Walks in Wiltshire by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations in Wiltshire and plan your next day of green.
Salisbury Circular via Stonehenge
1 hour 15 minutes from Swindon, with one change.
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).
Pewsey Circular via Pewsey White Horse
1 hour from Swindon, 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).
Chippenham Circular via Lacock
15 minutes direct from Swindon.
Flat fields, river meadows, canal path, farmland, small woods and residential streets.
Lacock (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Kemble Circular via Thames Head and Cirencester
15 minutes direct from Swindon.
Cotswolds farmland, disused canal towpath, ancient hillfort, beech woods, high watershed, grand parkland vistas, market town streets, quiet fields and upper Thames riverbank.
Time: 8h (6h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Warnings: Can flood at Thames Head.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Westbury to Warminster
45 minutes direct from Swindon.
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).
Trowbridge to Bath Spa
30 minutes direct from Swindon.
Beautiful walk; fantastic. Canal towpath with fields.
Prior Park Landscape Garden (National Trust)
Bath Skyline (National Trust)
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Short stretch on a fast-traffic road with limited verge.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Bedwyn to Hungerford
1 hour from Swindon, with one change.
A flat, easy canal towpath walk, mostly dry and firm underfoot but with some seasonal mud after wet weather; one short section can be especially bad. Some uneven ground and kissing gates and a narrow bridge. Railway stations at both ends make it an easy there-and-back by train.
Waterway: nine tenths along the Kennet and Avon Canal.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: A cafe in Great Bedwyn, but it closes at 3pm.
Warnings: A railway crossing and a section of road through Great Bedwyn with no pavement, though traffic is light.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Avoncliff to Westbury
45 minutes from Swindon, with one change.
Pleasant. Canal towpath with fields and with moderate climbs.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.
Dilton Marsh to Avoncliff
45 minutes from Swindon, with one change.
Wonderful; spectacular. Canal towpath with woodland, fields and with moderate climbs.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Sections can be overgrown.
Walk details: Railwalks.