Windsor has more park space per resident than nearly 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Windsor add up to 5.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 88 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.3 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 83% of residents. Windsor grades B for the outdoors: #18 of 30 in Berkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Windsor’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England.
Outdoors grade
Windsor grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Windsor, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B
Better than 65% of UK towns#18 of 30 in Berkshire · 26th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space5.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
89out of 100
A park within a walk83%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
52out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
66out 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
Windsor is 26th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 28,800 to 34,600 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
Windsor3.3
Towns its size3.2
Berkshire towns3.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Windsor5.5
Towns its size2.1
Berkshire towns2.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Windsor83%
Towns its size84%
Berkshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Windsor stands out most for park space per resident: only 1 of the other 59 has more.
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 16 named parks by size: 4,765 ha (11,774 acres) and 385 km of path
Parks & gardens 4,724 haPlaying fields 40 haPlay spaces 0.3 ha
The two biggest, Windsor Great Park and Windsor Great Park, are 49% of the named green space and carry 188 km of path between them. 3 of the 16 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
8 in 10 Windsor 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 (83%)Further (17%)
Windsor83%
Towns its size84%
Berkshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 5,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 43 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 734 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Chilterns National Landscape is 7.2 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
Windsor is on the European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England
88 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Windsor and the kilometre around it, 3.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalOther waymarked
European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England12.5 km
Thames Path12.5 km
Jubilee River Path5.6 km
Three Castles Path4.0 km
The European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England, a national route, passes Windsor. 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
2 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 Windsor’s named parks.
Park with listed buildings
Windsor Great Park
1,171 ha. 3 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
IICambridge Gate and Park Street GateIICambridge LodgeIIPark Street Lodge
Registered · Grade IThe Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Castle and Home Park11 ha
Registered · Grade IThe Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Great Park5.9 ha
Listed buildings insideWindsor Great ParkCambridge Gate and Park Street Gate, Cambridge Lodge and Park Street Lodge
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 Windsor: 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
10.5
8.8
7.9
High (°C)
8
8
11
14
17
20
23
22
19
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
65
49
43
49
47
50
48
57
54
72
76
65
March is the driest month (43 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 76 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Windsor →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 43 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.
Eton, 1.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Eton Wick and Eton have at least twice Windsor’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Windsor
What is the biggest park in Windsor?
Windsor Great Park, 1,171 ha (2,893 acres), with 94 km of path. Windsor Great Park (1,171 ha) is second. 16 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Windsor near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Chilterns National Landscape, 7.2 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Windsor?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England, Thames Path and Jubilee River Path. Windsor Great Park alone has 94 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Windsor?
Amity Beach, 5.9 mi from the edge of the town, then Hog Hole (13 mi). Windsor itself is inland.
How many people in Windsor live near a park?
83% 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 Windsor?
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 Windsor are historic?
The Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Castle and Home Park (Grade I) and The Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Great Park (Grade I) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Windsor good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 66% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 89% (5.5 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 Windsor’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: Ronald Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0