First pick
People's Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
1.9 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Ian Rob · CC BY-SA 2.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Kells · parks, paths & countryside
Kells borders River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC
1.1% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC. Parks and playing fields in Kells add up to 2.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical Irish town has 4.1. 22 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.3 for every square kilometre.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
2.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
22 km
1.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
1.1%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC
Woodland
6.3%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Kells?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected land nearbyRiver Boyne and River Blackwater SAC reaches the edge of Kells.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.
Kells’ strongest suit is protected land close by, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Kells 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 walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
83out of 100
Public green space2.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
35out of 100
Footpaths1.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
39out of 100
Protected for nature1.1%of the land within 5 km
43out of 100
Woodland6.3%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
82out 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
Kells has the 14th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (5,766 to 7,526 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From O'Connell Street (8.1 km per km²) to Roscommon (0.2 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Kells1.3
Towns its size2.2
Co. Meath towns1.3
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Kells2.6
Towns its size4.2
Co. Meath towns2.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Kells100%
Towns its size100%
Co. Meath towns95%
Typical Irish town92%
Kells falls furthest behind on path per km², where 26 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | O'Connell Street Dublin | 8.1 | 0.6% | 0.1% | 7% |
| 2 | Temple Bar Dublin | 7.9 | 1.1% | 0.1% | 6.2% |
| 3 | Christchurch Dublin | 7.8 | 0.7% | 0.1% | – |
| 4 | Gillabbey Cork | 7.1 | 2.6% | 0.5% | – |
| 5 | South Gate Cork | 6.8 | 1% | 1.3% | – |
| 6 | Glasheen Cork | 6.4 | 2.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Castleknock Dublin | 6.2 | 9.1% | 0% | – |
| 8 | The Glen Cork | 5.7 | 4% | 1.8% | – |
| 9 | Turner's Cross Cork | 5.3 | 2.5% | 1.3% | – |
| 10 | Clongriffin Dublin | 5 | 0.2% | 6.6% | 31% |
| 11 | Rathgar Dublin | 4.8 | 3.5% | 0.1% | – |
| 12 | Santry Dublin | 4.4 | 2.8% | 0% | – |
| 13 | Ayrfield Dublin | 3.8 | 1.8% | 5.3% | 19% |
| 14 | Eyre Square Galway | 3.4 | 1.2% | 14% | 36% |
| 15 | Marino Dublin | 3.3 | 2% | 2.8% | 10% |
| 16 | Harmonstown Dublin | 3.2 | 3.8% | 5.3% | 23% |
| 17 | Walkinstown Dublin | 2.8 | 0.3% | 0% | – |
| 18 | Dock Limerick | 2.5 | 1.3% | 12% | – |
| 19 | Sutton Dublin | 2.5 | 0.7% | 12% | 48% |
| 20 | Kinsealy-Drinan Dublin | 2.3 | 1.8% | 1.1% | 8.3% |
| 21 | Dunboyne Meath | 2.2 | 2.5% | 0.4% | – |
| 22 | Lisduggan Waterford | 1.8 | 0% | 5.8% | – |
| 23 | Ballinfoile and Terryland Galway | 1.7 | 2.1% | 22% | 13% |
| 24 | Rathcoole Dublin | 1.6 | 2.4% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Sallins Kildare | 1.6 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Dunshaughlin Meath | 1.5 | 0.4% | 0% | – |
| 27 | Kells Meath | 1.3 | 6.3% | 1.1% | – |
| 28 | Caherdavin Limerick | 1.2 | 3.4% | 12% | – |
| 29 | Westport Mayo | 1.2 | 7.1% | 3.3% | 10% |
| 30 | Passage West-Monkstown Cork | 1.2 | 3.5% | 10% | 12% |
| 31 | Ballytruckle Waterford | 1 | 1.2% | 5.1% | – |
| 32 | Kinsale Cork | 0.9 | 1.3% | 0% | 21% |
| 33 | Ferrybank Kilkenny | 0.8 | 4.1% | 6.6% | – |
| 34 | Fermoy Cork | 0.8 | 6.3% | 4.8% | – |
| 35 | Newcastle West Limerick | 0.5 | 1.5% | 7% | – |
| 36 | Loughrea Galway | 0.4 | 1.7% | 4.7% | – |
| 37 | Oranmore Galway | 0.3 | 2% | 5.2% | 13% |
| 38 | Ballinasloe Galway | 0.3 | 3.7% | 9.6% | – |
| 39 | Buncrana Donegal | 0.3 | 3.3% | 12% | 23% |
| 40 | Roscommon Roscommon | 0.2 | 2.3% | 3.9% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Kells’ 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 Kells
The biggest is People's Park, 1.5 ha (4 acres).
All 9 named parks and woods by size: 21 ha (51 acres) and 1 km of path
Parks & gardens 3.1 haWoods 17 ha
The two biggest, Heronry Wood and Mausoleum Wood, are 42% of the named green space. 4 of the 9 are under 2 ha.
Rockfield Park
Park or garden
1.0 ha0.4 km of path
1.2 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Mausoleum Wood
Wood or forest
4.0 ha0.2 km of path
1.1 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Heronry Wood
Wood or forest · 150 m outside town
4.8 ha
1.4 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Large Island
Wood or forest · 310 m outside town
3.7 ha
1.7 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Lisland Woods
Wood or forest · 220 m outside town
2.9 ha
1.9 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Remembrance Garden
Park or garden
0.4 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Kells
Remembrance Garden
Directionsto a point inside
All 9 named parks and green spaces
People's ParkPark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsRockfield ParkPark or garden · 1.0 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsMausoleum WoodWood or forest · 4.0 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsHeronry WoodWood or forest · 4.8 ha · just outside town
DirectionsLarge IslandWood or forest · 3.7 ha · just outside town
DirectionsLisland WoodsWood or forest · 2.9 ha · just outside town
DirectionsRemembrance GardenPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsTiermurrin WoodWood or forest · 2.1 ha
DirectionsOld Kells CourthousePark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsNamed 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
Everyone in Kells lives 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 (100%)Further (0%)
Kells100%
Co. Meath towns95%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
The 3 protected sites within 5 km of Kells
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 Kells0.1%
Within 5 km1.1%
Co. Meath towns0.8%
Typical Irish town1.8%
3 protected sites lie within 5 km of Kells. 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
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 62 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
62 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
22 km of footpaths cross Kells
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
22 km
over 16.6 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
6.3%
about 1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
KellsCo. Meath townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths1.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
KellsCo. Meath townsTypical Irish town
Woodland6.3%
0%50%100%
Kells has less footpath per km² than 61% of Irish towns and more 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
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Kells
22 km of footpaths are mapped in Kells and the kilometre around it, 1.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
Other waymarked
Red Walk1.6 km
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). More waymarked walks: OpenStreetMap route relations (ODbL) within 2 km, those already on the register left out. 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 Kells: 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 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 86 | 72 | 66 | 64 | 60 | 72 | 77 | 83 | 71 | 93 | 95 | 94 |
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 95 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Kells →
Things to do
4 hills and peaks and 4 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.
The highest named top on the map is Hill of Lloyd, at 129 m, 0.1 km from town.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 4
Hill of Lloyd129 m · 0.1 km from town
DirectionsCherry Hill87 m · 1.3 km from town
DirectionsBallynamona93 m · 1.8 km from town
DirectionsMountainpole88 m · 2.0 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 4
Fair Green Playground Kellsin town
DirectionsPeoples Park Playground0.1 km from town
DirectionsPlus 2 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 Kells
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
MullaghAthboyNavanVirginiaOldcastleKells
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Kells. Athboy has at least twice Kells’ 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 Kells
What is the biggest park in Kells?
People's Park, 1.5 ha (4 acres). Rockfield Park (1.0 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 Kells?
Yes: 1.1% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 3 sites. River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC reaches Kells.
How many people in Kells live near a park?
100% 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 Kells?
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 Kells near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 62 km south-east of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Kells?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 4 hills and peaks; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Kells’ 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).