Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0Lower River Shannon SAC reaches the edge of Annacotty
6.2% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Lower River Shannon SAC. 73% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Annacotty add up to 4.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
How Annacotty 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.
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.
Annacotty has the 12th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,917 to 3,926 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Shandon (7.3 km per km²) to Clara (0.2 km per km²).
Against towns its size, Annacotty stands out most for path per km²: only 11 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 26 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shandon Cork | 7.3 | 1.9% | 0.9% | – |
| 2 | Ballyfermot Dublin | 6.8 | 8.7% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Cork City Centre Cork | 6.7 | 1.5% | 1.8% | – |
| 4 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 5 | Farranree Cork | 6 | 3% | 0.5% | – |
| 6 | Shanakiel Cork | 5.3 | 5.7% | 0.1% | – |
| 7 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 8 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 9 | Limerick City Centre Limerick | 3.5 | 1% | 11% | – |
| 10 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 11 | Rahoon Galway | 2.3 | 2.3% | 27% | 20% |
| 12 | Annacotty Limerick | 2 | 2% | 6.2% | – |
| 13 | Ballinacurra Limerick | 1.8 | 1.4% | 11% | – |
| 14 | Westbury Clare | 1.7 | 3.3% | 9.6% | – |
| 15 | Crosshaven Cork | 1.2 | 8.9% | 0.4% | 44% |
| 16 | Rathnew Wicklow | 1.2 | 1.3% | 3.9% | 17% |
| 17 | Cleaboy Waterford | 1.2 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 18 | Virginia Cavan | 1.1 | 18% | 0.2% | – |
| 19 | Enfield Meath | 1.1 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 20 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 21 | Cahir Tipperary | 1 | 7.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 22 | Castleblayney Monaghan | 1 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 23 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 24 | Riverstown Cork | 0.8 | 14% | 2.9% | – |
| 25 | Kilcullen Kildare | 0.8 | 5.3% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Kill Kildare | 0.8 | 2.1% | 0% | – |
| 27 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 28 | Tower Cork | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Newtownmountkennedy Wicklow | 0.6 | 12% | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| 31 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 32 | Rathangan Kildare | 0.5 | 4.5% | 0% | – |
| 33 | Claremorris Mayo | 0.4 | 7.1% | 0% | – |
| 34 | Mitchelstown Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 0% | – |
| 35 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 36 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 37 | Stamullen Meath | 0.3 | 1.7% | 0.5% | 12% |
| 38 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 39 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 40 | Clara Offaly | 0.2 | 6.1% | 6.4% | – |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Annacotty’s urban area.
7 in 10 Annacotty 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).
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
The protected site within 5 km of Annacotty
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.
One protected site lies within 5 km of Annacotty. 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.
Burren National Park is 43 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.
Burren National Park
Killarney National Park
2 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Annacotty.
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).
23 km of footpaths cross Annacotty
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+.
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Annacotty has less footpath per km² than 51% of Irish towns and less woodland than 61% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
One waymarked trail starts near Annacotty
23 km of footpaths are mapped in Annacotty and the kilometre around it, 2.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
For a shorter walk, the Lough Derg Way is 68.9 km, graded moderate.
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.
The best walking months in Annacotty: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 104 | 85 | 77 | 65 | 66 | 76 | 77 | 90 | 80 | 100 | 109 | 113 |
April is the driest month (65 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 113 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Annacotty →
2 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
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next to Annacotty
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annacotty | 73% | 4.4 | 2.0 | 6.2% |
| Castletroy 1.8 km | 50% | 2.0 | 2.4 | 6.6% |
| Garryowen 4.5 km | 100% | 1.4 | 3.4 | 9.6% |
| Westbury 4.9 km | 60% | 1.7 | 1.7 | 9.6% |
| Galvone 5.4 km | 100% | 4.4 | 2.9 | 8.3% |
| Corbally and King's Island 5.5 km | 91% | 2.2 | 3.0 | 9.5% |
| Castleconnell 5.7 km | 37% | 1.4 | 0.4 | 4.9% |
In Garryowen, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here.
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 Annacotty
Is there protected countryside near Annacotty?
Yes: 6.2% of the land within 5 km is protected, in one site. Lower River Shannon SAC reaches Annacotty.
What are the best walks near Annacotty?
One waymarked trail starts within 5 km: the Lough Derg Way.
How many people in Annacotty live near a park?
73% 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 Annacotty?
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 Annacotty near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 43 km north-west of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². One more is within 100 km.
Where Annacotty’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).