Essex Walks

Top 10 Chelmsford Walks

Top 10 Chelmsford Walks, Essex

Do you love walking? There are some wonderful walks near Chelmsford ready to be discovered. Slip on your walking boots and explore some of our top places to walk in and around Chelmsford.

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Walk details

Pleshey

Walk distance
1¾ - 5½ miles
Time
1 - 2.5 hours
Route type
Circular

1.75 miles and 5.25 miles

Fancy a nice Essex pub walk? This is a lovely short family-friendly pub walk around the pretty village of Pleshey. One half of the walk is a stroll through the village itself with it's pub, pond and the remains of it's famous motte and bailey castle. The other half is a simple loop through open farmland for fresh air and leg stretching before enjoying the refreshments at the pub. Please note, the village hall has said it's fine to park there, but sometimes the gates are locked or they have a private function - in this case, you can park roadside in the village.

The second route is a longer extension of the village walk which still enjoys the village and it's motte and bailey castle, but this version extends the Essex countryside element of the walk. The extra distance takes you much further along the Essex way towards Great Waltham and you can expect much more fresh air and exercise on this longer route.

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Walk details

Mill Green

Walk distance
4¼ miles
Time
2 hours
Route type
Circular

1.75 miles and 4.25 miles

We have two Essex walking routes from Mill Green. The first is a nice and short circular stroll around the ancient woodlands of Millgreen Common and Stonymore Woods. There is also an optional 300m detour that takes you to a lovely pub if you want to make this a Pub Walk day out.

Thi alternative longer walk starts from the Mill Green common car park and takes you on an woodland wander through a number of different ancient woods, each full of different tree species and a vast array of wildlife. As with the first route, there is an optional detour that takes you to a lovely pub if you want to make this a Pub Walk day out. There are also some mild ascents on this walk that will help you to build up a healthy appetite.

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Walk details

Great Waltham

Walk distance
1 - 6 miles
Time
30 mins - 3 hours
Route type
Circular

1 mile and 6 miles

We have two walks in Essex from Great Waltham. The first is a lovely short family-friendly stroll in and around the pretty village of Great Waltham. If you head anticlockwise around the walk, you will first walk through the village on roadside paths for a while, and then you'll venture into the lovely Chatham Hall deer park. After the pleasant loop of walking around the park, you'll return to Great Waltham where you'll find a nice village pub near the end of the route.

The second route is a much longer adventure through the Essex countryside that you'll find to the west of Great Waltham. You will still explore the lovely deer park as in the first short walk, but then you will also venture out on the Essex Way path and enjoy lots of open countryside.

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Walk details

Roxwell

3.75 miles

This is a simple circular Essex countryside walk starts from the village of Roxwell. The loop is mainly made up of farmland and open countryside and it's off the beaten track, so it's a nice walk for fresh air, peace and quiet and a perfect walk to build up an appetite before visiting the village pub if you so desire. The walk includes a long gentle ascent as you walk up towards Skreens park.

Walk details

Woodham Walter

Walk distance
1¼ miles
Time
30 mins
Route type
Circular

1.25 miles

This route is a nice and simple wander around the open farmland and woodland around the Essex village of Woodham Walter. There is also a lovely pub in the village to enjoy after your walk.

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Walk details

Thrift Wood

Walk distance
1¾ miles
Time
1 hour
Route type
Circular

1.75 miles

This is a easy stroll around Thrift Wood which is made up of 48 acres of ancient woodland managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. There is a small amount of roadside walking to get to and from the woods.

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Walk details

Danbury Common

Walk distance
1¼ miles
Time
30 mins
Route type
Circular

1.25 miles

A lovely short walk for the whole family to enjoy. This route includes open heath-land, wooded glades and wonderful wildlife. Get outside, get fresh air in your lungs and get exploring Essex!

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Walk details

Blakes Wood

Walk distance
¾ - 1½ miles
Time
30 mins - 1 hour
Route type
Circular

0.75 miles

This is a short and easy woodland walk in Essex around Blakes Wood. Blakes Wood is made up of 100 acres of Essex woodland which has a variety of different tree species including oak, ash and birch. The woods are packed full of wildlife for you to enjoy and you should listen out for the woodpeckers on this walk as well as enjoying the Bluebells in the spring.

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Walk details

Galleywood Common

Walk distance
1 mile
Time
30 mins
Route type
Circular

1 mile

This is a nice short family-friendly pub walk in this unique and tranquil Essex common. The common's diverse habitats include heathland, woodland, scrub, grassland, ponds and mir. You will also walk along part of an old racecourse, visit the pretty church and of course visit the lovely pub for some refreshments.

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Walk details

Little Waltham

Walk distance
1½ miles
Time
30 mins
Route type
Circular

1.5 miles

This is a lovely short family-friendly stroll in the pretty Essex countryside you'll find to the south of the Little Waltham village. You can expect some lovely riverside walking alongside the River Chelmer on this route.

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Navigate the walks

Essex Walks App

Download the Essex Walks app

It's like sat-nav, but for footpaths.

Choose a walk and follow the pointer showing your live position on the route map, so you always know you're on the right path.

The app works without a phone signal, so you can keep following the route wherever the walk takes you.

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Essex Walks app showing the walker's live position on a route map

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  • Includes 250+ Essex walks
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Expanded route map for Pleshey