Walks you can reach from Wilnecote by train

Parks, river and heritage trail.

Museum of Making (30m in)

Darley Park

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

6 lunch spots: Darley Park (1h15 in) — Darley Park Terrace Cafe, the Little Darley in the Park, the Abbey Inn, or the Darleys; plus the Joiners Arms (3h in), or the Orangery Café (4h in)

4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Victoria Inn, or the Waterfall

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Similar walk: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership.

Waterways — River Derwent, Derby & Sandiacre Canal and Erewash Canal.

Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

2 lunch spots: Canal Cottage Cafe (2h45 in), or the Navigation (3h15 in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: Peking House, or the Sawley Junction

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

Largely urban walking on pavements and a riverside path, through parks and along the line of the Derby Canal.

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: Waterside Café

Warnings: Only a few trains a day call at Peartree.

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

Mixture of off-road cycle path and on-road sections. Part of the longer London-to-Lake-District route.

Time: 8h30 (7h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).

Repurposed railway track along the Great Northern Greenway.

Duffield Castle (National Trust)

Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

2 lunch spots: the Bell and Harp (1h in), or the Three Horseshoes (2h15 in)

4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Waterfall, or the Merry Widows

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

Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.

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: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

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.

Birmingham Back to Backs (National Trust)

Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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.

Birmingham Back to Backs (National Trust)

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

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

Mostly towpath along the Birmingham branch of the Grand Union Canal. Canal authorized in 1793 connecting Digbeth to Warwick; modernized in 1930s; freight traffic ceased by 1970s.

Waterway: four fifths along the Grand Union Canal.

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Some low bridges requiring ducking; steep ramp at end.

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

Towpaths and river banks. Urban walk tracing Birmingham's waterpower heritage from suburbs to city center.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Busy roads to cross; low bridges on canal sections.

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

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: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

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.

Good views, lots of interest; the weir at Darley Abbey is spectacular. A straightforward, well-walked route through the Derwent valley, mostly following field and riverside paths with some pavement and quiet village-road sections. Varied countryside with steps, stiles and some mud and plus a short stretch on roads without pavements or verges. The flood-plain section near the A38 can be affected after severe weather. Mainly follows the Derwent Valley Heritage Way through the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Well served by buses for bail-out at intermediate points (Duffield, Little Eaton).

Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: Refreshment options at Makeney, Duffield, Little Eaton and Darley Abbey, with a pub at each of Makeney and Duffield, and shops, a cafe and a pub at Little Eaton.

Warnings: About 900m is on roads without pavements or verges, though these are mostly quiet village roads. Steps and stiles throughout; some mud. Long grass encroaches in places, so tick precautions are worth taking. The section between the A38 and Darley Abbey is on a flood plain and can be affected after severe weather.

Walk details: Slow Ways.