Scottish travel discovery website trainable has teamed up with Walkhighlands to help people in Glasgow and across Scotland find walking routes they can reach by train.
Scotland has no shortage of wonderful places to walk, but finding a good route that's practical to reach by public transport isn't always straightforward. Many walking guides assume people will arrive by car, leaving anyone travelling by train to work out whether the starting point is actually accessible from the nearest station.
That's the challenge that Edinburgh-based start-up trainable is trying to address.
The free discovery website helps people find interesting places to visit by train, with every listed destination within a verified 45-minute walk of a railway station. And it isn't just about walking: trainable also features museums, castles, beaches, parks, galleries, golf courses and other attractions across Scotland.
Now, thanks to a collaboration with the popular Scottish walking website Walkhighlands, trainable has added more than 320 walking routes to its growing collection.
From City Streets to Countryside Trails
For Glasgow residents, the appeal is simple: instead of driving to a walk, they can start the day at a railway station and discover somewhere different.
Scotland's rail network connects Glasgow with an extraordinary variety of landscapes, from the Clyde coast and the shores of Loch Lomond to the hills and woodlands of central Scotland. Travelling by train also opens up the possibility of enjoying the journey itself, without worrying about parking or returning to a car.
The Walkhighlands collection on trainable includes everything from shorter, relatively gentle outings to more demanding hill walks. Each listing provides information about the route, including its distance, difficulty and ascent, alongside photographs and a map showing the walking route.
Crucially, trainable also shows how to reach the walk's starting point on foot from a railway station, with a mapped pedestrian route and estimated walking time.
The collection can be browsed on the Walkhighlands walks on trainable page.
Finding a Walk That Suits
Not every walk needs to involve climbing a mountain. Sometimes a woodland trail, riverside path or coastal stroll is exactly what's wanted for a day out.
Equally, more experienced walkers may be looking for something longer and more challenging. The collection offers a variety of options, although it's important to check the route grading, terrain, distance and weather conditions before setting off.
The key difference is that walks can be discovered by their accessibility from the railway, rather than starting with a list of walks and then trying to work out how to get there.
And because trainable covers destinations across Scotland, it's useful for planning a short outing close to Glasgow or a longer day trip.
More Than Just Walking
While the Walkhighlands collaboration is a major addition, trainable's wider aim is to help people discover the many different experiences available by train.
The website brings together historic towns, museums, beaches, castles and country parks, with information about the attraction and the walk from the station.
Users can browse by type of experience, explore destinations on a map and refine their searches according to how far they're prepared to walk.
It's a different way of thinking about days out: rather than deciding where to drive, start by discovering what's waiting at the other end of a train journey.
A Growing Scottish Resource
Trainable launched in autumn 2025 with around 150 places to visit, initially concentrated in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders.
A year later, it features more than 850 published places across Scotland, with further additions underway, particularly in Glasgow and west central Scotland.
The aim is to make it easier for people to discover somewhere interesting to go, whether they're regular rail travellers, occasional day-trippers or simply looking for fresh ideas for the weekend.
With autumn well underway, there's plenty of reason to pull on walking boots, head for the station and see where the railway might take you.
