Walks you can reach from The Hawthorns by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Hagley to Barnt Green (Worcestershire)
30 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Ridge walk over North Worcestershire Hills, open hilltops, scrubland, gorse, woods, pastures, motorway bridge crossing, country parks and heathland with bilberry and heather.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Steep descents.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Droitwich Spa to Worcester Foregate Street (Worcestershire)
45 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Droitwich Canal constructed in 1771 to transport salt to River Severn; fully restored and reopened in 2011.
Waterway: three quarters along the Droitwich Barge Canal.
Hawford Dovecote (National Trust)
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Riverside path may be fenced off during repair works.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Reverse direction: Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership (PDF, inc. GPX) and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).
Droitwich Spa to Hartlebury (Worcestershire)
45 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Parkland and field paths past lakes and fishing ponds.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
End-of-walk reward: A pub and brewery at Hartlebury near the end.
Walk details: Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership (PDF).
Worcester Foregate Street to Great Malvern (Worcestershire)
1 hour direct from The Hawthorns.
Picturesque and historically rich. Riverside paths, fields, woodland and urban approaches. Walk traversing two rivers to reach a Victorian spa town beneath iconic hills.
Greyfriars House and Garden (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Muddy sections; multiple gates.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Reverse direction: Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership (PDF, inc. GPX) and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).
Alvechurch to Earlswood (Worcestershire)
45 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Hilly north Worcestershire landscape. River Blythe rises near Earlswood Lakes.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Cars travel fast on twisty road with no pavement; busy A435 dual carriageway crossing.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Bromsgrove to Droitwich Spa (Worcestershire)
45 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Mostly along canal towpaths with field paths and road sections. Walk through mid-Worcestershire from Bromsgrove to Droitwich Spa, tracing salt industry heritage and Victorian spa development via canal routes. Droitwich is a town literally constructed on salt.
Waterway: four fifths along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Be careful of fast-moving cars on lane; towpath muddy in places.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Reverse direction: Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership (PDF, inc. GPX) and Railwalks (inc. GPX).
Wood End Circular (Warwickshire)
45 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Warwickshire countryside paths, village lanes and river crossing.
Time: 2h30 (1h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Request stop; no shops in Wood End or Tanworth, stock up before arriving.
Walk details: Heart Rail Trails (PDF).
Danzey Circular (Warwickshire)
45 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Farmland, woodland and rural lanes.
Time: 3h (1h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Request stop; no facilities on trail, bring provisions.
Walk details: Heart Rail Trails (PDF).
Henley-in-Arden Circular via Henley-in-Arden Guildhall (Warwickshire)
1 hour direct from The Hawthorns.
Historic high street, farmland, Millennium Way, rural lanes, fields and woodland edges.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be overgrown summer.
Walk details: Heart Rail Trails (PDF).
Birmingham to Kings Norton (Warwickshire)
8 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
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.
Birmingham Back to Backs (National Trust)
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Birmingham to Bournville (Warwickshire)
8 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
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.
Birmingham Back to Backs (National Trust)
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Old Hill to Tipton (Staffordshire)
15 minutes direct from The Hawthorns.
Wild and dramatic escarpment (Rowley Hills). Mostly along canal towpaths through suburban towns and villages. Walk celebrates William Perry, the 'Tipton Slasher', a renowned 19th-century bareknuckle boxer born in Tipton in 1819.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Over two miles through dark Netherton Tunnel (option).
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).