Walks from Melksham

Recommended: A long, wheelchair- and pushchair-friendly route that is largely Kennet & Avon Canal towpath, with pavement out of Bath and into Melksham. Avoids the stiles, fields and crops and livestock of the shorter cross-country alternatives.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Bath Skyline (National Trust)

Bathampton Meadows (National Trust)

Time: 9h30 (7h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)

Lunch: Bradford on Avon at the mid-point has multiple pubs, restaurants and facilities.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: A field-and-riverside walk passing through fields, woods and alongside the River Avon, with a section under a road bridge into Chippenham. The riverside areas can flood in winter and making it more of a summer route.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Riverside sections can flood in winter. Fields around Melksham are often planted with crops, especially maize, which can make the walk challenging in autumn.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Field paths and flat and easy-going.

Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

The central section running along the reed-fringed Kennet and Avon Canal is a delight. A route with about half on pavements alongside urban and suburban roads (some quiet) and a delightful central section along the reed-fringed Kennet and Avon Canal towpath, sheltered by a hedge with views over the fields. The towpath is gravelly, stony and sometimes narrow and uneven, with a few short and potentially slippery slopes at bridges. Extends the canal towpath to Semington to be more wheelchair/pushchair friendly. A mostly off-road paved cycle track by the railway runs from the canal to Trowbridge station.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: A fifth urban.

Walk details: Railwalks.

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Waterway: three quarters along the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Includes a hazardous crossing of the A350.

Walk details: Slow Ways.