You do not need a car to reach real countryside. Whether you call it walking, hiking or rambling, Surrey, Kent, the Chilterns and the South Downs all sit within a single train journey of central London, and several of the routes below start right outside the station.
Map of all twelve walks
Map view
Where each walk starts
Every marker is the nearest railway station, colour-coded by difficulty. Tap a marker or use the list below to jump to the full details.
- Easy
- Moderate
- Hard
12 locations available on the map.
Compare all twelve at a glance
| # | Walk | From | Journey | Distance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Box Hill & Dorking | Victoria | ~55–60 min | 8 mi / 12.9 km | Hard |
| 2 | Dorking & Leith Hill | Waterloo or Victoria | ~55–60 min | ~11 mi / 17.7 km round trip | Hard |
| 3 | Guildford & St Martha’s Hill | Waterloo | ~35–55 min | 4.5 mi / 7.2 km | Moderate |
| 4 | Sevenoaks & Knole Park | Charing Cross / Cannon Street | ~30–45 min | 4.5 mi / 7.2 km | Easy |
| 5 | Otford & Shoreham | Victoria | ~40 min | 5.3 mi / 8.5 km | Moderate |
| 6 | Windsor Great Park | Waterloo | ~55 min–1h | 5 mi / 8 km round trip | Easy |
| 7 | Marlow & Cookham | Paddington (change at Maidenhead) | ~50 min–1h15 | 8.6–9 mi / 13.8–14.5 km | Easy |
| 8 | Goring & Streatley | Paddington | ~50–55 min | 9.8–11 mi / 15.8–17.7 km | Moderate |
| 9 | Tring & Ivinghoe Beacon | Euston | ~35–40 min | 8.5–9.5 mi / 13.7–15.3 km | Moderate |
| 10 | Wendover & Coombe Hill | Marylebone | ~45–55 min | 4.5 mi / 7.3 km | Moderate |
| 11 | Lewes & the South Downs Way | Victoria | ~1h05–1h15 | Up to 16.6 mi / 26.8 km | Hard |
| 12 | Seven Sisters to Eastbourne | Victoria | ~1h25–1h40 | Up to 13.6 mi / 21.9 km | Hard |
1. Box Hill & Dorking (Surrey Hills)
Station: Box Hill & Westhumble · From: London Victoria (also reachable via Clapham Junction) · Journey: around 55–60 minutes
The National Trust’s flagship route here, the Box Hill Hike, covers 8 miles (12.9km) and takes 4 to 6 hours, with steep climbs, many steps and a couple of proper descents into the valley. It is rated as challenging rather than a gentle stroll. If that is more than you want, shorter loops of 1, 3 and 4 miles (1.6, 4.8 and 6.4km) start from the same visitor centre.
The reward is one of Surrey’s best-known viewpoints: the Salomons Memorial, plus Broadwood’s Folly and the stepping stones over the River Mole near Westhumble. Mickleham village, a short detour away, has the Running Horses pub for afterwards.
Source: National Trust: The Box Hill Hike and Walking at Box Hill
2. Dorking & Leith Hill (the highest point in South East England)
Station: Dorking (Main) · From: London Waterloo (~52–56 min) or Victoria (~58 min)
Leith Hill has no station of its own. Its summit, Leith Hill Tower, sits around 5.5 miles (8.9km) from Dorking station through the woods, so walking there and back, about 11 miles (17.7km) in total, is a proper day out rather than a half-day trip. If you would rather shorten the approach, a local bus toward Coldharbour can cut the walk-in considerably, leaving a shorter 3.5 to 6km circular around the summit itself.
At 294m (965ft), the 18th-century Gothic tower marks the highest point in South East England, with views that reportedly reach the London skyline and the English Channel on a clear day. Leith Hill Place, once home to the Vaughan Williams family, sits nearby.
Source: National Trust: Leith Hill Tower, cross-checked against AllTrails: Leith Hill Woodland Circular
3. Guildford & St Martha’s Hill (North Downs Way)
Station: Guildford · From: London Waterloo, as little as 32 minutes on the fastest services, though many trains take closer to 55–60 minutes
Walk straight out of Guildford town centre to St Martha’s Hill and back for roughly 4.5 miles (7.2km), taking about 2 to 2.5 hours. Extend onward to Newlands Corner for a longer 7 to 11-mile (11.3–17.7km) route with a café at the far end.
The hill’s small 19th-century church, St Martha’s, sits right on the waymarked North Downs Way and gives one of the best short summit views in Surrey for the effort involved.
Source: AllTrails: St Martha’s Hill via Guildford Town Centre
4. Sevenoaks & Knole Park (Kent Downs)
Station: Sevenoaks · From: London Charing Cross or Cannon Street, as little as 30 minutes on the fastest services
This is the easiest walk on this list: a roughly 4.5-mile (7.2km) circular through Knole Park, mostly on paved paths with no stiles, taking 1 to 2 hours. It suits families, beginners or anyone who wants countryside without much effort.
Knole House, a National Trust property and one of England’s largest houses, anchors a 1,000-acre medieval deer park, the only one left in Kent, and is home to England’s largest fallow and sika deer herd, descended from Tudor stock. It was Vita Sackville-West’s birthplace and the inspiration behind Virginia Woolf’s Orlando. The deer are unenclosed, so keep dogs on leads.
Source: National Trust: Explore the park at Knole and Kent Downs: Knole
5. Otford & Shoreham (Darent Valley, Kent Downs)
Station: Otford · From: London Victoria, around 37–45 minutes
The official Kent Downs route here covers 5.3 miles (8.5km) in about 2.5 hours, climbing out of the Darent Valley onto the North Downs escarpment. Expect around 145 steps through the woodland sections, one short on-road stretch and two crossings of a golf course, which the official route sheet rates as moderate rather than easy.
Otford itself has an unusual claim to fame: a large-scale model of the solar system, reportedly one of the biggest of its kind. The route also passes the ruins of the Archbishop’s Palace, seized from Archbishop Cranmer by Henry VIII, and Otford’s protected village duck pond.
Source: Kent Downs AONB: Otford Walk (route sheet: Shoreham & Otford Circular, 5 miles)
6. Windsor Great Park: the Long Walk
Station: Windsor & Eton Riverside · From: London Waterloo, direct, around 55 minutes to 1 hour, roughly every 30–40 minutes
The easiest walk to picture on this list: The Long Walk is a tree-lined avenue created by Charles II in 1682–85, running almost 2.5 miles (4km) from Windsor Castle to the Copper Horse statue of King George III. Walk it there and back for a flat, well-surfaced 5-mile (8km) outing, taking around 2 hours.
The route passes through the Deer Park, home to around 500 red deer descended from animals introduced in 1979, and is close enough to the station for a genuinely short half-day out. Windsor Great Park also connects to a longer 4.5-mile (7.3km) circuit around Virginia Water Lake if you want to extend the day, though that lake sits nearer its own separate station.
Source: Windsor Great Park: The Long Walk & Deer Park
7. Marlow & Cookham (Thames Path)
Station: Marlow or Cookham · From: London Paddington, changing at Maidenhead onto the single-track Marlow branch line, around 50 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes depending on the connection
This is one of the flattest, easiest walks on the list: about 8.6 to 9 miles (13.8–14.5km), almost entirely on the well-maintained Thames Path National Trail, taking roughly 3.5 to 4 hours. It crosses Cock Marsh, a National Trust-owned wetland common since 1934 known for wildflowers and grazing cattle, and passes through Cookham, home to the painter Stanley Spencer.
Source: National Trust: Cookham and Cock Marsh walk
8. Goring & Streatley (Thames Path meets the Ridgeway)
Station: Goring & Streatley · From: London Paddington, around 50–55 minutes, with roughly 30-minute frequency off-peak
Goring sits at the Goring Gap, the point where the Thames cuts between the Chilterns and the North Wessex Downs, a stretch of river said to have inspired J. M. W. Turner. A shorter riverside loop runs about 9.8 miles (15.8km); a longer version combining the Thames Path with the Ridgeway reaches 17 to 18km (10.6–11.2 miles) with around 250m of climbing. A shorter, stile-free option also exists if you want an easier day. This is also the Ridgeway’s southern starting point, so you can combine it with the Tring & Ivinghoe Beacon or Wendover & Coombe Hill walks below if you want to say you have covered several stretches of the trail.
Source: Chilterns National Landscape: Goring & Streatley and stile-free walk description
9. Tring & Ivinghoe Beacon (Chilterns, the Ridgeway)
Station: Tring · From: London Euston (West Midlands Trains), around 35–40 minutes, roughly every 20 minutes
This circular route runs 8.5 to 9.5 miles (13.7–15.3km), depending on the exact loop, and takes around 4 to 5 hours over some genuinely hilly ground. Ivinghoe Beacon, at 233m, is the official eastern end of the 87-mile Ridgeway National Trail and sits on an Iron Age hillfort, with views across the Vale of Aylesbury that are said to reach Canary Wharf, over 30 miles away, on a clear day. The route also crosses the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate, with ancient beechwoods and wild deer.
Source: National Trails: The Ridgeway and Ramblers: Ivinghoe Beacon Circular from Tring
10. Wendover & Coombe Hill (Chilterns, the Ridgeway)
Station: Wendover · From: London Marylebone, direct (Chiltern Railways), around 45–55 minutes
From Wendover station it is about 1.5 miles up onto the Ridgeway over Bacombe Hill to reach Coombe Hill; combined with the National Trust’s own loop around the summit, the round trip from the station comes to roughly 4.5 miles (7.3km). The National Trust rates its shortest summit loop, at 1 mile (1.6km), as easy, while a longer 6.5 to 7-mile (10.4–11.2km) circular taking in nearby Chequers is rated moderately energetic. Pick the loop that matches how far you want to walk once you are up there.
At 260m, Coombe Hill is the highest viewpoint in the Chilterns, marked by a 1904 Boer War memorial, with views across the Aylesbury Vale to Wendover, Aylesbury, Chequers (the Prime Minister’s country retreat) and, on a clear day, along the Chiltern escarpment as far as Ivinghoe Beacon. The approach path has had temporary closures before, so check the Ridgeway’s current status before you go.
Source: National Trust: Best of Coombe Hill walk
11. Lewes & the South Downs Way (via Mount Caburn)
Station: Lewes, returning via Southease · From: London Victoria, around 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, roughly every 15–30 minutes
This is one of the two most demanding routes here. A full circular from Lewes taking in Mount Caburn and joining the official South Downs Way at Southease covers around 16.6 miles (26.8km) with roughly 547m of climbing, and one detailed source suggests allowing about 7.5 hours. If that is too much, walk the linear stretch from Lewes to Southease station along the South Downs Way itself, which is shorter and less demanding, and take the train back from Southease.
Mount Caburn (146m) is an Iron Age hillfort within a national nature reserve known for its chalk grassland and orchids, with views over the River Ouse valley. Southease sits directly on the official 100-mile South Downs Way National Trail.
Source: National Trails: South Downs Way and Natural England: Lewes Downs (Mount Caburn) NNR
12. Seven Sisters & Beachy Head: Seaford to Eastbourne
Start: Seaford station (bus or taxi on to Exceat / Seven Sisters Country Park) · End: Eastbourne station · From: London Victoria, a direct service of around 1 hour 25 to 1 hour 40 minutes to Eastbourne
This is a point-to-point coastal walk, not a circular, so plan your return train from Eastbourne rather than Seaford. The full Seaford-to-Eastbourne route runs 12.5 to 13.6 miles (20.1–21.9km); starting instead from Exceat shortens it to around 9 miles (14.5km). Either way, expect a genuinely tiring day: the terrain underfoot is not technical, but the route climbs and drops repeatedly over all seven chalk cliff tops, which is why several trail sites rate it “hard.”
Along the way you pass Birling Gap, with a National Trust café and beach access, and both the red-and-white striped Beachy Head Lighthouse and the older Belle Tout Lighthouse. The walk finishes at Eastbourne Pier, which also marks the eastern end of the South Downs Way. Coastal paths here occasionally close for short stretches for safety or maintenance work, so check the Seven Sisters Country Park website for any current diversions before you set off.
Source: National Trust: Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters and South Downs National Park Authority: Way in a Day, Eastbourne to Exceat
Book cheaper train tickets for a walking day out
A sensible way to book
- Check whether a Railcard pays for itself.
A 16-25, 26-30, Two Together or Senior Railcard normally cuts eligible off-peak fares by a third. For a weekend walk, that can be worth it after a couple of trips.
- Compare the train operator against TrainPal and Trip.com.
Keep the same date, train and ticket type across each so you are comparing like for like, then pick the cheapest that meets the same conditions.
- Add one cashback route, not several.
Check whether Rakuten or TopCashback currently lists your chosen retailer for train bookings, and use only one cashback link per booking so tracking is not lost.
Our student train discount guide covers this in more detail, including current TrainPal and Trip.com offers, how cashback rates compare, and a safer stacking order. Most of it applies equally whether or not you are a student. If you are new to cashback shopping generally, our Rakuten referral bonus guide explains how the welcome offer works.
What to pack for a UK day walk
If you rent in London and pay by bank transfer, it is also worth knowing there are ways to get a little back from that expense too. Our Ribbon Rewards guide explains how eligible tenants can earn gift-card rewards worth around 1% of qualifying rent, plus a new-user bonus.
Common questions
Do I need a Railcard for these trips?
Which of these is best for a first-time walker?
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Are these walks well signposted?
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Are dogs allowed?
Sources and last check
These routes were researched on 22 August 2026 using National Trust, National Trails, Kent Downs AONB, Chilterns National Landscape, South Downs National Park Authority, Natural England, Ramblers and Windsor Great Park pages, cross-checked against AllTrails for distance and elevation where official figures were not published. Individual sources are linked under each walk above. Train journey times were checked against journey-planner data at the same time; timetables, service patterns and trail conditions can all change, so check the live timetable and any trail alerts before you travel.
Planning to combine a countryside day with time in London itself? Add both to our free printable trip itinerary planner, or read our guide to London’s best free views for a lower-effort day when your legs need a rest.