Clapham’s biggest
King George's Field
Playing field
3.8 ha (9 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Clapham
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Tim Glover · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Clapham · parks, paths & countryside
94% of Clapham’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Clapham add up to 1.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 31 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.7 for every square kilometre. Clapham grades C for the outdoors: #25 of 33 in Bedfordshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
94%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
31 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Chilterns National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Clapham grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Clapham, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C
Better than 33% of UK towns#25 of 33 in Bedfordshire · 44th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
21out of
100
100
A park within a walk94%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
74out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
52out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of
100
100
Graded, never part of the overall grade (like History and Civic life). It measures what is mapped: OS Open Greenspace leaves out woodland and open-access land that isn’t a park, and OpenStreetMap’s rural paths are more complete in some places than others.
Towns its size
Clapham is 44th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,300 to 4,700 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
Clapham2.7
Towns its size2.9
Bedfordshire towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Clapham1.3
Towns its size2.2
Bedfordshire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Clapham94%
Towns its size85%
Bedfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Clapham stands out most for homes near a park: only 16 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 48 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keswick Cumbria | A+ | 9.1 | 100% | 4.1 | 100% |
| 2 | Lawford Essex | A+ | 3.4 | 94% | 2.8 | 40% |
| 3 | Chipstead and Woodmansterne Surrey | A+ | 10.3 | 92% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 4 | Hamble-le-Rice Hampshire | A+ | 12.7 | 67% | 3.6 | 7% |
| 5 | Monkton Heathfield Somerset | A | 2.4 | 100% | 4.4 | 8% |
| 6 | Aberbargoed Gwent | A | 22.8 | 95% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Fortuneswell Dorset | A | 1.1 | 100% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 8 | Kimberley Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Stanton Hill and Skegby Nottinghamshire | A− | 16.1 | 83% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Whittle-le-Woods Lancashire | A− | 7.7 | 91% | 4 | 0% |
| 11 | Exminster Devon | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Nantyglo Gwent | A− | 2.5 | 82% | 3.7 | 29% |
| 13 | Brampton South Yorkshire | A− | 4.4 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Wheathampstead Hertfordshire | A− | 3.1 | 93% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 15 | Hugglescote Leicestershire | B+ | 4.2 | 91% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Horsford Norfolk | B+ | 6.5 | 97% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Winscombe and Sandford Somerset | B+ | 3.5 | 52% | 3.6 | 38% |
| 18 | Girton Cambridgeshire | B+ | 2.8 | 92% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Elmswell Suffolk | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Clayton West and Scissett West Yorkshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Sowerby Bridge West Yorkshire | B | 4.5 | 72% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Blackhall Colliery County Durham | B | 1.1 | 95% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Whaley Bridge Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 44% | 4.3 | 53% |
| 24 | High Lane Greater Manchester | B− | 1.5 | 67% | 4.6 | 12% |
| 25 | Earby Lancashire | B− | 1.4 | 93% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 26 | Alderley Edge Cheshire | B− | 2.2 | 86% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Finedon Northamptonshire | B− | 3.9 | 95% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Cwmavon West Glamorgan | B− | 2.3 | 75% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Irchester Northamptonshire | B− | 8.2 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 30 | Cleadon Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.1 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Toddington Bedfordshire | B− | 0.9 | 86% | 3.1 | 8% |
| 32 | Blaina Gwent | C+ | 2.1 | 53% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 33 | Stamford Bridge East Riding of Yorkshire | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Brinsley and Underwood Nottinghamshire | C+ | 3.3 | 71% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Iwade Kent | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Kennington Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.1 | 58% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Howden East Riding of Yorkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 94% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Southminster Essex | C+ | 1.8 | 92% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Halfway Houses Kent | C | 1.8 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 40 | Queen's Hills Norfolk | C | 0.4 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 41 | Backworth Tyne and Wear | C | 2 | 59% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Eccleston Lancashire | C | 2.4 | 83% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Hope Clwyd | C | 8.5 | 64% | 2 | 0% |
| 44 | Clapham Bedfordshire | C | 1.3 | 94% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 45 | Kilburn and Horsley Woodhouse Derbyshire | C | 1.6 | 75% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Skelmanthorpe West Yorkshire | C | 1 | 88% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Brundall Norfolk | C | 1.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 20% |
| 48 | Coxhoe County Durham | C | 1.4 | 66% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Wesham Lancashire | C− | 1.7 | 87% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Bricket Wood Hertfordshire | C− | 1.7 | 43% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Saxilby Lincolnshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Crowland Lincolnshire | C− | 2.8 | 70% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Freckleton Lancashire | D | 0.4 | 73% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Linton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.1 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Welton Lincolnshire | D | 2 | 57% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Ynysybwl Mid Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Banks Lancashire | D | 0.3 | 33% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Lakenheath Suffolk | D | 1.1 | 57% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Broughton Lincolnshire | D | 0.9 | 39% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Elm and Emneth Norfolk | D | 2.2 | 45% | 0.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Clapham’s built-up area.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Natural England / NRW
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Clapham
The biggest is King George's Field, 3.8 ha (9 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Clapham’s homes are to a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (94%)Further (6%)
Clapham94%
Towns its size85%
Bedfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 24 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 188 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Chilterns National Landscape is 13 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the built-up area; circle size shows each one’s area. National Landscapes were called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty until 2023.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Clapham
31 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Clapham and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
John Bunyan Trail8.9 km
Ouse Valley Way 2 (Turvey to Eaton Socon)0.5 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the John Bunyan Trail and Ouse Valley Way 2 (Turvey to Eaton Socon).
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 Clapham: 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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 42 | 38 | 44 | 50 | 52 | 52 | 61 | 56 | 68 | 62 | 58 |
March is the driest month (38 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 68 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Clapham →
Things to do
24 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK town its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Clapham is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach9.5 mi from Clapham’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
bird hide0.6 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 4
Browns Wood Local Nature Reserve18 ha · 0.3 mi from town
DirectionsBromham Lake Nature Researve11 ha · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsParkwood Local Nature Reserve4.6 ha · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsHill Rise Local Nature Reserve0.8 ha · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 3
Camp Site B0.3 mi from town
DirectionsOverflow Camp Site A0.4 mi from town
DirectionsCamp Site A0.5 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.
OakleyBromhamBedfordGreat DenhamKempstonSharnbrookClapham
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clapham | C | 1.3 | 94% | 0% |
| Oakley 1.1 mi | B | 3.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Bromham 1.9 mi | B− | 3.8 | 87% | 0% |
| Bedford 2.5 mi | B+ | 4.2 | 88% | 0% |
| Great Denham 2.7 mi | A | 14.7 | 100% | 0% |
| Kempston 3.4 mi | A− | 4.9 | 88% | 0% |
| Sharnbrook 4.7 mi | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
Great Denham, 2.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Oakley, Bromham and Bedford have at least twice Clapham’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Clapham
What is the biggest park in Clapham?
King George's Field, 3.8 ha (9 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Clapham near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Chilterns National Landscape, 13 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Clapham?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the John Bunyan Trail and Ouse Valley Way 2 (Turvey to Eaton Socon).
What is the nearest beach to Clapham?
The Beach, 9.5 mi from the edge of the town. Clapham itself is inland.
How many people in Clapham live near a park?
94% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical UK town is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Clapham?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Clapham good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 52% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 21% (1.3 ha per 1,000 residents).
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, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Clapham’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Clapham’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, 16 October 2026.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Historic England, National Heritage List for England, 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) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: ONS Census 2021 output areas.
- Grade: TownRatings’ Outdoors Grade, ranked against UK towns only.
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.