First pick
Woodville Wood
Wood or forest · 210 m outside town
97 ha
2.8 km northfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.071%near a park
Outdoors in Birr · parks, paths & countryside
Woods cover more of Birr than of 9 in 10 Irish towns
Mapped woodland takes up 14% of Birr and the kilometre around it. Footpaths add up to 16 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 0.8 for every square kilometre. 71% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field.
Near a park
71%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
2.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
16 km
0.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
5.2%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Dovegrove Callows SPA
Woodland
14%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Against other towns
How Birr 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 walk71%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
22out of 100
Public green space2.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
30out of 100
Footpaths0.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
22out of 100
Protected for nature5.2%of the land within 5 km
76out of 100
Woodland14%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
99out 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
Birr has the 12th fewest footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (4,113 to 5,428 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Chapelizod (7.8 km per km²) to Carrick-On-Shannon (0.2 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Birr0.8
Towns its size2.1
Co. Offaly towns0.6
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Birr2.4
Towns its size4.9
Co. Offaly towns4.3
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Birr71%
Towns its size80%
Co. Offaly towns78%
Typical Irish town92%
Birr falls furthest behind on path per km², where 28 of the 39 others do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapelizod Dublin | 7.8 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 2 | St Stephen's Green Dublin | 7.4 | 0.9% | 0.3% | 11% |
| 3 | Gurranebraher Cork | 7.4 | 1.6% | 0.5% | – |
| 4 | St Luke's Cork | 6 | 3.5% | 2.8% | – |
| 5 | Ballyboden Dublin | 5.9 | 4.3% | 0.5% | – |
| 6 | Montenotte Cork | 5.5 | 5.6% | 3.5% | – |
| 7 | Tramore Cork | 4.7 | 4.6% | 3.7% | – |
| 8 | Knockrea Cork | 4.7 | 3.1% | 3.7% | – |
| 9 | Saggart Dublin | 4.6 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Woodquay and Nuns Island Galway | 4.5 | 0.7% | 14% | 32% |
| 11 | Inchicore Dublin | 4.5 | 3.9% | 0% | – |
| 12 | Dangan Galway | 4.3 | 3.9% | 18% | 21% |
| 13 | Mervue Galway | 4.3 | 3.6% | 11% | 25% |
| 14 | Bohernabreena Dublin | 4.3 | 2.9% | 5% | – |
| 15 | Tivoli Cork | 4 | 7% | 4.8% | – |
| 16 | Fair Hill Cork | 4 | 4.4% | 0.4% | – |
| 17 | Prospect and Newtown Pery Limerick | 3.6 | 1.5% | 9.9% | – |
| 18 | Garryowen Limerick | 3.4 | 0.5% | 9.6% | – |
| 19 | Galvone Limerick | 2.9 | 0.7% | 8.3% | – |
| 20 | Poleberry Waterford | 2.4 | 0.6% | 7.2% | – |
| 21 | Castlegar Galway | 1.8 | 1.4% | 16% | 16% |
| 22 | Glanmire Cork | 1.7 | 13% | 6.6% | – |
| 23 | Kilcoole Wicklow | 1.5 | 4.3% | 5.8% | 37% |
| 24 | Glounthaune Cork | 1.2 | 8% | 6.1% | – |
| 25 | Athenry Galway | 1.2 | 1.2% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Lehenagh Cork | 1.2 | 2.5% | 0.3% | – |
| 27 | Newcastle Dublin | 1.1 | 0.9% | 0% | – |
| 28 | Ballybeg Waterford | 1 | 1.2% | 4.1% | – |
| 29 | Birr Offaly | 0.8 | 14% | 5.2% | – |
| 30 | Monasterevin Kildare | 0.6 | 16% | 2% | – |
| 31 | Courtown Wexford | 0.6 | 8.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 32 | Duleek Meath | 0.4 | 0.1% | 1.3% | – |
| 33 | Cashel Tipperary | 0.4 | 1.8% | 1.4% | – |
| 34 | Ballybofey-Stranorlar Donegal | 0.4 | 7.7% | 2.3% | – |
| 35 | Listowel Kerry | 0.4 | 2.3% | 4.8% | – |
| 36 | Tipperary Tipperary | 0.3 | 0.7% | 0.8% | – |
| 37 | Mountmellick Laois | 0.3 | 0.5% | 3.4% | – |
| 38 | Tullow Carlow | 0.3 | 0.4% | 1.7% | – |
| 39 | Clonakilty Cork | 0.3 | 1.8% | 3.3% | 7.1% |
| 40 | Carrick-On-Shannon Leitrim | 0.2 | 2% | 0% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Birr’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 Birr
The biggest is Woodville Wood, 97 ha (240 acres).
Millenium Gardens
Park or garden
0.3 ha0.3 km of path
0.9 km north-westfrom 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
7 in 10 Birr 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 (71%)Further (29%)
Birr71%
Co. Offaly towns78%
Typical Irish town92%
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
5.2% of the land around Birr is protected for nature
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 Birr0%
Within 5 km5.2%
Co. Offaly towns4.5%
Typical Irish town1.8%
8 protected sites lie within 5 km of Birr. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 3.3% 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.
Dovegrove Callows SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 1.3 km² · 0.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageKilleen Bog NHANatural Heritage Area · 2.2 km² · 1.8 km from the edge
NPWS pageLisduff Fen SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.3 km² · 3.0 km from the edge
NPWS pageRidge Road, SW of Rapemills SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 0.1 km² · 3.2 km from the edge
NPWS pageRiver Little Brosna Callows NHANatural Heritage Area · 7.5 km² · 3.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageBallyduff/Clonfinane Bog SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 2.4 km² · 3.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageRiver Little Brosna Callows SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 6.9 km² · 3.7 km from the edge
NPWS pageSharavogue Bog SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 2.4 km² · 3.8 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
Burren National Park is 67 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
Burren National Park
67 km west21 km²
National Park
Wicklow Mountains National Park
90 km east223 km²
2 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Birr.
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
16 km of footpaths cross Birr
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
16 km
over 21.2 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
14%
about 3.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BirrCo. Offaly townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths0.8
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BirrCo. Offaly townsTypical Irish town
Woodland14%
0%50%100%
Birr has less footpath per km² than 78% of Irish towns and more woodland than 99% 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 Birr
16 km of footpaths are mapped in Birr and the kilometre around it, 0.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
Other waymarked
River Walk0.6 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.
History
2 historic parks, gardens and demesnes on the record in Birr
Parks, gardens, walled gardens and demesne walls in the town on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, each with its record.
Walled gardenWalled garden, Birr Castlefrom 1630Regional rating (NIAH)
Demesne walls/gates/railingsDemesne walls, Birr Castlefrom 1830Regional rating (NIAH)
The oldest dated is Walled garden, Birr Castle, from 1630.
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 Birr: 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 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 84 | 65 | 64 | 58 | 58 | 70 | 70 | 77 | 67 | 90 | 91 | 91 |
April is the driest month (58 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.6 hours of daylight in December, and 91 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Birr →
Things to do
1 viewpoint 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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Waterfall Pointin town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 1
Birr Playgroundin town
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Next door
Next to Birr
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
BanagherKilcormacRoscreaBorrisokaneBirr
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birr | 71% | 2.4 | 0.8 | 5.2% |
| Banagher 12 km | 61% | 3.3 | 0.2 | 24% |
| Kilcormac 15 km | 100% | 12.9 | 0.4 | 0% |
| Roscrea 17 km | 87% | 3.2 | 0.3 | 7.9% |
| Borrisokane 18 km | 79% | 7.9 | 0.2 | 3.2% |
In Kilcormac, 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park, more than here. Kilcormac and Borrisokane have at least twice Birr’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 Birr
What is the biggest park in Birr?
Millenium Gardens, 0.3 ha (1 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Birr?
Yes: 5.2% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 8 sites. The nearest is Dovegrove Callows SPA, 0.6 km from the edge of town.
How many people in Birr live near a park?
71% 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 Birr?
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 Birr near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 67 km west of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². One more is within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Birr?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 viewpoint; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Which parks in Birr are historic?
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 2 historic parks, gardens and demesnes in the town, among them Walled garden, Birr Castle and Demesne walls, Birr Castle.
Sources
Where Birr’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).