Rail trails

Who says a walking route has to be a loop? Rail trails take a different approach - you start in one town, step off the train, explore on foot, and finish somewhere else entirely. It's a genuinely liberating way to discover Warwickshire, with the rail network doing the hard work of getting you home.

The Heart of England Community Rail Partnership has developed over 36 self-guided walks, each starting from a local station, and together they cover an impressive sweep of the county. Head north to Nuneaton or Rugby, south to Stratford-upon-Avon, or pick up a trail somewhere in between. Routes take you along canal towpaths, through market towns and villages, past architectural curiosities like canal viaducts, and into landscapes you'd never stumble across from a car window. There's real variety here - short strolls and longer distances, quiet countryside and urban heritage - but every walk shares the same principle: arrive by train, leave on foot.

There’s 36 walks in total each named after its starting station - Bearley, Bedworth, Berkswell, Bermuda Park, Birmingham International, Canley, Claverdon, Coventry, Coventry Arena, Danzey, Dorridge, Earlswood, Hampton-in-Arden, Hatton, Henley-in-Arden, Kenilworth, Lapworth, Leamington Spa, Marston Green, Nuneaton, Olton, Rugby, Shirley, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway, The Lakes, Tile Hill, Warwick, Warwick Parkway, Whitlocks End, Widney Manor, Wilmcote, Wood End, Wootton Wawen, Wythall.

Explore the walks at The Heart of England Community Rail Partnership.