Parks and playing fields in Ascot add up to 3.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 56% of residents. Footpaths add up to 147 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.0 for every square kilometre. Ascot grades C+ for the outdoors: #25 of 30 in Berkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Ascot’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by its views. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Ascot grades C+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ascot, 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 36% of UK towns#25 of 30 in Berkshire
Public green space3.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
78out of 100
A park within a walk56%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
17out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
59out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of 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
How Ascot compares with UK towns of 22,100 to 25,900
The 60 UK towns and cities of 22,100 to 25,900 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
Ascot3.0
Towns its size3.7
Berkshire towns3.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ascot3.6
Towns its size2.6
Berkshire towns2.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ascot56%
Towns its size83%
Berkshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Ascot stands out most for park space per resident: only 21 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 59 of the others do better.
The biggest is Windsor Great Park, 1,171 ha (2,893 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 11 named parks by size: 4,728 ha (11,683 acres) and 384 km of path
Parks & gardens 4,724 haPlaying fields 4.0 haPlay spaces 0.1 ha
The two biggest, Windsor Great Park and Windsor Great Park, are 50% of the named green space and carry 188 km of path between them. 3 of the 11 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Ascot’s biggestHistoric park · Grade I
Windsor Great Park
Park or garden
1,171 ha (2,893 acres)94.0 km of path
20 h 55 minto walk all 94 km of path
1,640 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.8 mi north-eastfrom the centre
4 hills and peaks Viewpoint Waterfall 1 listedQueen Anne's RideRhododendron RideThe Gallop+5 paths
6 in 10 Ascot 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 (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (56%)Further (44%)
Ascot56%
Towns its size83%
Berkshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 11,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 40 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 600 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Surrey Hills National Landscape is 9.9 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
South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Ascot
147 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ascot and the kilometre around it, 3.0 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
Three Castles Path11.6 km
Ramblers Route8.7 km
Close to home, the Ramblers Route has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Three Castles 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
4 historic parks, and what stands in them
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Ascot’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade I
Windsor Great Park
1,171 ha. Part of The Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Great Park, a registered historic park (Grade I). 1 listed structure stands inside it or at its edge.
IILodge at Blacknest Gate to Windsor Great Park
Registered · Grade IThe Royal Estate, Windsor: Virginia Water (Including Fort Belvedere and the Clockcase)1.9 ha
Registered · Grade II*Ascot Place1.3 ha
Registered · Grade IISunningdale Park (Civil Service College)6.3 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 Ascot: 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)
8.3
9.9
11.7
13.8
15.6
16.6
16.2
14.6
12.5
10.6
8.8
7.9
High (°C)
8
9
11
14
18
21
23
23
20
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
73
52
46
53
47
54
49
60
57
78
81
72
March is the driest month (46 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 81 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 44 nights a year. The climate in Ascot →
Things to do
5 viewpoints, 40 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.
Bagshot, 3.1 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Winkfield Row, Bagshot and Lightwater have at least twice Ascot’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Ascot
What is the biggest park in Ascot?
Windsor Great Park, 1,171 ha (2,893 acres), with 94 km of path. Windsor Great Park (1,171 ha) is second. 11 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Ascot near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 15 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 9.9 mi away.
What are the best walks near Ascot?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Three Castles Path and Ramblers Route. Windsor Great Park alone has 94 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Ascot?
Amity Beach, 4.1 mi from the edge of the town, then Hog Hole (15 mi). Ascot itself is inland.
How many people in Ascot live near a park?
56% 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 Ascot?
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 Ascot are historic?
The Royal Estate, Windsor: Virginia Water (Including Fort Belvedere and the Clockcase) (Grade I), The Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Great Park (Grade I), Sunningdale Park (Civil Service College) (Grade II) and Ascot Place (Grade II*) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Ascot good for walking?
About average for paths: 3.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 59% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 78% (3.6 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 Ascot’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: Alan Hunt · CC BY-SA 2.0