Chesham’s biggest
Lowndes Park
Park or garden
14 ha (35 acres)3.4 km of path
45 minto walk all 3.4 km of path
20 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Chesham
2 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Robert Eva · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Chesham · parks, paths & countryside
64% of the land within 5 km of Chesham is National Park or National Landscape
The Chilterns National Landscape reaches the edge of Chesham. Footpaths add up to 108 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.0 for every square kilometre. 73% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Chesham grades B+ for the outdoors: #15 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
73%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
108 km
4.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
64%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Chilterns National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Chesham?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside64% of the land within 5 km is Chilterns National Landscape.A town of footpaths4.0 km of path per km², more than 80% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.
Chesham’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Chesham grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Chesham, 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 73% of UK towns#15 of 39 in Buckinghamshire · 25th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
41out of
100
100
A park within a walk73%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
36out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape64%of the land within 5 km
95out of
100
100
Footpaths4.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
81out 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
Chesham is 25th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 21,900 to 25,600 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
Chesham4.0
Towns its size3.5
Buckinghamshire towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Chesham1.9
Towns its size2.5
Buckinghamshire towns2.4
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Chesham73%
Towns its size83%
Buckinghamshire towns74%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Chesham stands out most for path per km²: only 22 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 39 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire | A+ | 5.7 | 96% | 3.7 | 1% |
| 2 | Chapeltown and High Green South Yorkshire | A+ | 4.9 | 94% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Falmouth Cornwall | A | 1.3 | 96% | 3.5 | 41% |
| 4 | Reddish Greater Manchester | A | 6.7 | 100% | 5 | 0% |
| 5 | Caterham Surrey | A | 4.3 | 84% | 4.3 | 17% |
| 6 | Newport Isle of Wight | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 7 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | A | 4.3 | 72% | 5.4 | 20% |
| 8 | Thornaby-on-Tees North Yorkshire | A | 5.4 | 92% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 9 | South Ockendon Essex | A− | 2.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Droylsden Greater Manchester | A− | 5.2 | 95% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Reigate Surrey | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 12 | Felixstowe Suffolk | A− | 2 | 88% | 1.9 | 28% |
| 13 | Heanor Derbyshire | A− | 4.2 | 92% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Gorleston-on-Sea Norfolk | A− | 1.4 | 81% | 3.2 | 17% |
| 15 | Hedge End Hampshire | A− | 5.5 | 87% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Coalville Leicestershire | A− | 3.7 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 17 | Kempston Bedfordshire | A− | 4.9 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 18 | Newton-le-Willows Merseyside | A− | 5.2 | 99% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 19 | Ryde Isle of Wight | A− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.6 | 19% |
| 20 | Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 74% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 21 | Whitefield Greater Manchester | A− | 4.7 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Ingleby Barwick North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 87% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Maldon Essex | B+ | 2.8 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Whitehaven Cumbria | B+ | 1.8 | 91% | 2 | 1% |
| 25 | Chesham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 64% |
| 26 | Herne Bay Kent | B+ | 2.3 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Crowborough East Sussex | B+ | 3.2 | 68% | 2.6 | 91% |
| 28 | Thatcham Berkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 87% | 3.1 | 27% |
| 29 | Cheadle Hulme Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock Essex | B+ | 2.2 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Oadby Leicestershire | B+ | 3.7 | 92% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Bradley Stoke Gloucestershire | B+ | 2 | 93% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 33 | Seaford East Sussex | B+ | 0.8 | 73% | 2.8 | 52% |
| 34 | Orrell Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.1 | 77% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Swinton Greater Manchester | B | 3.9 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Biggleswade Bedfordshire | B | 1.6 | 95% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Westhoughton Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Sudbury Suffolk | B | 3.8 | 77% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Truro Cornwall | B | 1.6 | 84% | 2.9 | 21% |
| 40 | Hailsham East Sussex | B | 1.4 | 87% | 3.2 | 12% |
| 41 | Rawtenstall Lancashire | B | 1.9 | 83% | 6.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Royton Greater Manchester | B− | 2.8 | 71% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Thetford Norfolk | B− | 2.9 | 65% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 44 | St Austell Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 71% | 2.5 | 7% |
| 45 | Bishop Auckland County Durham | B− | 2.7 | 85% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Chester-le-Street County Durham | C+ | 1.7 | 75% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Hindley Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.5 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Coseley West Midlands | C+ | 1.4 | 84% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Newquay Cornwall | C+ | 1.6 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 50 | Ashford Surrey | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Clifton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 1.5 | 76% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Kenilworth Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 75% | 3 | 0% |
| 53 | Market Harborough Leicestershire | C+ | 1.9 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 54 | Formby Merseyside | C+ | 1.4 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Ascot Berkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 56% | 3 | 0% |
| 56 | Potters Bar Hertfordshire | C | 1.6 | 71% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Golborne Greater Manchester | C | 3 | 66% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Normanton West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Wickersley and Bramley South Yorkshire | C | 1.7 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Retford Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Chesham’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 Chesham
The biggest is Lowndes Park, 14 ha (35 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 35 ha (85 acres) and 5 km of path
Parks & gardens 31 haPlaying fields 3.1 haPlay spaces 0.0 ha
The two biggest, Lowndes Park and Chesham Moor, are 83% of the named green space and carry 4 km of path between them. 3 of the 6 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Chesham Moor
Park or garden
14 ha (36 acres)1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
20 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Co-op Field
Park or garden
1.6 ha (4 acres)0.4 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Chesham
CHS/130/1
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Marston Field
Playing field
3.1 ha (8 acres)0.2 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Meades Water Gardens
Park or garden
1.2 ha (3 acres)0.4 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Moor Road Play Area
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
1 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Chesham 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 (73%)Further (27%)
Chesham73%
Towns its size83%
Buckinghamshire towns74%
All UK towns83%
About 6,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 14 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,692 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Chesham
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
National Landscape
Chilterns
At the edge south-east838 km²since 199064% of the land within 5 km
Official site64% of the land within 5 km of Chesham is National Park or National Landscape, more than 95% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Chesham
108 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Chesham and the kilometre around it, 4.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocalOther waymarked
Chiltern Heritage Trail24.5 km
Chess Valley Walk6.5 km
Chiltern Link5.5 km
Two Rivers Walk4.5 km
Close to home, the Chess Valley Walk has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Chiltern Heritage Trail.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Chesham: 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 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 81 | 63 | 52 | 57 | 60 | 59 | 58 | 67 | 62 | 87 | 90 | 85 |
March is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 90 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Chesham →
Things to do
14 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
Chesham is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Hog Hole19 mi from Chesham’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows19 mi from Chesham’s edge
DirectionsAmity Beach20 mi from Chesham’s edge
DirectionsThe Beach20 mi from Chesham’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
Playgrounds 14
Chartridge Rec Playground0.5 mi from town
DirectionsAshley Green Playground0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Braid Wood Scout & Guide Activity Centre0.8 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Hyde HeathAmershamSouth HeathBovingdonLittle ChalfontBerkhamstedChesham
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesham | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 64% |
| Hyde Heath 2.2 mi | B+ | 5.4 | 68% | 81% |
| Amersham 2.4 mi | B | 1.8 | 62% | 64% |
| South Heath 3.2 mi | A− | 20.4 | 0% | 85% |
| Bovingdon 3.4 mi | C | 1.4 | 55% | 26% |
| Little Chalfont 3.6 mi | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 45% |
| Berkhamsted 3.9 mi | B− | 1.0 | 69% | 56% |
South Heath, 3.2 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 0% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Hyde Heath and South Heath have at least twice Chesham’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Chesham
What is the biggest park in Chesham?
Lowndes Park, 14 ha (35 acres), with 3.4 km of path. Chesham Moor (14 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Chesham near a National Park?
It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Chesham?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Chiltern Heritage Trail, Chess Valley Walk and Chiltern Link. Lowndes Park alone has 3.4 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Chesham?
Hog Hole, 19 mi from the edge of the town, then The Hollows (19 mi). Chesham itself is inland.
How many people in Chesham live near a park?
73% 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 Chesham?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Chesham good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 81% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 41% (1.9 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 Chesham’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Chesham’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.