Silsoe’s biggest
Silsoe Millennium Green
Park or garden
5.4 ha (13 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Silsoe
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ojw at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Silsoe · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Silsoe lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Silsoe add up to 6.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Chilterns National Landscape begins 2.6 mi from the town’s edge. 32 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.8 for every square kilometre. Silsoe grades A+ for the outdoors: #1 of 33 in Bedfordshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
6.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
32 km
3.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
2%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Chilterns National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Silsoe?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Room to roam6.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 91% of UK towns.A town of footpaths3.8 km of path per km², more than 77% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Chilterns National Landscape starts 2.6 mi south.
Silsoe’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Silsoe grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Silsoe, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A+
Better than 96% of UK towns#1 of 33 in Bedfordshire · 3rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space6.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
92out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape2%of the land within 5 km
65out of
100
100
Footpaths3.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
77out 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
Silsoe is 3rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 3,300 to 3,600 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
Silsoe3.8
Towns its size2.3
Bedfordshire towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Silsoe6.6
Towns its size1.9
Bedfordshire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Silsoe100%
Towns its size82%
Bedfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Silsoe stands out most for park space per resident: only 3 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minchinhampton Gloucestershire | A+ | 5.6 | 91% | 5.3 | 90% |
| 2 | Lane End Buckinghamshire | A+ | 3.1 | 92% | 4.7 | 90% |
| 3 | Silsoe Bedfordshire | A+ | 6.6 | 100% | 3.8 | 2% |
| 4 | Goring Oxfordshire | A+ | 3 | 100% | 3.2 | 98% |
| 5 | Talke and Talke Pits Staffordshire | A | 16.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Elsenham Essex | A− | 3 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 7 | Westward Ho! Devon | A− | 12.3 | 63% | 1.7 | 18% |
| 8 | Birdwell South Yorkshire | A− | 3.6 | 90% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 9 | Essington Staffordshire | B+ | 6.8 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 10 | Newlyn Cornwall | B+ | 1.5 | 67% | 3.2 | 24% |
| 11 | Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd | B+ | 3.6 | 70% | 2.5 | 78% |
| 12 | St Asaph Clwyd | B+ | 3.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 9% |
| 13 | Mickletown West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 93% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Water Orton Warwickshire | B+ | 5.3 | 82% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Hartley Wintney Hampshire | B+ | 6.1 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Whalley Lancashire | B | 1.2 | 88% | 3.5 | 23% |
| 17 | Fishbourne West Sussex | B | 1.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 18 | Westerham Kent | B | 1.9 | 61% | 3.5 | 66% |
| 19 | Brockenhurst Hampshire | B | 1.8 | 63% | 3.3 | 98% |
| 20 | Hemingford Grey Cambridgeshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Sunniside Tyne and Wear | B | 2.1 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel Cornwall | B− | 2.5 | 64% | 2.3 | 66% |
| 23 | Istead Rise Kent | B− | 1.9 | 82% | 2.7 | 15% |
| 24 | Ruabon Clwyd | B− | 3.8 | 69% | 1.9 | 20% |
| 25 | Burtonwood Cheshire | B− | 3.3 | 93% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Castle Cary Somerset | B− | 2.2 | 91% | 3 | 0% |
| 27 | Stalham Norfolk | B− | 1.9 | 85% | 2 | 23% |
| 28 | Pilsley and Lower Pilsley Derbyshire | B− | 1.9 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Kirkheaton West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.8 | 92% | 3 | 0% |
| 30 | Broomfield Essex | C+ | 2.7 | 45% | 5 | 0% |
| 31 | Fishguard Dyfed | C+ | 0.8 | 64% | 2.1 | 23% |
| 32 | Woodstock Oxfordshire | C+ | 1 | 80% | 3 | 11% |
| 33 | Leadgate County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 34 | Thorpe Willoughby North Yorkshire | C | 0.4 | 92% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Marlow Bottom Buckinghamshire | C | 0.5 | 40% | 3.4 | 50% |
| 36 | Ashburton Devon | C | 1.7 | 74% | 1 | 60% |
| 37 | Somersham Cambridgeshire | C | 2.7 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Cosby Leicestershire | C | 1.6 | 93% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 39 | Earls Colne Essex | C | 1.4 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Marden Kent | C | 1.8 | 71% | 2.1 | 3% |
| 41 | Upper Poppleton North Yorkshire | C | 2.9 | 82% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 42 | Alvechurch Worcestershire | C | 2.2 | 84% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Adderbury and Twyford Oxfordshire | C | 1.7 | 89% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Eastchurch Kent | C | 1.9 | 72% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Nettleham Lincolnshire | C | 4.2 | 74% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Goff's Oak Hertfordshire | C− | 2.4 | 41% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 47 | Holsworthy Devon | C− | 2.7 | 84% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Bishopthorpe North Yorkshire | C− | 3.2 | 51% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Lytchett Matravers Dorset | C− | 1.2 | 83% | 1.2 | 5% |
| 50 | Willand Devon | C− | 0.9 | 88% | 0.6 | 1% |
| 51 | Witham St Hughs Lincolnshire | D | 0.7 | 91% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Wadhurst East Sussex | D | 0.9 | 19% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 53 | Chapel St Leonards Lincolnshire | D | 0.4 | 53% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Messingham Lincolnshire | D | 3.4 | 46% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Lanchester County Durham | D | 1.4 | 70% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Bilsthorpe Nottinghamshire | D | 0.7 | 88% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Cherry Willingham Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 79% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Spixworth Norfolk | D | 0.6 | 59% | 1.2 | 5% |
| 59 | Barlby North Yorkshire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Bawtry South Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 49% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Silsoe’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 Silsoe
The biggest is Silsoe Millennium Green, 5.4 ha (13 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Silsoe’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 (100%)Further (0%)
Silsoe100%
Towns its size82%
Bedfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
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 488 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Chilterns National Landscape is 2.6 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
2% of the land within 5 km of Silsoe is National Park or National Landscape, more than 65% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Silsoe
32 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Silsoe and the kilometre around it, 3.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
Flit Valley Walk4.8 km
Greensand Ridge Walk1.8 km
The regional route here is the Greensand Ridge Walk.
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 Silsoe
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Silsoe’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IWrest Park0.9 ha
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Silsoe: 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 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 40 | 35 | 44 | 47 | 48 | 47 | 57 | 51 | 63 | 57 | 53 |
March is the driest month (35 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 63 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Silsoe →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 7 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
Silsoe is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach4.2 mi from Silsoe’s edge
DirectionsStort Beach27 mi from Silsoe’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 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Cain Hill0.9 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 4
Flitton Moor Local Nature Reserve5.9 ha · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsWildlife hide1.2 mi from town
DirectionsRushymeade7.8 ha · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsClophill Lakes Nature Reserve1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 7
Plus 7 playgrounds 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.
FlittonClophillMauldenBarton-le-ClayFlitwickShillingtonSilsoe
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silsoe | A+ | 6.6 | 100% | 2% |
| Flitton 1.2 mi | C | 1.4 | 49% | 6% |
| Clophill 1.5 mi | D | 0.7 | 41% | 0% |
| Maulden 2.2 mi | D | 0.9 | 55% | 0% |
| Barton-le-Clay 2.8 mi | C+ | 1.3 | 43% | 38% |
| Flitwick 3.0 mi | C | 0.8 | 59% | 3% |
| Shillington 3.0 mi | A− | 3.7 | 83% | 14% |
Silsoe grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Silsoe
What is the biggest park in Silsoe?
Silsoe Millennium Green, 5.4 ha (13 acres), with 0.7 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Silsoe near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Chilterns National Landscape, 2.6 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Silsoe?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Flit Valley Walk and Greensand Ridge Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Silsoe?
The Beach, 4.2 mi from the edge of the town, then Stort Beach (27 mi). Silsoe itself is inland.
How many people in Silsoe live near a park?
100% 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 Silsoe?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Silsoe are historic?
Wrest Park (Grade I) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Silsoe good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 77% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 92% (6.6 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 Silsoe’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Silsoe’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.