My favourite walking station… Chesham



In the first of a series where people nominate their favourite train station for walking, Railwalks Steering

Committee member Kieran Seale nominates Chesham, Buckinghamshire. 


Chesham sits at the end of the Metropolitan line on London Underground.  With direct trains from stations such as Kings Cross and Liverpool Street, it is nevertheless the perfect place from which to start a country walk.

Most importantly, of course, there are a lot of wonderful walks to do.  Chesham is at the heart of the Chilterns whose beautiful rolling hills are a walker's paradise.  You can be in open fields spotting red kites within minutes of getting off the train.

Chesham is the start of the Chess Valley walking route which takes you along the beautiful chalk stream back towards London via other Metropolitan line stations like Chorleywood and Rickmansworth.  From Chesham you can walk to a variety of other stations too, including Amersham on the Metropolitan line, Great Missenden and Wendover on Chiltern Railways and Berkhamsted or Hemel Hempstead on the Euston main line.

Picture of hills above Chesham


Chesham is part of the Walkers are Welcome scheme and Chesham Town Council website provides guides to 14 local walks complete with maps and detailed instructions.  The Chiltern Society lists 28 walks near Chesham.

My favourite is the Chartridge Hills and Vales route.  An eight mile circular, it takes you across a series of valleys around the town including some of the most beautiful spots you can imagine.

Chesham is a lovely town to begin or end your walk.  It has great pubs, coffee shops and even supermarkets.  The station itself even has a loo!

On top of all this, Chesham has an excellent rail service.  There are two trains per hour all day, seven days a week.  When I say all day, the last train into central London leaves Chesham at 11.30pm.  That means that during June and July it is possible to do a three hour walk in the countryside after work, and still get back to central London afterwards.

What more could you ask for?

Picture of sunset near Chesham

Do you have a favourite station to walk from?  Why not nominate it and send us a blog (max 500 words) with your recommendation to mail@railwalks.co.uk.


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