Rail to Trail - Farnborough to Brookwood and Woking / Rail to Trail walks / The Nature Walks

Rail to Trail - Farnborough to Brookwood and Woking

Brookwood Lye

Yellow water lilies

Lords and Ladies

(Arum maculatum) - poisonous!

Cinnabar moth caterpillar on Ragwort

Meadowsweet and purple loosestrife

Yellow loosestrife

Hemp agrimony

You will find refreshments on the way!

Farnborough station has a coffee shop. There is a nice little cafe near the station in Brookwood, it's also a bakery and post office. Brookwood station has a coffee shop with limited hours. Woking has a full selection of places to eat and drink.

There are canal-side pubs at various points along the way.

Walk details

These easy, mainly canal towpath walks can be done choosing various distances and using several stations.

Farnborough Main and Farnborough North stations are 1.1 miles apart on a signposted route.

Example walks, (choose your own) are

Farnborough Main to Brookwood - 6.3 miles
Farnborough Main to Woking -10.4 miles
Farnborough North to Brookwood - 5.2 miles
Farnborough North to Woking 9.3 miles
Brookwood to Woking - 4.1 miles
Or any of them in reverse!

The only hill to speak of is from Farnborough North station up to Farnborough Main but most people will walk downhill from Main to North!

Walk guidance

There is little you need to know!

Farnborough Main to Farnborough North

Exit the station to the road and turn left. Follow the road around to the left and use the two pelican crossings at the top and turn left along the roadside path. After the bridge bear right into Highgate Lane and follow it to the bottom, cross over into Farnborough Street to Farnborough North station.

Farnborough North to Basingstoke Canal

Cross the line via the crossing and follow the long bridle path (Platform 1 side) up and through the fishing lakes to Frimley Green. Cross the next level crossing, join the road (The Hatches) turning right at the end and stay on this to Frimley Green. Cross the green diagonally towards the shops and to the left of the Rose and Thistle pub. Join Guildford Road, walk until you go over the canal bridge and turn immediately left. You will now enjoy the canal to Brookwood or Woking.

At Brookwood

After Brookwood Lock cross via the footbridge, and under the road continuing on the canal towpath now on the other side. After a while you reach a parallel road and a bridge. Leave the canal over the bridge and continue straight ahead crossing the main road to the station.

At Woking

You will see the Peacocks shopping centre on your right across canal and the road. There is a car park on the left and the World Wildlife Fund- UK Living Planet Centre (closed to public until September 2022 - worth a stop after it reopens.)

Leave the canal by crossing the bridge and the main road and continuing into the town past the Council buildings. Keep going in a straight line passing shops steps etc until a T junction. Turn left and then right into an alley that leads to the station.