Walks you can reach from Shenstone by train

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).

Golf club, heath, woodland and Heart of England Way.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 5h–10h30

2 lunch spots: the Tame Otter (2h–4h30 in), or the Red Lion (2h–4h30 in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Horse and Jockey, or the Turnpike

Warnings: MOD firing range — check access.

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Varied suburban and exurban and rural terrain. Connects Sutton Coldfield to historic cathedral city of Lichfield via Anglo-Saxon Shenstone and Roman remains at Wall where Watling Street and Icknield Street met.

Time: 5h–10h

Warnings: Camp Road has high traffic, tight bends and heavy lorries; M6 Toll, A5, A5148 crossings; low-hanging power lines.

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

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).

Spectacular views to Birmingham and Worcestershire. Ridge lip with fields, woodlands and lanes. Traces the Midlands Watershed Ridge along the Birmingham Plateau lip; route parallels Roman Icknield Street.

Time: 4h–8h

Warnings: A441 Redditch Road busy; M42 motorway crossing.

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

Pastoral yet industrial terrain of north east Worcestershire into Birmingham. Walk traverses the Worcester and Birmingham Canal (1792-1815), featuring 30 locks at Tardebigge Flight.

Waterway: four fifths along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Time: 5h–10h

Warnings: Fast cars on suburban lanes; dual carriageway crossing.

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

Rural with woodland, fields and suburban areas. Walk traces River Cole source on Severn-Trent watershed; passes moated medieval farmhouse; passes Shire Country Park.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: Busy main roads; muddy footpath sections.

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

Safe, direct, offroad and beautiful. A safe, direct and largely off-road route following the Heart of England Way, via public footpath and residential road and the A51 into countryside south of Lichfield. A beautifully straight track takes you over the hills before crossing the Tame at Hopwas and following pavement into the town. Follows the Heart of England Way.

Time: 3h30–6h30

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

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Great views over the Staffordshire country side and moorland. An easy, level towpath section along the Trent and Mersey Canal followed by undulating field paths over Staffordshire countryside, with a short climb out of Longdon to a viewpoint and a gentle crossing of farmland and a golf course. The canal is firm and easy; the field paths can be muddy in places and are poorly waymarked, with several awkward and overgrown stiles.

Time: 4h30–8h30

Lunch: At Armitage a pub, café and supermarket sit just off the route; Longdon has the last pub before Lichfield.

Warnings: The middle field section is poorly waymarked with several awkward or overgrown stiles, and the possibility of cattle. Some paths are little-walked and hard to locate when crops are high. Refreshments are limited in the middle, so go prepared.

Walk details: Slow Ways.