Best Walks Near Nottingham
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best walks near Nottingham are The Arboretum, Beacon Hill Country Park, Curbar Edge, Stanage Edge, Chee Dale, Mam Tor, Lud's Church and Coton Manor Gardens.
Nottingham sits on the edge of some of the best walking country in England, though much of it lies a fair drive from the city. In the centre itself, the Arboretum offers an easy green escape, the city's first public park just minutes from the shops.
Head south and the ground begins to rise: Beacon Hill crowns Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, and further off in Northamptonshire the gentle gardens of Coton Manor spread around an old manor house. The real draw, though, is the Peak District to the north-west, a longer drive but worth every mile.
Curbar Edge and Stanage Edge run their dark gritstone lines above the Derwent and Hope valleys, Chee Dale threads its stepping stones through a limestone gorge near Buxton, and Mam Tor rides the Great Ridge above Castleton. West again, on the edge of the Roaches in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Lud's Church hides its mossy chasm in the woods.
From a city park to a mountain edge, there is plenty to explore. Here are eight walks to seek out near Nottingham.
The Arboretum
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
Stroll Nottingham's Arboretum Right in the centre of Nottingham, barely a kilometre from the shops, the Arboretum is the city's first public park, opened in 1852. It was laid out with lawns, a lake, flower beds and a wide collection of trees, and winding paths lead through the grounds past an ornate bandstand, aviaries, a rose garden and a Chinese bell tower built to hold a bell brought back from China.
This is a listed historic park, free and open, a green retreat close to both the city centre and the university. Much used for walks and quiet afternoons, it makes the easiest possible outing on this list, with no drive needed at all.
Beacon Hill Country Park
Photo: Nigel Cox via Geograph.org.uk
Climb Beacon Hill Country Park About twenty-six kilometres south of Nottingham, in Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, Beacon Hill is a high, rocky summit rising to around 248 metres, the second-highest point in the county. The country park mixes grassland and woodland, laced with paths that climb to a top crowned with outcrops of ancient volcanic rock, among the oldest in England.
A stone toposcope up there points out distant landmarks, and on a clear day the view stretches for miles across the Midlands. People raised a hillfort here in the Bronze Age, and its low earthworks survive on the slopes.
Curbar Edge
Photo: Graham Horn via Geograph.org.uk
Walk Curbar Edge The Peak District begins a good drive north-west of Nottingham, around forty-six kilometres out, and Curbar Edge is a fine introduction. This gritstone edge runs along the moors above the Derwent Valley, near Curbar and Baslow.
A line of dark rock stands along the top, dropping to boulders below, with wide views west across the valley to the hills beyond. Walkers follow the edge along the moor, while climbers work the crag, one of the well-known gritstone venues of the Peak.
Behind the top, heather moorland spreads back across the high ground. It is a straightforward, rewarding walk with big scenery, and a good taste of what the area has to offer.
Stanage Edge
Photo: Stephen Burton via Geograph.org.uk
Tackle Stanage Edge Some fifty-four kilometres north-west of Nottingham, in the Peak District north of Hathersage, Stanage Edge is a long gritstone crag running for three to four miles along the moors, one of the best-known climbing spots in the country. A near-continuous wall of dark rock faces west over the Hope Valley, and a broad, breezy path along the top gives wide views over the moors and dales, rising to its high point at High Neb.
Below the crag lie scattered old millstones, left where they were cut and abandoned when the trade for them collapsed. It draws walkers, climbers and photographers alike, and is a fine place to be at sunset.
Chee Dale
Photo: Chris Morgan via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Chee Dale Roughly fifty-five kilometres from Nottingham, out in the Peak District south of Buxton, Chee Dale is a narrow limestone gorge on the River Wye. Its best-known stretch is a line of stepping stones set at the foot of an overhanging cliff, where the path is squeezed hard against the rock by the river.
Do be warned that the stones and the low riverside path flood and turn impassable when the water runs high, so it is one to save for dry weather. The tall walls of the dale draw climbers, and the old railway line of the Monsal Trail runs along above.
Mam Tor
Photo: Eirian Evans via Geograph.org.uk
Walk up Mam Tor Around sixty-two kilometres north-west of Nottingham, above Castleton in the Peak District, Mam Tor is a hill with its summit ringed by the banks of a late Bronze Age and Iron Age hillfort. It stands at the western end of the Great Ridge, dividing the Hope Valley from Edale, and a paved path runs along the ridge with wide views to both sides.
Known as the Shivering Mountain for the landslips that keep peeling off its unstable shale face, its clearest sign is the old main road on the eastern side, cracked and buckled and long abandoned to the slow-moving ground. The hill rises to 517 metres and is in the care of the National Trust.
Lud's Church
Photo: Graham Hogg via Geograph.org.uk
Descend into Lud's Church West of Nottingham, some sixty-three kilometres out near Gradbach on the edge of the Roaches, Lud's Church is a deep, narrow chasm hidden in the woods of the Staffordshire Moorlands. It was formed when a mass of gritstone slipped down, leaving a cleft over a hundred metres long and around eighteen metres deep, its walls green with moss and fern and noticeably cooler and damper than the moor above.
Steps and a walkway lead down into it, and the footing can be muddy. Legend links it to the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as the Green Chapel, and to the Lollards, said to have gathered here to worship, though neither tie is proven fact.
Coton Manor Gardens
Photo: Andy F via Geograph.org.uk
Visit Coton Manor Gardens The longest trip on this list, roughly sixty-nine kilometres south of Nottingham, Coton Manor Gardens spread over about ten acres around a seventeenth-century manor in Northamptonshire, laid out on several levels. The gardens are known for a bluebell wood that comes into its own in late spring, deep herbaceous borders and a group of flamingos kept on the water garden.
A specialist nursery beside the garden raises many of the plants on show, and a cafe in the old stableyard rounds off a visit. It is a gentler, more ornamental outing than the Peak District edges, and a lovely one to time for the bluebells.
FAQs
Which walk is closest to Nottingham city centre?
The Arboretum wins easily, sitting less than a kilometre from the shops in the heart of Nottingham. It is the city's first public park, free and open, with lawns, a lake and a Chinese bell tower to see.
Are the Peak District walks a long way from Nottingham?
Yes, most are a fair drive. Curbar Edge, Stanage Edge, Chee Dale and Mam Tor all lie between about forty-six and sixty-two kilometres north-west of Nottingham, so they are best planned as a full day out in the Peak District.
When is the best time to see bluebells near Nottingham?
Late spring is ideal. Coton Manor Gardens in Northamptonshire is known for its bluebell wood at that time of year, and Lud's Church, out toward the Roaches, is at its coolest and greenest through the warmer months.
Conclusion
For a city sitting where the Midlands meet the hills, Nottingham makes a fine base for walkers willing to travel a little. The Arboretum gives you an easy green afternoon in the centre, and Beacon Hill lifts you above Charnwood Forest without going far.
Most of the best walking, though, lies out in the Peak District: the gritstone edges of Curbar and Stanage, the stepping stones of Chee Dale, and the great ridge of Mam Tor above Castleton, all worth the longer drive. Further afield still, Lud's Church hides its cool green chasm on the edge of the Roaches, and Coton Manor tends its bluebells down in Northamptonshire.
Fill the flask, check the weather for the high ground, and set out early for the ones furthest away. Close to home or well beyond it, these are the walks to seek out near Nottingham.
