First pick
The Green
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ashbourne
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Trounce · CC BY-SA 2.598%near a park
Outdoors in Ashbourne · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Ashbourne lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 98% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Ashbourne add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 28 km away.
Near a park
98%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
1.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
34 km
1.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Ashbourne?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep98% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Less park per person1.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1.
Ashbourne’s strongest suit is parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Against other towns
How Ashbourne 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 walk98%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
64out of 100
Public green space1.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
16out of 100
Footpaths1.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
44out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland0.3%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
4out 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
Ashbourne has the 12th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (13,390 to 18,398 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 Mallow (0.6 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Ashbourne1.6
Towns its size3.6
Co. Meath towns1.3
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ashbourne1.6
Towns its size4.4
Co. Meath towns2.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ashbourne98%
Towns its size96%
Co. Meath towns95%
Typical Irish town92%
Ashbourne falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 35 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 | Stillorgan Dublin | 6.5 | 3% | 0.1% | 17% |
| 6 | Ashtown Dublin | 6.3 | 6.9% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Ballinteer Dublin | 6.2 | 7.1% | 2.8% | – |
| 8 | Dundrum Dublin | 6.2 | 4.7% | 1.3% | 6.7% |
| 9 | Clonskeagh Dublin | 6 | 2.7% | 0.1% | 16% |
| 10 | Rathmines East Dublin | 5.9 | 2.3% | 0.1% | 13% |
| 11 | Knocklyon Dublin | 5.8 | 4.7% | 3.2% | – |
| 12 | Whitehall Dublin | 5.6 | 2.6% | 0.3% | – |
| 13 | Rathfarnham Dublin | 5.5 | 4.8% | 0.1% | – |
| 14 | Templeogue Dublin | 5.2 | 3.8% | 0.1% | – |
| 15 | Cabinteely Dublin | 5.1 | 7.6% | 1.1% | 29% |
| 16 | Kimmage Dublin | 4.3 | 0.1% | 0% | – |
| 17 | Ongar Dublin | 4.2 | 2.7% | 0.2% | – |
| 18 | East Wall Dublin | 4.1 | 1% | 3.5% | 27% |
| 19 | Belmayne Dublin | 3.8 | 1.9% | 5.2% | 25% |
| 20 | Maynooth Kildare | 3.7 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 21 | Mahon Cork | 3.6 | 6.1% | 5.3% | – |
| 22 | Leixlip Kildare | 3.6 | 7.7% | 0.5% | – |
| 23 | Clontarf West Dublin | 3.2 | 2.2% | 3.5% | 17% |
| 24 | Bishopstown Cork | 3.2 | 6% | 0.2% | – |
| 25 | Dún Laoghaire Dublin | 3 | 0.5% | 0.3% | 56% |
| 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 | Knocknacarra Galway | 1.6 | 3.4% | 32% | 34% |
| 32 | Ballybane Galway | 1.5 | 3.9% | 12% | 15% |
| 33 | Killarney Kerry | 1.3 | 14% | 34% | – |
| 34 | Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney Meath | 1.2 | 0.5% | 4.4% | 39% |
| 35 | Clonmel Tipperary | 1.1 | 14% | 3.9% | – |
| 36 | Carrigaline Cork | 0.9 | 6.5% | 0.2% | 6.7% |
| 37 | Cobh Cork | 0.8 | 3.5% | 13% | 23% |
| 38 | Tullamore Offaly | 0.7 | 10% | 3.8% | – |
| 39 | Arklow Wicklow | 0.7 | 5.7% | 0.3% | 34% |
| 40 | Mallow Cork | 0.6 | 5.1% | 3.2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ashbourne’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 Ashbourne
The biggest is The Green, 0.2 ha (1 acres).
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
How close Ashbourne’s homes are to 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 (98%)Further (1.8%)
Ashbourne98%
Co. Meath towns95%
Typical Irish town92%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
No protected site lies within 5 km of Ashbourne
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.
No site protected for nature lies within 5 km of Ashbourne.
National Parks
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 28 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park
28 km south223 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
34 km of footpaths cross Ashbourne
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
34 km
over 21 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
0.3%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
AshbourneCo. Meath townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths1.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
AshbourneCo. Meath townsTypical Irish town
Woodland0.3%
0%50%100%
Ashbourne has less footpath per km² than 56% of Irish towns and less woodland than 96% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Footpaths in and around Ashbourne
34 km of footpaths are mapped in Ashbourne and the kilometre around it, 1.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
No waymarked trail starts within 5 km of Ashbourne; its footpaths are counted above.
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 Ashbourne: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 71 | 57 | 56 | 58 | 60 | 67 | 65 | 75 | 67 | 85 | 88 | 79 |
March is the driest month (56 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 88 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Ashbourne →
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
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Ashbourne
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
RatoathDunshaughlinHollystownDunboyneCloneeMulhuddartAshbourne
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbourne | 98% | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0% |
| Ratoath 4.2 km | 100% | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0% |
| Dunshaughlin 9.5 km | 100% | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0% |
| Hollystown 10 km | 55% | 4.1 | 3.3 | 0% |
| Dunboyne 12 km | 100% | 2.2 | 2.2 | 0.4% |
| Clonee 12 km | 100% | 0.7 | 2.6 | 0% |
| Mulhuddart 12 km | 98% | 7.5 | 6.6 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ashbourne. Hollystown and Mulhuddart have at least twice Ashbourne’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 Ashbourne
What is the biggest park in Ashbourne?
The Green, 0.2 ha (1 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
How many people in Ashbourne live near a park?
98% 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 Ashbourne?
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 Ashbourne near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 28 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
Sources
Where Ashbourne’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
- 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).