Donaghadee’s biggest
The Commons
Park or garden
5.9 ha (15 acres)1.7 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi eastfrom the centre
Playground
Directionsto the park
Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Donaghadee · parks, paths & countryside
Donaghadee is on the coast
The sea makes up 56% of the area within 5 km. The Strangford and Lecale AONB begins 4.2 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 18 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 0.9 for every square kilometre. Donaghadee has no Outdoors Grade: Northern Ireland’s towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
2.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
72%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
18 km
0.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Strangford and Lecale starts 4.2 mi out, past the 5 km
The sea
56%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Donaghadee?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast56% of the area within 5 km is sea; 9 beaches mapped.Countryside close byThe Strangford and Lecale AONB starts 4.2 mi south.Historic parksDonaghadee, The Manor House is a registered historic park (Grade B).
Donaghadee’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Strangford and Lecale AONB close by.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Donaghadee’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 Donaghadee
The biggest is The Commons, 5.9 ha (15 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 5 named parks by size: 14 ha (34 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 14 haPlay spaces 0.1 ha
The two biggest, The Commons and Hunts Park Water Tower, are 72% of the named green space and carry 3 km of path between them.
Hunts Park Water Tower
Park or garden
4.2 ha (10 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Donaghadee
1 listed
Directionsto the park
Cromellin Park
Park or garden
3.0 ha (8 acres)
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Donaghadee
Directionsto the park
The Moat
Park or garden
0.7 ha (2 acres)0.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Donaghadee
Motte, Donaghadee monument +1 listed
Directionsto the park
Lemons Wharf Playpark
Play space
0.1 ha (0 acres)
0.5 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Playground
Directionsto the park
Close to home
7 in 10 Donaghadee 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 (72%)Further (28%)
Donaghadee72%
Ards and North Down towns71%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 2,100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 7 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,046 residents.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
The Strangford and Lecale AONB is 4.2 mi away
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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Donaghadee scores 0% on it even though the Strangford and Lecale AONB is 4.2 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Donaghadee
18 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Donaghadee and the kilometre around it, 0.9 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.
RegionalLocal
Orlock Point Walk, Strangford Lough3.3 km
North Down Coastal Path2.2 km
Lowry's Wood Walk, Strangford Lough0.7 km
The regional route here is the North Down Coastal Path.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A registered historic park in Donaghadee
HED’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Donaghadee’s named parks.
Registered · Grade BDonaghadee, The Manor House0.8 ha
Listed buildings insideThe MoatMotte, Donaghadee and Tower on The Motte
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OpenStreetMap outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. HED, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Donaghadee: May to July and 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 | 16.1 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 65 | 64 | 55 | 59 | 63 | 69 | 81 | 67 | 93 | 95 | 88 |
April is the driest month (55 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 95 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 12 nights a year. The climate in Donaghadee →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Donaghadee
56% of the area within 5 km of Donaghadee is sea. 9 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
Sea: the area outside the ONS and Tailte Éireann coastlines (high water). Bathing water quality is published by DAERA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
7 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 7
Lemons Wharf Playpark0.0 mi from town
DirectionsThe Commons0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 3
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
BangorNewtownardsComberWhiteheadHolywoodDonaghadee
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donaghadee | – | 2.5 | 72% | 0% |
| Bangor 5.0 mi | – | 1.7 | 71% | 1% |
| Newtownards 6.5 mi | – | 1.1 | 80% | 29% |
| Comber 10.1 mi | – | 1.4 | 60% | 39% |
| Whitehead 10.6 mi | – | 0.5 | 82% | 0% |
| Holywood 11.5 mi | – | 3.2 | 73% | 0% |
Questions about the outdoors in Donaghadee
What is the biggest park in Donaghadee?
The Commons, 5.9 ha (15 acres), with 1.7 km of path. Hunts Park Water Tower (4.2 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Donaghadee near an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?
The nearest protected landscape is the Strangford and Lecale AONB, 4.2 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 525 km² and was designated in 2010.
What are the best walks near Donaghadee?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Orlock Point Walk, Strangford Lough, North Down Coastal Path and Lowry's Wood Walk, Strangford Lough.
How many people in Donaghadee live near a park?
72% 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 Donaghadee?
May to July and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Donaghadee are historic?
Donaghadee, The Manor House (Grade B) is on HED’s register of parks and gardens.
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 Donaghadee’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Donaghadee’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.