Photo: Oscar Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0Compton is inside the North Wessex Downs National Landscape
100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 10 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.1 for every square kilometre. Compton grades B+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Compton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Compton’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Compton grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Compton, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
100
100
100
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.
Compton is 12th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,700 to 1,900 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Compton stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 49 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Market Lavington Wiltshire | A+ | 9.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 1% |
| 2 | Llanbadarn Fawr Dyfed | A+ | 14.7 | 82% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 3 | Rogiet Gwent | A+ | 3.9 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 4 | Malvern Wells Worcestershire | A | 10.8 | 37% | 5.3 | 57% |
| 5 | New Denham Buckinghamshire | A | 8.9 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Scalby North Yorkshire | A | 5.9 | 70% | 2 | 43% |
| 7 | New Hartley Northumberland | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 8 | Wembdon Somerset | A− | 7.4 | 88% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 9 | Heslington North Yorkshire | A− | 6.3 | 80% | 9.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Tow Law County Durham | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 1.3 | 21% |
| 11 | Horam East Sussex | B+ | 3.9 | 91% | 1.4 | 46% |
| 12 | Compton Berkshire | B+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 100% |
| 13 | Pendlebury Greater Manchester | B+ | 18.5 | 74% | 4 | 0% |
| 14 | Trimdon Colliery County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Marks Tey Essex | B+ | 5.5 | 92% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Eight Ash Green Essex | B+ | 8.2 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Denby Bottles Derbyshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Rackheath Norfolk | B | 2.6 | 100% | 1 | 14% |
| 19 | Hemingfield South Yorkshire | B | 3.3 | 80% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 20 | North Benfleet Essex | B | 11 | 56% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | Hughenden Valley Buckinghamshire | B− | 2.1 | 32% | 3.4 | 76% |
| 22 | East Bridgford Nottinghamshire | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Llandeilo Dyfed | B− | 1.8 | 88% | 2.3 | 22% |
| 24 | Delabole Cornwall | B− | 1.1 | 76% | 2 | 35% |
| 25 | Holbrook Derbyshire | B− | 4.2 | 55% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 26 | Warton (Lancaster) Lancashire | B− | 0.3 | 32% | 3.5 | 43% |
| 27 | Blaengarw Mid Glamorgan | B− | 5 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Inkberrow Worcestershire | B− | 5.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Much Wenlock Shropshire | B− | 2.4 | 13% | 3.6 | 20% |
| 30 | Warden Kent | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 31 | Copford Essex | B− | 4 | 70% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 32 | North Tawton Devon | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Great Chesterford Essex | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Cheddington Buckinghamshire | C+ | 2.2 | 35% | 3.1 | 16% |
| 35 | Kedington Suffolk | C+ | 3.3 | 83% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 36 | Withnoe Cornwall | C+ | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 3% |
| 37 | Duckmanton Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Great Broughton and Little Broughton Cumbria | C | 1.2 | 85% | 2.3 | 1% |
| 39 | Doveridge Derbyshire | C | 1.7 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Bodelwyddan Clwyd | C | 1.9 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Shireoaks Nottinghamshire | C | 1.5 | 78% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Penygroes Gwynedd | C− | 0.7 | 66% | 0.6 | 26% |
| 43 | Drakes Broughton Worcestershire | C− | 1 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Deddington Oxfordshire | C− | 3.6 | 53% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Shilbottle Northumberland | C− | 1.8 | 49% | 1.9 | 7% |
| 46 | Middle Barton Oxfordshire | C− | 1.9 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Elmstead Market Essex | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Pattingham Staffordshire | C− | 2 | 80% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Hatfield Heath Essex | D | 1.3 | 76% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Aiskew North Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Richings Park Buckinghamshire | D | 1 | 72% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Thorp Arch West Yorkshire | D | 2.6 | 29% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Johnston Dyfed | D | 1.4 | 55% | 0.6 | 5% |
| 54 | Stainton North Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 0% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 55 | St Clears Dyfed | D− | 2 | 31% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Bramham West Yorkshire | D− | 1.4 | 47% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Pentre Maelor Clwyd | D− | 1.4 | 8% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Bardsey West Yorkshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Tockwith North Yorkshire | D− | 0.4 | 14% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Wainfleet All Saints Lincolnshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 0.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Compton’s built-up area.
Everyone in Compton lives 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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Compton
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.
North Wessex Downs
100% of the land within 5 km of Compton is National Park or National Landscape, more than 99% of UK towns.
Compton is on the The Ridgeway
10 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Compton and the kilometre around it, 1.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
The The Ridgeway, a national route, passes Compton.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Compton: May to September
The village’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 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.8 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 72 | 56 | 51 | 55 | 54 | 49 | 54 | 61 | 59 | 83 | 85 | 74 |
June is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 85 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 54 nights a year. The climate in Compton →
2 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Compton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Goring, 5.2 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Chilton has at least twice Compton’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Compton
What are the best walks near Compton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the The Ridgeway.
What is the nearest beach to Compton?
The Leys Park, 20 mi from the edge of the village, then Penguin Beach (29 mi). Compton itself is inland.
How many people in Compton 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 Compton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Compton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 9% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 57% (2.4 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 Compton’s overall grade.
Where Compton’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.