Walks you can reach from Atherstone by train

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.

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.

Canal towpath, riverside path and village lanes.

Time: 1h30

Walk details: Heart Rail Trails (PDF).

Mostly on canal towpaths. Through Anglo-Saxon Mercia's territory, passing sites associated with Queen Æthelflæd.

Waterway: four fifths along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.

Time: 4h30–9h

Warnings: Heavy traffic on narrow ancient bridge across River Tame near Water Orton.

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).

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).

Recommended: A very easy, level walk almost entirely along the Coventry Canal towpath, on compacted-stone towpath and pavement, with no gates or stiles. A short noisy section leaving Tamworth and then quiet side streets and open countryside. Passes the Hodge Lane Nature Reserve and Pooley Country Park (public toilets at the visitor centre). The Staffordshire–Warwickshire border is a stream crossing under the canal.

Waterway: four fifths along the Coventry Canal.

Time: 2h–4h

Lunch: A pub at Alvecote Marina, roughly midway. Pubs and shops at the Polesworth end; eateries and shops in Polesworth village.

Warnings: The road into Tamworth can be quite busy mid-afternoon. Polesworth has just one train a day.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: A scenic, mostly off-road route through Milton Keynes connecting green spaces by footpaths, ramps and wide underpasses, well segregated from traffic. Surfaces vary from grass, compacted mud and stone and wood bark to mostly tarmac. There are kissing gates and an avoidable flight of steps.

Time: 3h–5h30

Warnings: Kissing gates at the Woburn Sands end may restrict accessibility. One avoidable flight of steps near Peartree Bridge. Steps down to the Grand Union Canal can be bypassed by ramp.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A pleasant, fairly direct route on a mix of pavements, farm tracks, towpath and lanes and including a stretch along the Ashby Canal and across wide open fields by the infant River Anker. The towpath and a bridleway between hedges can be very wet and muddy. Follows the Ashby Canal for a stretch. Transport links, shops and stops at either end.

Time: 2h30–5h

1 lunch spot: the Lime Kilns

Warnings: A quarter urban. On the A4254 Eastboro Way, stay on the south side as the north pavement disappears where crossing is awkward. The section east of Attleborough is very wet and muddy.

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.

Great views to the northwest across Staffordshire. An enjoyable route on quiet lanes and pleasant footpaths, with some road walking at the start, gently rolling countryside with great views, an off-road stretch beside the Black Brook, a short canal towpath section and a final riverside path along the River Tame into Tamworth. Some stiles, occasional cattle and sandy ground near a quarry. Briefly joins the towpath of the Coventry Canal; the riverside Tame path passes a number of wartime pillboxes. Few facilities en route - 'The Pretty Route'.

Time: 4h–7h30

Lunch: An unnamed inn at Hopwas (roughly midway) and a bistro at Weeford beside the Black Brook.

Warnings: A few lanes have no verge; reaching Hopwas requires a short stretch of noisy roadside walking (with pavement). HS2 works cross the route but paths remain open and well managed.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

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.