March’s biggest
West End Park
Park or garden
9.6 ha (24 acres)2.0 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of March
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in March · parks, paths & countryside
87% of March’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
31 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.1 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in March add up to 1.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. March grades C− for the outdoors: #34 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
87%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
31 km
1.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Outdoors grade
March grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is March, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C−
Better than 16% of UK towns#34 of 50 in Cambridgeshire
Public green space1.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
36out of
100
100
A park within a walk87%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
61out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
9out 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
How March compares with UK towns of 19,900 to 22,900
The 60 UK towns and cities of 19,900 to 22,900 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
March1.1
Towns its size3.6
Cambridgeshire towns2.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
March1.7
Towns its size2.5
Cambridgeshire towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
March87%
Towns its size85%
Cambridgeshire towns79%
All UK towns83%
March falls furthest behind on path per km², where 59 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapeltown and High Green South Yorkshire | A+ | 4.9 | 94% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 2 | Camborne Cornwall | A+ | 2.2 | 93% | 4 | 8% |
| 3 | Dronfield Derbyshire | A+ | 3.2 | 97% | 5.3 | 9% |
| 4 | Buxton Derbyshire | A | 3.5 | 86% | 3.8 | 61% |
| 5 | Reddish Greater Manchester | A | 6.7 | 100% | 5 | 0% |
| 6 | Faversham Kent | A | 2 | 88% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 7 | Caterham Surrey | A | 4.3 | 84% | 4.3 | 17% |
| 8 | Hebburn Tyne and Wear | A | 6.6 | 99% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Quedgeley and Hardwicke Gloucestershire | A | 2.1 | 99% | 4.7 | 21% |
| 10 | Farnham Surrey | A | 5.1 | 73% | 4.3 | 35% |
| 11 | Hazlemere Buckinghamshire | A | 2.5 | 81% | 4.7 | 68% |
| 12 | Stratton St Margaret Wiltshire | A | 3.3 | 82% | 5.1 | 5% |
| 13 | Seaham County Durham | A | 2.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Harwich Essex | A− | 1.7 | 95% | 2.1 | 20% |
| 15 | South Ockendon Essex | A− | 2.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Workington Cumbria | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Dukinfield Greater Manchester | A− | 4 | 95% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 18 | Coalville Leicestershire | A− | 3.7 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 19 | Rothwell West Yorkshire | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 20 | Kempston Bedfordshire | A− | 4.9 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | Whitefield Greater Manchester | A− | 4.7 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Crowborough East Sussex | B+ | 3.2 | 68% | 2.6 | 91% |
| 23 | Kirkby-in-Ashfield Nottinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 93% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Ossett West Yorkshire | B+ | 2.8 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Sandhurst Berkshire | B+ | 5.1 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 26 | Hazel Grove Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.9 | 62% | 4.2 | 3% |
| 27 | Brownhills West Midlands | B | 11 | 80% | 2 | 2% |
| 28 | Swinton Greater Manchester | B | 3.9 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Great Bookham and Fetcham Surrey | B | 1.7 | 68% | 4.4 | 33% |
| 30 | Ripley Derbyshire | B | 2.4 | 91% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Biggleswade Bedfordshire | B | 1.6 | 95% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 32 | Westhoughton Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Penwortham Lancashire | B | 2.9 | 91% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Old Trafford Greater Manchester | B | 2.5 | 79% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Hailsham East Sussex | B | 1.4 | 87% | 3.2 | 12% |
| 36 | Dorchester Dorset | B | 1.6 | 78% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 37 | Stourport-on-Severn Worcestershire | B | 3.1 | 79% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Romsey Hampshire | B− | 1.2 | 82% | 4.5 | 2% |
| 39 | Bingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.1 | 80% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 40 | Berkhamsted Hertfordshire | B− | 1 | 69% | 3.6 | 56% |
| 41 | Staines-upon-Thames Surrey | B− | 3.4 | 67% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Wednesbury West Midlands | B− | 2.7 | 93% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Dereham Norfolk | B− | 1.8 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Failsworth Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.8 | 77% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Ashford Surrey | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 46 | Clevedon Somerset | C+ | 1.1 | 69% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 47 | Sunbury-on-Thames Surrey | C+ | 2 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Kenilworth Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 75% | 3 | 0% |
| 49 | Formby Merseyside | C+ | 1.4 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Spennymoor County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Normanton West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Horwich Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 67% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Maghull Merseyside | C− | 1.6 | 86% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Skegness Lincolnshire | C− | 0.9 | 58% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Stowmarket Suffolk | C− | 0.8 | 50% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Gainsborough Lincolnshire | C− | 1 | 96% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | March Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.7 | 87% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Goole East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 81% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Stamford Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 64% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Darlaston West Midlands | D | 1.3 | 78% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is March’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 March
The biggest is West End Park, 9.6 ha (24 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
March Town Cricket Club
Playing field
2.5 ha (6 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
March Town Football Club Sports Ground
Playing field
1.3 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of March
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close March’s homes are to 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 (87%)Further (13%)
March87%
Towns its size85%
Cambridgeshire towns79%
All UK towns83%
About 3,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 16 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,334 residents.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near March
31 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in March and the kilometre around it, 1.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Hereward Way9.0 km
The regional route here is the Hereward 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 March: 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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 49 | 34 | 34 | 38 | 46 | 52 | 54 | 56 | 49 | 59 | 56 | 52 |
February is the driest month (34 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 59 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in March →
Things to do
16 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 2
Gault Wood6.3 ha · 0.2 mi from town
DirectionsWhitemoor Prison Nature Reserve0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 16
Plus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Fourwinds0.3 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.
Doddington and WimblingtonManeaFriday BridgeBenwickUpwell and OutwellChatterisMarch
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | C− | 1.7 | 87% | 0% |
| Doddington and Wimblington 3.4 mi | C− | 2.5 | 73% | 0% |
| Manea 5.8 mi | D− | 1.3 | 63% | 0% |
| Friday Bridge 5.9 mi | D− | 1.0 | 79% | 0% |
| Benwick 6.3 mi | D | 0.3 | 100% | 0% |
| Upwell and Outwell 6.7 mi | D− | 1.8 | 43% | 0% |
| Chatteris 6.9 mi | C− | 1.4 | 94% | 0% |
Chatteris, 6.9 miles away, grades C−, the best next door: 94% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in March
What is the biggest park in March?
West End Park, 9.6 ha (24 acres), with 2 km of path. March Town Cricket Club (2.5 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is March near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of March.
What are the best walks near March?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Hereward Way. West End Park alone has 2 km of path.
How many people in March live near a park?
87% 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 March?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is March good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 9% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 36% (1.7 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 March’s overall grade.
Sources
Where March’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.