Walks you can reach from Penkridge by train

Canal towpath (Worcester and Birmingham Canal). Kings Norton was site of a 1642 English Civil War battle.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Time: 2h30–5h

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Canal towpath, urban paths and suburban streets. Walk along the Worcester-Birmingham Canal from city centre to Cadbury's model village.

Waterway: four fifths along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Time: 2h–4h

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Boggy muddy ground at wetter times of year. Stafford Common is an unusually large surviving common land near a major Midlands centre with origins in medieval townland for grazing, protected by parliament 1839 and 1939.

Time: 3h30–7h30

Warnings: Comparatively busy road at Whitgreave; boggy ground when wet.

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Similar walk: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Largely paved paths, pavements and canal towpaths through residential streets, industrial estates, a nature reserve and a former-railway path. Route follows a section of the Monarch’s Way long-distance footpath. Well-served public transport returns to the start.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: A quarter urban. Footpath across wasteland between Walsall and Wolverhampton is ill-kempt with fly-tipping; gap-in-fence section near the mound is tricky to navigate.

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Recommended: A level, well-surfaced canal towpath walk with no locks, easily wheeled and with a residential section at the Coseley end and pavement along a main road in central Wolverhampton. Can be a little overgrown in places in summer. Follows the Birmingham Canal towpath. Lots of waterfowl along the canal, including herons, mallards, swans, moorhens and coots. No facilities until the Wolverhampton end. Trains and buses at both ends.

Waterway: nine tenths along the Birmingham New Main Line Canal.

Time: 2h–3h30

Warnings: A quarter urban.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A long, flat and easy route that is mostly off-road towpath, following the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and then the Trent and Mersey Canal, with short stretches of riverside path, pavement and rough grassy track. Mostly a made-up surface, though some towpath sections are muddy and the riverside meadows can flood after heavy rain. Follows canal towpaths almost the whole way and can be split at intermediate points; passes near Shugborough Park. Trains and buses serve both ends.

Waterway: almost all beside rivers and canals.

Time: 5h–9h30

Lunch: A farm shop and cafe at Great Haywood Junction, plus pubs a short walk off the towpath at Little Haywood and Wolseley Bridge.

Warnings: The Sow Leisure Route and riverside flood meadows can be wet or flooded after heavy rain, sometimes needing detours, and there may be cattle in one short field section. One stile.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A direct, varied and enjoyable route mixing pavements, country lanes and footpaths through fields and woodland. The first stretch out of Crewe is along busy roads and dual carriageways with good pavements; the countryside footpaths are well marked with many kissing gates and no stiles and but can be very muddy after rain. At Hall o' the Heath the farmer has redirected the footpath away from the marked right of way. Look out for a 125-year-old waymarker and a vintage petrol pump in the woods.

Time: 3h–5h30

Lunch: Shops, pubs and takeaways in Crewe, Haslington and Alsager.

Warnings: Fields near Hall o' the Heath and Crewe Green may contain cows and calves that can be agitated; take care, especially with dogs. At Hall o' the Heath several footpaths converge and an electric-fence gate must be opened, so concentration is needed. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A thoroughly relaxing, safe and direct route, the bulk along canal towpath (three canals and two junctions) with linking pavement, alleyway and park walks. The towpath is narrow and unsurfaced beyond The Droveway; mostly surfaced and in good condition elsewhere. Some steps and avoidable with a short detour. Follows the Birmingham, Staffs & Worcs and Shropshire Union canals, passing interesting bridges, locks and boatyards at Autherley and Aldersley junctions. A pleasant detour through Wheel Field Park. Two shops in Bilbrook.

Waterway: two thirds along the Birmingham New Main Line Canal.

Time: 2h30–5h

Lunch: Two shops in Bilbrook mid-route.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A flat, fully surfaced (tarmac) and largely traffic-free route on the signposted Greenway linking the two town centres, a mix of pavement and multi-use paths and with no steps and pedestrian crossings at all busy roads. Passes through the attractive Queen's Park. Uses the designated Greenway and the King Shilling Way, which run parallel to busy roads but are separated by a hedge and verge. Queen's Park can be bypassed if closed.

Time: 2h30–4h30

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a third of the walk.

Walk details: Slow Ways.