First pick
Cowpark
Park or garden
7.5 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
0.6 km northfrom the centre
Cowpark Walkway
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.092%near a park
Outdoors in Athboy · parks, paths & countryside
River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC reaches the edge of Athboy
Protected sites cover 1.5% of the land within 5 km; the nearest is River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC. Footpaths add up to 7 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 0.6 for every square kilometre. There are 6.2 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Athboy, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town.
Near a park
92%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
6.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
7 km
0.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
1.5%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC
Woodland
1.1%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Athboy?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyRiver Boyne and River Blackwater SAC reaches the edge of Athboy.Few mapped footpaths0.6 km of path per km²; the typical Irish town has 2.1.
Athboy’s strongest suit is protected land close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Against other towns
How Athboy 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 walk92%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
50out of 100
Public green space6.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
64out of 100
Footpaths0.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
17out of 100
Protected for nature1.5%of the land within 5 km
47out of 100
Woodland1.1%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
18out 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
Athboy has the 18th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,510 to 3,148 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Ballybrack (8.6 km per km²) to Sixmilebridge (0 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Athboy0.6
Towns its size0.7
Co. Meath towns1.3
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Athboy6.2
Towns its size3.8
Co. Meath towns2.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Athboy92%
Towns its size83%
Co. Meath towns95%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Athboy stands out most for park space per resident: only 14 of the other 39 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 22 of the others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballybrack Dublin | 8.6 | 8% | 0.2% | 36% |
| 2 | Sunday's Well Cork | 7.3 | 2.7% | 0.4% | – |
| 3 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 4 | Carna Dublin | 5.4 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 6 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Decies Dublin | 4.8 | 7.2% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Mayfield Cork | 4.7 | 5.3% | 3.3% | – |
| 9 | Kylemore Dublin | 4 | 3% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Grange Upper Waterford | 1.4 | 1.5% | 6.6% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 17 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 18 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 19 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Callan Kilkenny | 0.7 | 0.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 21 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Kenmare Kerry | 0.6 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.4% |
| 23 | Athboy Meath | 0.6 | 1.1% | 1.5% | – |
| 24 | Bundoran Donegal | 0.5 | 2% | 5.1% | 35% |
| 25 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 26 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 27 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 28 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 29 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 32 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 33 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 34 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 37 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 38 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 39 | Carndonagh Donegal | 0.1 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| 40 | Sixmilebridge Clare | 0 | 0.7% | 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 Athboy’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 Athboy
The biggest is Cowpark, 7.5 ha (19 acres).
Athboy Fair Green
Park or garden
2.4 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
0.7 km eastfrom the centre
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
9 in 10 Athboy 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 (92%)Further (7.7%)
Athboy92%
Co. Meath towns95%
Typical Irish town92%
About 200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The 5 protected sites within 5 km of Athboy
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 Athboy0.7%
Within 5 km1.5%
Co. Meath towns0.8%
Typical Irish town1.8%
5 protected sites lie within 5 km of Athboy. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
River Boyne and River Blackwater SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 23 km² · reaches Athboy
NPWS pageRiver Boyne and River Blackwater SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 4.2 km² · reaches Athboy
NPWS pageGirley Bog NHANatural Heritage Area · 1.5 km² · 4.5 km from the edge
NPWS pageGirley (Drewstown) Bog SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.3 km² · 4.5 km from the edge
NPWS pageJamestown Bog NHANatural Heritage Area · 2.0 km² · 4.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 55 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
55 km south-east223 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
7 km of footpaths cross Athboy
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
6.8 km
over 11.2 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
1.1%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
1
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
AthboyCo. Meath townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
AthboyCo. Meath townsTypical Irish town
Woodland1.1%
0%50%100%
Athboy has less footpath per km² than 83% of Irish towns and less woodland than 82% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
One waymarked trail starts near Athboy
7 km of footpaths are mapped in Athboy and the kilometre around it, 0.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Walking trail
Drewstown Woods - Girley Bog walk5.1 km
For a shorter walk, the Drewstown Woods - Girley Bog walk is 5.1 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.
History
One historic park or garden on the record in Athboy
Parks, gardens, walled gardens and demesne walls in the town on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, each with its record.
Demesne walls/gates/railingsAthboy Lodgefrom 1800Regional rating (NIAH)
The oldest dated is Athboy Lodge, from 1800.
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0).
When to get out
The best walking months in Athboy: 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 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 84 | 70 | 63 | 64 | 60 | 71 | 75 | 82 | 71 | 90 | 94 | 92 |
May is the driest month (60 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 94 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Athboy →
Things to do
2 hills and peaks and 1 playground
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.
The highest named top on the map is Tlachtgha, at 119 m, 1.1 km from town.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Tlachtgha119 m · 1.1 km from town
DirectionsFraine97 m · 1.8 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 1
The Cowparkin town
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Athboy
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
BallivorTrimKellsNavanLongwoodKillucan-RathwireAthboy
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
In Ballivor, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here.
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 Athboy
What is the biggest park in Athboy?
Cowpark, 7.5 ha (19 acres). Athboy Fair Green (2.4 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Athboy?
Yes: 1.5% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 5 sites. River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC reaches Athboy.
What are the best walks near Athboy?
One waymarked trail starts within 5 km: the Drewstown Woods - Girley Bog walk.
How many people in Athboy live near a park?
92% 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 Athboy?
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 Athboy near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 55 km south-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Athboy?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 2 hills and peaks; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Which parks in Athboy are historic?
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records one historic park, garden or demesne in the town: Athboy Lodge.
Sources
Where Athboy’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
- Historic parks and gardens. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (CC BY 4.0)
- 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).