First pick
Ballyannan (Bluebell) Woods
Wood or forest
24 ha5.7 km of path
1 h 15 minto walk all 5.7 km of path
1.6 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.059%near a park
Outdoors in Midleton · parks, paths & countryside
Cork Harbour SPA reaches the edge of Midleton
4.5% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Cork Harbour SPA. 4 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Midleton, among them the Midleton to Youghal Greenway and Ballintotis Loops - Woodbine Loop. 59% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field.
Near a park
59%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
1.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
41 km
1.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
4.5%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cork Harbour SPA
Woodland
2.6%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Midleton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyCork Harbour SPA reaches the edge of Midleton.Less park per person1.5 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Midleton’s strongest suit is protected land close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Against other towns
How Midleton compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
A park within a walk59%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
10out of 100
Public green space1.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
14out of 100
Footpaths1.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
43out of 100
Protected for nature4.5%of the land within 5 km
70out of 100
Woodland2.6%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
48out of 100
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Towns its size
Midleton has the 11th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (12,163 to 16,038 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Tallaght (8.8 km per km²) to Enniscorthy (0.4 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Midleton1.6
Towns its size3.9
Co. Cork towns1.8
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Midleton1.5
Towns its size4.6
Co. Cork towns4.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Midleton59%
Towns its size96%
Co. Cork towns90%
Typical Irish town92%
Midleton falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 37 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallaght Dublin | 8.8 | 3.8% | 0.6% | – |
| 2 | Cabra East Dublin | 8 | 2.2% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Deansrath Dublin | 7.9 | 2.2% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Ballyowen Dublin | 7.5 | 6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Fettercairn Dublin | 7 | 3.5% | 0.4% | – |
| 6 | Firhouse Dublin | 6.8 | 4.4% | 4.2% | – |
| 7 | Ballsbridge Dublin | 6.3 | 1.3% | 1.2% | 18% |
| 8 | Ashtown Dublin | 6.3 | 6.9% | 0% | – |
| 9 | Ballinteer Dublin | 6.2 | 7.1% | 2.8% | – |
| 10 | Clonskeagh Dublin | 6 | 2.7% | 0.1% | 16% |
| 11 | Foxrock Dublin | 5.8 | 5.3% | 0.2% | 25% |
| 12 | Knocklyon Dublin | 5.8 | 4.7% | 3.2% | – |
| 13 | Finglas South Dublin | 5.6 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 14 | Whitehall Dublin | 5.6 | 2.6% | 0.3% | – |
| 15 | Cabinteely Dublin | 5.1 | 7.6% | 1.1% | 29% |
| 16 | Sallynoggin Dublin | 5 | 2% | 0.3% | 47% |
| 17 | Blackrock Dublin | 4.7 | 1.4% | 0.2% | 30% |
| 18 | Kimmage Dublin | 4.3 | 0.1% | 0% | – |
| 19 | Ongar Dublin | 4.2 | 2.7% | 0.2% | – |
| 20 | East Wall Dublin | 4.1 | 1% | 3.5% | 27% |
| 21 | Belmayne Dublin | 3.8 | 1.9% | 5.2% | 25% |
| 22 | Mahon Cork | 3.6 | 6.1% | 5.3% | – |
| 23 | Hollystown Dublin | 3.3 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 24 | Clontarf West Dublin | 3.2 | 2.2% | 3.5% | 17% |
| 25 | Bishopstown Cork | 3.2 | 6% | 0.2% | – |
| 26 | Corbally and King's Island Limerick | 3 | 3.7% | 9.5% | – |
| 27 | Darndale Dublin | 2.7 | 1.9% | 3.7% | 11% |
| 28 | Castletroy Limerick | 2.4 | 1.8% | 6.6% | – |
| 29 | Ashbourne Meath | 1.6 | 0.3% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Midleton Cork | 1.6 | 2.6% | 4.5% | – |
| 31 | Ballybane Galway | 1.5 | 3.9% | 12% | 15% |
| 32 | Killarney Kerry | 1.3 | 14% | 34% | – |
| 33 | Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney Meath | 1.2 | 0.5% | 4.4% | 39% |
| 34 | Wicklow Wicklow | 1.1 | 0.9% | 4.3% | 38% |
| 35 | Castlebar Mayo | 1 | 3.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 36 | Cobh Cork | 0.8 | 3.5% | 13% | 23% |
| 37 | Tullamore Offaly | 0.7 | 10% | 3.8% | – |
| 38 | Arklow Wicklow | 0.7 | 5.7% | 0.3% | 34% |
| 39 | Mallow Cork | 0.6 | 5.1% | 3.2% | – |
| 40 | Enniscorthy Wexford | 0.4 | 6.9% | 2.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Midleton’s urban area.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Midleton
The biggest is Ballyannan (Bluebell) Woods, 24 ha (60 acres).
All 5 named parks and woods by size: 28 ha (69 acres) and 6 km of path
Parks & gardens 3.8 haWoods 24 ha
The two biggest, Ballyannan (Bluebell) Woods and Clonmult Memorial Park, are 96% of the named green space and carry 6 km of path between them. 3 of the 5 are under 2 ha.
Clonmult Memorial Park
Park or garden
2.8 ha
Centralin the middle of Midleton
Directionsto a point inside
Bailick Park
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.3 km of path
1.0 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Fair Green
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Midleton
Directionsto a point inside
Baby Walk
Park or garden
0.3 ha0.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Midleton
Directionsto a point inside
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
6 in 10 Midleton residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
Within 400 m (59%)Further (41%)
Midleton59%
Co. Cork towns90%
Typical Irish town92%
About 5,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The 2 protected sites within 5 km of Midleton
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
Inside Midleton1.6%
Within 5 km4.5%
Co. Cork towns1.5%
Typical Irish town1.8%
2 protected sites lie within 5 km of Midleton. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 5.1% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
National Parks
Killarney National Park is 88 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Killarney National Park
88 km west104 km²
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
Footpaths and woods
41 km of footpaths cross Midleton
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Footpaths
41 km
over 26 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
2.6%
about 0.7 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
MidletonCo. Cork townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths1.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
MidletonCo. Cork townsTypical Irish town
Woodland2.6%
0%50%100%
Midleton has less footpath per km² than 57% of Irish towns and less woodland than 52% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
4 waymarked trails start near Midleton
41 km of footpaths are mapped in Midleton and the kilometre around it, 1.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
GreenwayWalking trail
Midleton to Youghal Greenway8.0 km
Ballintotis Loops - Woodbine Loop5.5 km
Ballintotis Loops - Castle Loop3.7 km
Ballintotis Loops - Lake Loop2.1 km
For a shorter walk, the Ballintotis Loops - Woodbine Loop is 5.5 km, graded easy. 4 cycling or paddling trails also start within 5 km.
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
When to get out
The best walking months in Midleton: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 113 | 87 | 83 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 77 | 88 | 82 | 117 | 114 | 121 |
June is the driest month (74 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.8 hours of daylight in December, and 121 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Midleton →
Things to do
5 playgrounds
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
Every named place, with directions
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Midleton
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
CarrigtwohillCloyneCastlemartyrAghada-RostellanWhitegateCobhMidleton
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midleton | 59% | 1.5 | 1.6 | 4.5% |
| Carrigtwohill 5.9 km | 60% | 2.7 | 1.8 | 12% |
| Cloyne 6.7 km | 73% | 1.8 | 0.3 | 2.6% |
| Castlemartyr 8.4 km | 100% | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0% |
| Aghada-Rostellan 9.0 km | 58% | 66.3 | 0.4 | 6.2% |
| Whitegate 10 km | 100% | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.4% |
| Cobh 11 km | 83% | 0.8 | 0.8 | 13% |
In Castlemartyr, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Aghada-Rostellan has at least twice Midleton’s green space per resident.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Midleton
What is the biggest park in Midleton?
Clonmult Memorial Park, 2.8 ha (7 acres). Bailick Park (0.6 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Midleton?
Yes: 4.5% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 2 sites. Cork Harbour SPA reaches Midleton.
What are the best walks near Midleton?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the Midleton to Youghal Greenway, Ballintotis Loops - Woodbine Loop and Ballintotis Loops - Castle Loop.
How many people in Midleton live near a park?
59% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Midleton?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Midleton near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Killarney National Park, 88 km west of the town’s edge; it covers about 104 km².
Sources
Where Midleton’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).