hill and moorland paths and with substantial climbs.
Time: 7h30 (6h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.
Stroud Circular via Rodborough Common
15 minutes direct from Cheltenham Spa.
Hill and moorland paths and with substantial climbs.
Hilly: half on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons (National Trust; 2h in)
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.
Stonehouse to Stroud
15 minutes direct from Cheltenham Spa.
Panoramic views; long views. Hill and moorland paths with woodland and with substantial climbs. Part of the Cotswold Way.
Hilly: two fifths on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.
Bristol Parkway to Yate
30 minutes direct from Cheltenham Spa.
Picturesque; great views. Riverside path with fields.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Short stretch on a fast-traffic road with limited verge.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Cam and Dursley to Stonehouse
30 minutes from Cheltenham Spa, with one change.
Yate to Cam and Dursley
45 minutes from Cheltenham Spa, with one change.
Panoramic views; long views. Hill and moorland paths with fields and with substantial climbs.
Time: 10h (7h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 1h break)
Warnings: Sections can be overgrown.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Patchway to Severn Beach
1 hour from Cheltenham Spa, with one change.
Riverside path with fields and with moderate climbs. Good for bird-watching.
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be very muddy or boggy.
Walk details: Railwalks.