Outdoors in Wokingham · parks, paths & countryside
Wokingham has more park space per resident than 8 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Wokingham add up to 4.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Chilterns National Landscape begins 5.6 mi from the town’s edge. 178 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.5 for every square kilometre. Wokingham grades B for the outdoors: #19 of 30 in Berkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Wokingham’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Chilterns National Landscape close by.
Outdoors grade
Wokingham grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Wokingham, 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#19 of 30 in Berkshire · 31st of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space4.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
81out of 100
A park within a walk84%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
55out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Chilterns begins just past 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
71out 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
Wokingham is 31st of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 44,300 to 57,600 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
Wokingham3.5
Towns its size3.5
Berkshire towns3.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Wokingham4.0
Towns its size2.3
Berkshire towns2.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Wokingham84%
Towns its size83%
Berkshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Wokingham stands out most for park space per resident: only 7 of the other 59 have more.
The biggest is California Country Park, 43 ha (106 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 14 named parks by size: 120 ha (296 acres) and 12 km of path
Parks & gardens 69 haPlaying fields 50 haPlay spaces 0.4 ha
The two biggest, California Country Park and Old Forest Road Meadows, are 48% of the named green space and carry 9 km of path between them. 3 of the 14 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
8 in 10 Wokingham 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 (84%)Further (16%)
Wokingham84%
Towns its size83%
Berkshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 8,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 91 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 553 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Chilterns National Landscape is 5.6 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Wokingham scores 0% on it even though the Chilterns National Landscape is 5.6 mi away. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
11 waymarked walks pass through or near Wokingham
178 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Wokingham and the kilometre around it, 3.5 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
The Wokingham Way14.9 km
Ramblers Route10.6 km
Blackwater Valley Path4.9 km
Coombes Circular Walk4.2 km
California Greenway3.4 km
Finchampstead Ridges Ramble, Finchampstead Ridges2.5 km
Simons Wood Trail, Finchampstead Ridges2.2 km
Three Castles Path2.0 km
Greenway Route B1.7 km
Ambarrow Hill Circuit1.1 km
Ambarrow Court Circuit0.3 km
Close to home, the Ramblers Route has 11 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 3 regional routes pass through, including the The Wokingham Way, Blackwater Valley Path and 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
A registered historic park in Wokingham
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Wokingham’s named parks.
Registered · Grade II*Bearwood College1.8 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 Wokingham: 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
8
11
14
17
20
23
22
19
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
68
49
41
46
47
46
53
57
54
74
80
67
March is the driest month (41 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 80 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Wokingham →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 91 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.
Bracknell, 3.9 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 97% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Winnersh, Binfield and Arborfield Garrison have at least twice Wokingham’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Wokingham
What is the biggest park in Wokingham?
California Country Park, 43 ha (106 acres), with 6.4 km of path. Old Forest Road Meadows (14 ha) is second. 14 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Wokingham near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 12 mi south 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 Chilterns National Landscape, 5.6 mi away.
What are the best walks near Wokingham?
11 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the The Wokingham Way, Ramblers Route and Blackwater Valley Path. California Country Park alone has 6.4 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Wokingham?
Amity Beach, 12 mi from the edge of the town, then Penguin Beach (13 mi). Wokingham itself is inland.
How many people in Wokingham live near a park?
84% 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 Wokingham?
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 Wokingham are historic?
Bearwood College (Grade II*) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Wokingham good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 71% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 81% (4.0 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 Wokingham’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: Gareth James · CC BY-SA 2.0