Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and walks in Helpston
Parks and playing fields in Helpston add up to 0.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 15 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.7 for every square kilometre. No park or playing field is mapped within a 5-minute walk of homes in Helpston. Helpston grades D− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Helpston grades D− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Helpston, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
How Helpston compares with UK villages of 1,200 to 1,300
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,200 to 1,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Helpston falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 55 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huncoat Lancashire | A+ | 10.1 | 100% | 4.9 | 1% |
| 2 | Clanfield Hampshire | A+ | 6.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 78% |
| 3 | Kirton Suffolk | A+ | 2.5 | 100% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 4 | Otterbourne Hampshire | A | 2.9 | 100% | 3.2 | 25% |
| 5 | Thurgoland South Yorkshire | A | 2.5 | 100% | 4.1 | 1% |
| 6 | Box Hill Surrey | A | 35.9 | 12% | 6 | 39% |
| 7 | Haydon Bridge Northumberland | A | 7.2 | 100% | 1.7 | 26% |
| 8 | Cronton Merseyside | A | 6.8 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Chew Magna Somerset | A | 2.4 | 100% | 3 | 15% |
| 10 | Millhouse Green South Yorkshire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 3.6 | 18% |
| 11 | East Hanney Oxfordshire | A− | 5.7 | 100% | 1.8 | 4% |
| 12 | Harlech Gwynedd | A− | 1.9 | 36% | 3.5 | 67% |
| 13 | Bonds Lancashire | A− | 1.7 | 100% | 3.5 | 16% |
| 14 | Bradpole Dorset | A− | 0.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 95% |
| 15 | Felsted Essex | A− | 7.5 | 81% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Tregarth Gwynedd | B+ | 1.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 23% |
| 17 | Bierton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 5.8 | 70% | 7.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Walberton West Sussex | B+ | 1.8 | 100% | 1.9 | 39% |
| 19 | Sharpness Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 20 | Billy Row County Durham | B | 2.3 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Stoke Holy Cross Norfolk | B | 2.2 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Horton Kirby Kent | B | 5.9 | 78% | 1.7 | 21% |
| 23 | Bunbury Cheshire | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 24 | Kilgetty Dyfed | B | 1 | 100% | 0.9 | 18% |
| 25 | Talgarth Powys | B | 5.7 | 71% | 1.5 | 52% |
| 26 | Minster Lovell Oxfordshire | B | 3.6 | 79% | 1.5 | 37% |
| 27 | Sutton Benger Wiltshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 28 | Eckington Worcestershire | B | 4.1 | 72% | 1.9 | 23% |
| 29 | Potten End Hertfordshire | B− | 2.4 | 73% | 2.2 | 44% |
| 30 | Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Oxfordshire | B− | 2.5 | 72% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 31 | Wyton Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.9 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Gilmorton Leicestershire | B− | 3.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Marlpit Hill Kent | B− | 2.5 | 0% | 2.9 | 35% |
| 34 | Chulmleigh Devon | C+ | 3.5 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Trimdon Grange County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 36 | Sutton Common Suffolk | C+ | 0.8 | 51% | 3.9 | 85% |
| 37 | Thorpe on the Hill West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.2 | 64% | 4 | 0% |
| 38 | Ashill Norfolk | C+ | 3.7 | 82% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 39 | Westhampnett West Sussex | C | 0.2 | 79% | 2.6 | 33% |
| 40 | Ampleforth North Yorkshire | C | 2.3 | 27% | 1.7 | 95% |
| 41 | Bradfield Essex | C | 1.4 | 27% | 1.5 | 35% |
| 42 | Warwick Bridge Cumbria | C | 6.5 | 78% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Stoke Hampshire | C | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 32% |
| 44 | West Clandon Surrey | C | 1.9 | 49% | 2.1 | 28% |
| 45 | Ponthir Gwent | C | 2.9 | 78% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Coedhirwaun West Glamorgan | C | 2 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 47 | South Killingholme Lincolnshire | C | 1.7 | 68% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Hanwood Shropshire | C− | 1.9 | 19% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 49 | Little Downham Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.8 | 61% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Trewoon Cornwall | D | 0.9 | 71% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 51 | Blyth Nottinghamshire | D | 2.5 | 76% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Burton on the Wolds Leicestershire | D | 2.5 | 31% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Southery Norfolk | D | 2 | 61% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Dishforth North Yorkshire | D | 2.3 | 68% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Fleet Hargate Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 76% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Elvington North Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Felton Northumberland | D− | 1.7 | 50% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Sutton on Trent Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.5 | 39% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Walsham le Willows Suffolk | D− | 0.4 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 60 | Helpston Cambridgeshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Helpston’s built-up area.
Few Helpston 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).
About 1,200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Helpston
15 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Helpston and the kilometre around it, 1.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
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 Helpston: May, June, August and 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 48 | 37 | 38 | 41 | 48 | 49 | 67 | 58 | 51 | 61 | 56 | 50 |
February is the driest month (37 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 67 mm of rain falls in July, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 49 nights a year. The climate in Helpston →
Viewpoints, hills and nature near Helpston
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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 4
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground 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.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helpston | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Glinton 2.2 mi | D | 1.3 | 79% | 0% |
| Barnack 2.6 mi | D | 1.6 | 26% | 0% |
| Northborough 2.8 mi | C− | 1.7 | 68% | 0% |
| Market Deeping 3.4 mi | C | 1.5 | 96% | 0% |
| Deeping St James 3.6 mi | D | 0.5 | 73% | 0% |
| Castor and Ailsworth 4.2 mi | C | 3.4 | 41% | 0% |
Market Deeping, 3.4 miles away, grades C, the best next door: 96% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Glinton, Barnack and Northborough have at least twice Helpston’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Helpston
Is Helpston near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Helpston.
What are the best walks near Helpston?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Torpel Way.
How many people in Helpston live near a park?
0% 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 Helpston?
May, June, August and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Helpston good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 23% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 1% (0.0 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 Helpston’s overall grade.
Where Helpston’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.