Walks near Lichfield by train
Stations: Lichfield City · Lichfield Trent Valley
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Lichfield and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Lichfield.
Derby Circular via Allestree Park (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Parks, river and heritage trail.
Time: 5h–10h30
6 lunch spots: Darley Park (1h–2h30 in) — Darley Park Terrace Cafe, the Little Darley in the Park, the Abbey Inn, or the Darleys; plus the Joiners Arms (3h–6h in), or the Orangery Café (3h–6h in)
4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Victoria Inn, or the Waterfall
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Similar walk: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership.
Derby to Long Eaton (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Waterways — River Derwent, Derby & Sandiacre Canal and Erewash Canal.
Time: 5h30–11h
2 lunch spots: Canal Cottage Cafe (2h30–5h30 in), or the Navigation (3h–6h30 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: Peking House, or the Sawley Junction
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Derby to Peartree (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Largely urban walking on pavements and a riverside path, through parks and along the line of the Derby Canal.
1 lunch spot: Waterside Café
Warnings: Only a few trains a day call at Peartree.
Walk details: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership (tips and turn-by-turn directions).
Derby to Nottingham (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Mixture of off-road cycle path and on-road sections. Part of the longer London-to-Lake-District route.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Alvechurch to Kings Norton (Worcestershire)
1 hour direct from Lichfield City.
Towpath along canal with suburban and greenbelt sections. Nearly 1000 years ago Kings Norton was valued five times higher than Birmingham for taxation; canal junction constructed 1796; area incorporated into Birmingham in 1911.
Waterway: three quarters along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Time: 2h30–5h
Warnings: Narrow road with fast traffic; dark tunnel to avoid (2.5km Wast Hill Tunnel).
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Duffield to Derby (Derbyshire)
30 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Repurposed railway track along the Great Northern Greenway.
Time: 4h30–9h30
2 lunch spots: the Bell and Harp (1h–2h in), or the Three Horseshoes (2h–4h30 in)
4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Waterfall, or the Merry Widows
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk.
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Buxton to Macclesfield (Derbyshire)
1 hour from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Spectacular views. Wild landscape of deep valleys and gritstone peaks and studded with peat bogs and pine forests. Buxton developed as a fashionable spa in 18th-19th centuries using profits from Dukes of Devonshire's copper mines. Macclesfield granted borough charter for market in 13th Century.
Time: 5h30–10h30
Warnings: Stiles; busy road with no pavement and fast traffic.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Similar walk: Walk Midlands (inc. GPX).
Atherstone Circular via Sheepy Magna (Warwickshire)
15 minutes direct from Lichfield Trent Valley.
Canal and villages.
Time: 5h–10h30
2 lunch spots: San Giovanni (3h–5h30 in), or the Black Horse (3h–6h in)
7 end-of-walk rewards: the Blue Lion, the Blue Boar Inn, the Old Swan, the Hat and Beaver, the White Horse, the Kings Head Pub, or the Clock
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Nuneaton Circular via Hartshill (Warwickshire)
30 minutes direct from Lichfield Trent Valley.
Parks, river, country park and canal.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Time: 4h30–9h30
1 lunch spot: the Stag and Pheasant (2h–4h in)
5 end-of-walk rewards: the Lord Hop, the Felix Holt, the George Eliot Hotel, the Black Swan In Hand, or the Silk Mill
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Rugby Circular (Warwickshire)
45 minutes direct from Lichfield Trent Valley.
Bedworth Circular via Bulkington (Warwickshire)
30 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Market town, field paths, Coventry Canal towpath, Ashby Canal towpath, village streets, suburban roads and woodland edge.
Time: 3h
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: Heart Rail Trails (PDF).
Long Eaton Circular via Trent Lock (Derbyshire)
45 minutes from Lichfield Trent Valley, with one change.
Public roads, footpaths and canal towpaths; railway embankments and woodland tracks and grass areas. Extensively documented railway history of the Long Eaton triangle spanning 1840–1968: wagon works, sheet stores and canal-transhipment facilities, with modern flood defences and Ratcliffe Power Station visible.
Warnings: One stretch alongside the River Trent is liable to flooding in very wet weather; beware of traffic turning off the roundabout at Tamworth Road; beware of fast-moving traffic on Fields Farm Road (40 mph). Canal towpath often under water when the river is in flood.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).