Walks near Yeovil by train
Stations: Yeovil Pen Mill · Yeovil Junction
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Yeovil and plan your next day of green.
Salisbury Circular via Stonehenge (Wiltshire)
45 minutes direct from Yeovil Junction.
Highly recommended
Time: 4h30–9h
1 lunch spot: the Bridge Inn (2h30–5h30 in; excellent)
Warnings: Have lunch a café or pub next to the river. Return from Stonehenge to Salisbury by bus (very frequent & reliable but check times).
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Castle Cary Circular via Cadbury Castle (Camelot) (Somerset)
15 minutes direct from Yeovil Pen Mill.
Somerset Levels fringes, hillock, quiet residential streets, charming market town, dry green valley, ancient holloway, pastures, shallow river valley, hillfort plateau, steep ascents, large WWII airfield remains and broad plateau with views.
Time: 7h
Warnings: Steep ascents and descents.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Maiden Newton Circular via Cerne Abbas (Dorset)
15 minutes direct from Yeovil Pen Mill.
Chalk downland, dry hanging valleys, rounded hills, broad ridges, chalk streams, picturesque villages and historic churches.
Time: 7h
Warnings: Six hilly ascents.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Bruton Circular via Stourhead Estate (Somerset)
15 minutes direct from Yeovil Pen Mill.
South Somerset pastures, wooded ridge forming the Wiltshire/Somerset boundary, hanging woods, landscaped estate gardens with lakeside walks, grassy U-shaped valley and honey-coloured stone-built town.
Time: 5h30
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Dorchester South Circular via Hardy's Cottage (Dorset)
45 minutes from Yeovil Pen Mill, with one change.
Thomas Hardy country east of Dorchester — his thatched birthplace cottage and the woodland and heathland of Thorncombe Wood.
Hardy's Cottage: The thatched cottage birthplace of writer Thomas Hardy, set within Thorncombe Wood nature reserve and cared for by the National Trust.
Thorncombe Wood: A mixed woodland nature reserve surrounding Hardy's Cottage with waymarked trails and heathland.
Lunch: The Under the Greenwood Tree cafe at the Hardy's Cottage visitor centre; pubs and cafes in Dorchester.
Warnings: Hardy's Cottage can only be visited on a guided tour; check National Trust opening arrangements before setting out.
Walk details: Visit Dorset (tips, photos and local insights).
Pewsey Circular via Pewsey White Horse (Wiltshire)
1 hour from Yeovil Pen Mill, with one change.
Chalk downland, the Pewsey White Horse hill figure, the River Avon and a quiet village, with spectacular views.
Pewsey White Horse: A 20th-century chalk hill figure cut into the downs above Pewsey.
Walk details: Visit Pewsey Vale (photos).
Tisbury Circular via Hindon (Wiltshire)
30 minutes direct from Yeovil Junction.
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).
Honiton Circular via Round Ball Hill (Devon)
30 minutes direct from Yeovil Junction.
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).
Feniton Circular via Ottery St Mary (Devon)
45 minutes direct from Yeovil Junction.
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).
Westbury to Warminster (Wiltshire)
30 minutes from Yeovil Pen Mill, with one change.
Chalk downland, Iron Age hillforts, five hills, Salisbury Plain military range, abandoned village and sweeping views over Wiltshire and Somerset.
Time: 7h
Warnings: MOD closures apply.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Yetminster to Maiden Newton (Dorset)
7 minutes direct from Yeovil Pen Mill.
Recommended: Some great views. Mostly across fields, some arable and some pasture but largely empty and with stretches of quiet lane walking. Well maintained and easy to follow. The ground can develop short muddy sections in winter. Mostly follows the Macmillan Way, so it is well waymarked. Passes through the landscaped estate of Melbury Park.
Time: 4h30–9h30
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Bath Spa to Frome (Somerset)
30 minutes direct from Yeovil Pen Mill.
Recommended: A great walk. A great walk with a good variety of open fields, woodland, stony tracks and a disused-railway cycle track and with very little on roads. Muddy at some points; a very steep climb with steps from the cycle track up to Combe Down if walked from Frome.
Hilly: a quarter on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Time: 6h–12h
Lunch: A pub at Norton St Philip, mid-route, makes a good coffee stop.
Warnings: A very steep climb with steps from the cycle track up to Combe Down.
Walk details: Slow Ways.