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
Old Sarum Ruins (1h in)
Stonehenge (4h30 in)
Stonehenge Landscape (National Trust; 4h30 in)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
1 lunch spot: the Bridge Inn (2h30 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: 9h (7h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
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: 8h30 (7h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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.
Stourhead (National Trust)
Stourhead Estate (National Trust)
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Dorchester Circular via Hardy's Cottage (Dorset)
30 minutes direct from Yeovil Pen Mill.
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.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
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: 9h (7h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Warnings: MOD closures apply.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Polsloe Bridge to Exeter (Devon)
1 hour direct from Yeovil Junction.
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: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
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).
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: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Slow Ways.