Walks you can reach from Stone by train

Pavements and Trent & Mersey Canal towpath, with steep steps over the canal bridges, finishing beside Westport Lake.

Time: 3h

Warnings: Steep steps over the canal bridges.

Walk details: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership (tips and turn-by-turn directions).

Impressive views across southern and central Staffordshire landscape. Walk traverses Staffordshire countryside from Penkridge to Stafford via the ruins of a neo-gothic manor on the site of Stafford's medieval castle.

Time: 3h–6h

Warnings: Busy road near Penkridge; care crossing main roads near Stafford.

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

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Spectacular views across Cheshire plain. Countryside ridge walk with gritstone outcrops, woodland paths and fields. Mow Cop is where Primitive Methodism began in 1800 with mass prayer meetings by Hugh Bourne and William Clowes.

Hilly: two fifths on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Time: 3h–6h

Warnings: Stiles and steps; steep downhill sections.

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

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.

Mostly Trent and Mersey Canal towpath, with a woodland-and-road section over the hill around Harecastle Tunnel through Bathpool Park. The canal offers great variety, passing industrial relics and modern development and with steps at the Kidsgrove end and some shallow mud but a lot of good surfaces.

Waterway: four fifths along the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Time: 3h–6h

Warnings: Crossing the road in Kidsgrove needs care — no proper crossings, just raised road sections. Steps from Kidsgrove station car park to the towpath. The towpath is shared with the 555 cycleway and is narrow in places.

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 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.