Easy walks for the whole family

Hampshire Surrey West Sussex

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Warnford

Starting out on the disused railway track of the Meon Line, this walk then circles round to the riverside village of Warnford where children can play and paddle at the rural park.

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Harting Down

Harting Down is the largest area of ancient chalk downland that The National Trust cares for . Expect to find wildflowers and butterflies in summer and splendid views all year round.

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Idsworth

This really is the walk for all seasons. The isolated church provides a splendid place to walk at any time of the year, but in spring the woodland behind it hides the most spectacular display of wild garlic and in the summer the fields in front of the church are planted with hundreds of golden sunflowers.

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Soberton

This is a gem of a walk starting out beside a beautiful old village church (and pub!) with access to The River Meon via a peaceful little nature reserve.

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Droxford

This was one of the very first walks that we included on The Ambling Path and despite having walked over 130 more family walks since, this remains a firm favourite due to the easy route and the opportunities to access the River Meon.

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Butser Hill

As one of the highest points in Hampshire, it is no wonder Butser also provides some of the best views. Part of the Queen Elizabeth Park, you can either walk up from there or follow this child friendly walk and avoid the steep climb.

Every Ambling Path walk has a stand out feature that children will love including magnificent play areas, shallow rivers for paddling, epic country parks and ancient ruins to explore.

Covering two national parks and two national landscapes, our detailed guides have all the information you need to get the whole family out walking right away.

Browse over 200 walks! Use the map to find a walk near you, hit the main menu to find walks by feature, look inside our themed collections or just tap the search bar.

Walk of the week.

If you are fans of Ghosts, and are planning on seeing the new movie this month, you might be interested in taking this walk at Button House, AKA West Horsley Place in Surrey.

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Ambling Path Member

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Every year

Gain access to the member's only area of our website where you will find the complete A-Z library of all our PDF files. This includes over 220 self-guided walks ready to print or download, as well as various children's activity sheets. You will also find a digital membership card, giving you access to our current discounts.

✓ Print your own ad-free copy of the walk

✓ Download any of our PDF files instantly to your phone

✓ Enjoy discounts from some businesses featured on our walks

✓ Get links to our Ordnance Survey maps for each walk

✓ Receive a monthly newsletter with new & seasonal walk ideas

Regular member’s discounts to enjoy on our walks:

10% off Coffee and cake until April 2027 at Golden Fords, Guildford
10% off food and drink at The Three Horseshoes, Elsted
10% off at Bury Court Cafe, Bentley in September
10% off Coffee in the Copse, Westcott
10% off Chalk River Clothing and Lifestyle
10% off hot drinks from Baker&White Coffee at Cheesefoot Head
10% off food and drink for a member and one guest at The Barley Mow, Walderton
10% off beverages and free syrups at Amerley’s trailer, Danebury Hill Fort
10% off hot drinks at Bean at the Park, Fleet
10% off food an drink at The Hanger Freehouse, Oakhanger
Free drink with every toastie at Toast me Up, Petworth Park
10% off food at The Cricketers, Easton

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Our Collections

Collections - Our favourite walks by theme

Surrey Hills Walks

Stretching from Farnham to Oxted, The Surrey Hills is a landscape of woodland, chalk downland, farmland and heathland interspersed with attractive villages and dissected by the rivers Wey, Mole and Tillingborne. This guide contains 15 of our favourite walks in the area.

English Heritage

English Heritage care for over 400 historic places in England. These sites provide some really interesting places to walk to that help bring the past alive for children. Our collection includes walks to ruined palaces, priories, abbeys, castles and even a Roman city - all of which are free to enter.

The Longer, the Better

Our walks are designed to be short and easy enough for every member of the family to enjoy. However, we do sometimes give a longer walk a try and in this collection, you will find all our walks that take two hours or more to complete.

Tiny Toddles

We are big believers in getting kids out walking in the countryside from as young as possible! The routes in this collection are designed for the very youngest members of the family and will only take around half an hour to complete and are all on easy, flat terrain.

Itchen for a walk!

Making its way from Alresford to Southampton, The River Itchen is one of the world’s finest chalk streams. This guide contains twelve short walks arounds its banks.

Pubs with Play

Post-walk refreshments are all the better if there is something to keep the children entertained while you rest. Check out this collection where every pub has a play area in the garden.

Crab and Go!

With the summer holidays upon us, now is the best time to enjoy a coastal walk. In this collection, we share some of the best spots on the South Coast for crabbing and walking.

Meander along the Meon

From source to sea, this collection takes you on a walk-by-walk journey down the River Meon.

Perfect for Paddling

Just in time for the summer, this collection provides you with all the walks on our website that have shallow access to rivers where children can paddle.

Views for Miles

In this collection we take you up to some of the highest points of the South Downs, over the Surrey Hills and on a climb to the North Wessex Downs to find our top ten walks with views.

Trains to Trails

All Aboard! The starting point for all of the walks in this collection can easily be switched to a nearby train station meaning you can leave the car behind.

Curious Churches

Occasionally, communities move on and all that remains is their church, mysterious and isolated with plenty of stories to tell. Here are some curiously lonely churches and the charming walks around them.

Spooky Strolls

Read on to discover haunted ruins, creepy crypts, abandoned churches, pumpkin patches and enchanted woods.

Autumn Colour

Crunchy orange leaves, low golden sun, damp woodland scent, shiny red berries, snuggly jumpers, cosy cafes and warm drinks. Who doesn't love an autumn walk?

Heather in Bloom

During August, the heathlands glow purple with heather. This is a collection of some of our favourite places to enjoy the bloom.

Tempting Tea Rooms

Enjoy some post-walk tea and cake indulgence with these ideas! From quaint village tea-rooms to historic houses, this collection will have you covered if you like a cream tea at the end of your walk.

Basingstoke Canal

Always flat and always beautiful, walks beside the canal are simply a joy. We keep returning to find new routes and have built up this collection that includes pubs, a castle, play areas and paddling spots.

Wild About Garlic

Whether you like to pick it and eat it or just admire its fresh green leaves and fluffy white flowers filling our woodland, then this collection is for you.

Beautiful Bluebells

We are pretty sure that our collection of bluebell walks is one of the most comprehensive you will find in our area. The little violet coloured flowers are an obsession of ours and we have spent many a spring looking for them on our walks.

Favourite Play Areas

Over the years, we have come across some incredible play areas on our walks. These are our favourites, chosen for their charming locations, well built structures, variety of equipment and imaginative designs.

Chichester Harbour National Landscape

Discover our collection of family friendly walks in this National Landscape, which is one of the most important wildlife habitats in the UK and has shorelines to explore and pretty harbour villages to visit.

Country Parks

We are blessed with country parks in woodland, downland, coastal and riverside settings. They all have excellent facilities for walkers from cafes to signed trails, as well as play areas for children. Use this collection to view them all.

Pub Walks in Hampshire

Warm fires, refreshing drinks, tasty food, shady beer gardens; pub walks are always a treat! In this collection, we share some of our favourite family-friendly pubs on our Hampshire walks.

What’s new?

This route at Yateley Common now has a PDF version ready to download. Children will love looking for the brass rubbing plates.

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We have completely re-vamped our walk at Chantry Wood on the edge of Guildford and it now includes Golden Fords cafe, which you can only reach on foot.

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We have completely re-written this walk at Compton Down near Winchester after Hampshire Pantry closed its doors. It still starts at the same brilliant play area, but will now take you to Hiltonbury Jerseys where you can buy fresh milkshakes and ice creams made form the Jersey milk.

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It is hard to believe that Winnal Moors Nature Reserve is just minutes from the centre of Winchester. We have been back to update this walk. Our guide will show you where to find a park and a pub as well.

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The River Hamble was glowing in the autumn sunshine when we went down to refresh this route. This walk near Southampton includes a cafe, two play areas and woodland too.

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With a freshly updated route description, now is a great time to give this easy coastal and woodland walk near Southampton a try. It even includes the magnificent ruins of Netley Abbey.

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