Princes Risborough’s biggest
St Dunstan's Park
Playing field
1.6 ha (4 acres)0.4 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Dovecote West of St Dunstans Church Grade II*
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Princes Risborough · parks, paths & countryside
57% of the land within 5 km of Princes Risborough is National Park or National Landscape
The Chilterns National Landscape reaches the edge of Princes Risborough. Parks and playing fields in Princes Risborough add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 57 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.2 for every square kilometre. Princes Risborough grades B for the outdoors: #26 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
78%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
57 km
3.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
57%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Chilterns National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Princes Risborough?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside57% of the land within 5 km is Chilterns National Landscape.On a National TrailThe The Ridgeway passes through.Less park per person1.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Princes Risborough’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by the The Ridgeway. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Princes Risborough grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Princes Risborough, 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 57% of UK towns#26 of 39 in Buckinghamshire · 19th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
24out of
100
100
A park within a walk78%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
42out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape57%of the land within 5 km
94out of
100
100
Footpaths3.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
64out 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
Princes Risborough is 19th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 7,200 to 7,800 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
Princes Risborough3.2
Towns its size3.0
Buckinghamshire towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Princes Risborough1.4
Towns its size1.8
Buckinghamshire towns2.4
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Princes Risborough78%
Towns its size73%
Buckinghamshire towns74%
All UK towns83%
Princes Risborough falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 40 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freshwater and Totland Isle of Wight | A+ | 5 | 89% | 3.9 | 20% |
| 2 | Holbury Hampshire | A+ | 5.5 | 89% | 3.1 | 42% |
| 3 | Ruddington Nottinghamshire | A | 9.7 | 100% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 4 | Bude Cornwall | A | 3.1 | 78% | 3.3 | 9% |
| 5 | Bolton upon Dearne South Yorkshire | A | 5.6 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 6 | Prestwood and Great Missenden Buckinghamshire | A− | 5.5 | 65% | 3.2 | 94% |
| 7 | Seaton Devon | A− | 1.1 | 84% | 2.5 | 55% |
| 8 | Cam Gloucestershire | A− | 2.8 | 57% | 5 | 34% |
| 9 | Otford and Kemsing Kent | A− | 3.3 | 53% | 3.6 | 73% |
| 10 | Goldthorpe South Yorkshire | A− | 8.4 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Annfield Plain County Durham | B+ | 3.4 | 93% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Great Notley Essex | B+ | 6.4 | 79% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 13 | Cromer Norfolk | B+ | 1.4 | 74% | 2.5 | 36% |
| 14 | Gowerton West Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 79% | 1.2 | 14% |
| 15 | Partington Greater Manchester | B | 2.8 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Barugh Green and Redbrook South Yorkshire | B | 2.1 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 17 | Wroughton Wiltshire | B | 1.1 | 78% | 3.9 | 52% |
| 18 | Rusthall and Langton Green Kent | B | 2.1 | 69% | 2.7 | 79% |
| 19 | Princes Risborough Buckinghamshire | B | 1.4 | 78% | 3.2 | 57% |
| 20 | Ashley Hampshire | B | 2.2 | 53% | 1.7 | 47% |
| 21 | Berechurch Essex | B− | 2.1 | 72% | 10.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Wootton Bedfordshire | B− | 2.5 | 79% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 23 | Rogerstone Gwent | B− | 3.1 | 60% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 24 | Eckington Derbyshire | B− | 1.8 | 80% | 6 | 0% |
| 25 | Crawcrook and Greenside Tyne and Wear | B− | 3.2 | 86% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Yatton Somerset | B− | 3.7 | 40% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Abersychan Gwent | B− | 2.8 | 83% | 1.1 | 17% |
| 28 | Wrecclesham Surrey | C+ | 1.2 | 50% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 29 | Paddock Wood Kent | C+ | 1.7 | 78% | 2.1 | 28% |
| 30 | Pelton and Ouston County Durham | C+ | 2 | 64% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Countesthorpe Leicestershire | C+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Sprotbrough South Yorkshire | C+ | 1.8 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Caerleon Gwent | C | 1.9 | 64% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Holywell Clwyd | C | 0.9 | 68% | 3 | 0% |
| 35 | Horncastle Lincolnshire | C | 0.6 | 60% | 3.9 | 10% |
| 36 | Mablethorpe Lincolnshire | C | 2.1 | 66% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Elworth Cheshire | C | 1.8 | 83% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Castle Donington Leicestershire | C | 1.8 | 85% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Newbridge Gwent | C | 2.2 | 94% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 40 | Fazeley Staffordshire | C | 3.2 | 35% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Marske-by-the-Sea North Yorkshire | C | 1.6 | 66% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Dalton-in-Furness Cumbria | C | 0.9 | 74% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Histon and Impington Cambridgeshire | C | 1.5 | 66% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Heathfield East Sussex | C | 0.9 | 53% | 2.3 | 79% |
| 45 | Wivenhoe Essex | C− | 0.9 | 65% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt Leicestershire | C− | 2.1 | 82% | 2 | 0% |
| 47 | Southwell Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 59% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Calverton Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 62% | 3 | 0% |
| 49 | Breaston and Draycott Derbyshire | C− | 1.1 | 73% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Tenterden Kent | C− | 0.8 | 58% | 1.8 | 48% |
| 51 | Cotgrave Nottinghamshire | C− | 1 | 47% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Godmanchester Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.6 | 66% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Clowne Derbyshire | C− | 1.4 | 67% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Shefford Bedfordshire | D | 1.1 | 67% | 3 | 0% |
| 55 | Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross Berkshire | D | 0.7 | 78% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Polesworth and Dordon Warwickshire | D | 1.6 | 68% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Old Windsor and Wraysbury Berkshire | D | 1.2 | 52% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Beddau Mid Glamorgan | D | 1 | 77% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Market Weighton East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 79% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Treorchy Mid Glamorgan | D− | 1 | 57% | 1.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Princes Risborough’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 Princes Risborough
The biggest is St Dunstan's Park, 1.6 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
St Dunstan's Park Play Area
Play space
0.2 ha (0 acres)
0.7 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Princes Risborough 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 (78%)Further (22%)
Princes Risborough78%
Towns its size73%
Buckinghamshire towns74%
All UK towns83%
About 1,700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 753 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Princes Risborough
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 south838 km²since 199057% of the land within 5 km
Official site57% of the land within 5 km of Princes Risborough is National Park or National Landscape, more than 93% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Princes Risborough is on the The Ridgeway
57 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Princes Risborough and the kilometre around it, 3.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
The Ridgeway10.6 km
The Chiltern Way9.9 km
Outer Aylesbury Ring8.7 km
Risborough Purple Route8.2 km
Risborough Red Route6.4 km
Risborough Pink Route5.7 km
Whiteleaf and the Hampdens walk, Princes Risborough5.6 km
Exploring the Chiltern Escarpment, Central Chilterns5.2 km
Risborough Blue Route5.2 km
Midshires Way4.5 km
Risborough Green Route3.7 km
North Bucks Way3.1 km
Coombe Hill and Chequers Trail, Central Chilterns2.8 km
Pulpit Hill Fort and Nature Reserves Circular Walk, Central Chilterns2.6 km
Aylesbury Ring2.3 km
Risborough Orange Route2.1 km
Plus 2 more waymarked walks on the map.
The The Ridgeway, a national route, passes Princes Risborough. Close to home, the Risborough Purple Route has 8 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 5 regional routes pass through, including the The Chiltern Way, Outer Aylesbury Ring, Midshires Way and North Bucks Way.
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 Princes Risborough: 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 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 51 | 48 | 58 | 60 | 63 | 69 | 64 | 64 | 79 | 77 | 79 |
March is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 79 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Princes Risborough →
Things to do
3 viewpoints, 10 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
Princes Risborough is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach23 mi from Princes Risborough’s edge
DirectionsAmity Beach25 mi from Princes Risborough’s edge
DirectionsHog Hole28 mi from Princes Risborough’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows28 mi from Princes Risborough’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.
Up high. Whiteleaf Hill, at 230 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Princes Risborough.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
Brush Hill0.2 mi from town
DirectionsLodge Hill1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Whiteleaf Hill230 m (755 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPulpit Hill248 m (814 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak more.
Nature reserves 4
Whiteleaf Hill11 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsBrush Hill Local Nature Reserve14 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsGrangelands and The Rifle Range16 ha · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPulpit Hill Nature Reserve30 ha · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 10
Woodfield Roadin town
DirectionsLongwick Pre-School Only0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
LongwickLacey Green and Loosley RowChinnorWalter's Ash and NaphillPrestwood and Great MissendenStoke MandevillePrinces Risborough
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princes Risborough | B | 1.4 | 78% | 57% |
| Longwick 1.5 mi | B+ | 2.0 | 100% | 31% |
| Lacey Green and Loosley Row 2.2 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 27% | 82% |
| Chinnor 3.9 mi | B+ | 1.5 | 88% | 37% |
| Walter's Ash and Naphill 4.2 mi | A | 3.7 | 50% | 79% |
| Prestwood and Great Missenden 4.7 mi | A− | 5.5 | 65% | 94% |
| Stoke Mandeville 4.8 mi | A− | 5.5 | 37% | 29% |
Walter's Ash and Naphill, 4.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 50% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Walter's Ash and Naphill, Prestwood and Great Missenden and Stoke Mandeville have at least twice Princes Risborough’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Princes Risborough
What is the biggest park in Princes Risborough?
St Dunstan's Park, 1.6 ha (4 acres). St Dunstan's Park Play Area (0.2 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Princes Risborough near a National Park?
It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Princes Risborough?
18 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the The Ridgeway, The Chiltern Way and Outer Aylesbury Ring.
What is the nearest beach to Princes Risborough?
The Beach, 23 mi from the edge of the town, then Amity Beach (25 mi). Princes Risborough itself is inland.
How many people in Princes Risborough live near a park?
78% 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 Princes Risborough?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Princes Risborough good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 64% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 24% (1.4 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 Princes Risborough’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Princes Risborough’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.