Comber’s biggest
Comber Park
Park or garden
6.3 ha (16 acres)1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Comber
Directionsto the park
Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Comber · parks, paths & countryside
39% of the land within 5 km of Comber is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
The Strangford and Lecale AONB reaches the edge of Comber. 13 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.8 for every square kilometre. 60% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Comber has no Outdoors Grade: Northern Ireland’s towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
1.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
60%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
13 km
0.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
39%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Strangford and Lecale AONB
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Comber?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside39% of the land within 5 km is Strangford and Lecale AONB.Parks can be a walk away40% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Comber’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Comber’s settlement.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · DAERA
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Comber
The biggest is Comber Park, 6.3 ha (16 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
North Down Cricket Club
Playing field
2.9 ha (7 acres)
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Comber
Directionsto the park
Close to home
6 in 10 Comber 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 (NISRA Census 2021 data zones against OpenStreetMap’s parks).
Within 400 m (60%)Further (40%)
Comber60%
Ards and North Down towns71%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 3,800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,906 residents.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty around Comber
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the settlement; circle size shows each one’s area. Northern Ireland has no National Parks.
AONBThe 5 km the grade counts
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Comber
13 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Comber and the kilometre around it, 0.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
LocalOther waymarked
Comber Greenway2.1 km
Flood Bank Path0.7 km
Island Hill0.6 km
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Comber: May to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 7.8 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 91 | 69 | 66 | 60 | 64 | 65 | 72 | 82 | 71 | 100 | 97 | 94 |
April is the driest month (60 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 100 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 27 nights a year. The climate in Comber →
Things to do
5 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Comber is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Seapark Beach6.8 mi from Comber’s edge
DirectionsBrompton Bay7.8 mi from Comber’s edge
DirectionsSkippingstone Beach7.8 mi from Comber’s edge
DirectionsNewtownabbey Bay (Hazelbank) Beach9.2 mi from Comber’s edge
Directionsjordanstown beach9.8 mi from Comber’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. DAERA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Island Hill1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Patch Dog Training0.8 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
BallygowanNewtownardsMetropolitan CastlereaghCarryduffHolywoodSaintfieldComber
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comber | – | 1.4 | 60% | 39% |
| Ballygowan 3.7 mi | – | 0.6 | 39% | 8% |
| Newtownards 3.9 mi | – | 1.1 | 80% | 29% |
| Metropolitan Castlereagh 5.1 mi | – | 2.1 | 83% | 16% |
| Carryduff 6.3 mi | – | 1.4 | 66% | 18% |
| Holywood 7.1 mi | – | 3.2 | 73% | 0% |
| Saintfield 7.2 mi | – | 5.0 | 85% | 0% |
Holywood and Saintfield have at least twice Comber’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Comber
What is the biggest park in Comber?
Comber Park, 6.3 ha (16 acres), with 1.8 km of path. North Down Cricket Club (2.9 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Comber near an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?
It covers 525 km² and was designated in 2010.
What are the best walks near Comber?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Comber Greenway, Flood Bank Path and Island Hill.
What is the nearest beach to Comber?
Seapark Beach, 6.8 mi from the edge of the town, then Brompton Bay (7.8 mi). Comber itself is inland.
How many people in Comber live near a park?
60% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NISRA Census 2021 data zones against OpenStreetMap’s parks). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Comber?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Comber’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Comber’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: © OpenStreetMap contributors (parks, public gardens, pitches and recreation grounds, playgrounds), Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Ireland and Northern Ireland extract. Ordnance Survey’s OpenStreetMap covers Great Britain only.
- Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: DAERA (Northern Ireland Environment Agency) boundaries, areas and designation dates, via Open Data NI, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, October 2026. Places over the border are marked Republic of Ireland.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Department for Communities, Historic Environment Division, via Open Data NI, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) and Tailte Éireann provinces (CC BY 4.0, © Tailte Éireann) as land. Residents near a park: NISRA Census 2021 data zones.
- Grade: Northern Ireland towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.