Photo: Michael Trolove · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and walks in Sawtry
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 40% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Sawtry add up to 1.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 23 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.2 for every square kilometre. Sawtry grades D for the outdoors: #46 of 50 in Cambridgeshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Sawtry grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Sawtry, 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 Sawtry compares with UK towns of 5,600 to 6,100
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,600 to 6,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Sawtry falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 59 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackfield and Langley Hampshire | A+ | 28.1 | 95% | 4.2 | 48% |
| 2 | Saltburn-by-the-Sea North Yorkshire | A | 4.7 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 3 | Bagshot Surrey | A | 10.5 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 4 | Barrowford Lancashire | A | 4.2 | 82% | 5 | 22% |
| 5 | Wareham Dorset | A | 1.9 | 83% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 6 | Leiston Suffolk | A | 1.7 | 95% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 7 | Amble Northumberland | A | 2 | 100% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 8 | West Hallam Derbyshire | A | 4.8 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Millom Cumbria | A | 2 | 82% | 3.2 | 13% |
| 10 | Menston West Yorkshire | A | 2.4 | 90% | 4.1 | 18% |
| 11 | Shepperton Surrey | A | 8.7 | 89% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 12 | Carnforth Lancashire | A− | 1.2 | 89% | 3 | 39% |
| 13 | Barnard Castle County Durham | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 14 | Botley Hampshire | A− | 14.6 | 70% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 15 | East Horsley Surrey | A− | 3.5 | 55% | 4.5 | 33% |
| 16 | Dodworth South Yorkshire | A− | 2.3 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Marchwood Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 87% | 1.3 | 38% |
| 18 | Moor Park Hertfordshire | B+ | 4.5 | 46% | 4.5 | 1% |
| 19 | Creswell Derbyshire | B+ | 2.7 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Thrybergh and Dalton South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | Willington County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 22 | Garstang Lancashire | B | 2.4 | 89% | 2.3 | 15% |
| 23 | East Tilbury Essex | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2 | 0% |
| 24 | Wixams Bedfordshire | B | 5.3 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 25 | Shipston-on-Stour Warwickshire | B | 2.3 | 94% | 1.6 | 20% |
| 26 | Brixworth Northamptonshire | B | 3.8 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 27 | Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Northumberland | B | 2.2 | 77% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | East Wittering West Sussex | B | 1.1 | 78% | 1.9 | 27% |
| 29 | Hemsby Norfolk | B | 2.5 | 51% | 1.4 | 22% |
| 30 | Bidford-on-Avon Warwickshire | B | 3.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 31 | Cheddar Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 41% | 3 | 56% |
| 32 | Thirsk North Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Great Torrington Devon | B− | 2.6 | 88% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Hullbridge Essex | C+ | 5.7 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 35 | Kirby Cross Essex | C+ | 2.4 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Aylesham Kent | C+ | 0.3 | 76% | 3.4 | 33% |
| 37 | Bagillt Clwyd | C+ | 1.3 | 87% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Crawley Down West Sussex | C+ | 1.2 | 80% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 39 | Strensall North Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 40 | Pontyclun Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.4 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Ruthin Clwyd | C | 2.7 | 51% | 1.5 | 31% |
| 42 | Egremont Cumbria | C | 1.1 | 63% | 1.8 | 11% |
| 43 | Bracebridge Heath Lincolnshire | C | 1.1 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Undy and Magor Gwent | C | 0.9 | 86% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Durrington Wiltshire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Red Lodge Suffolk | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Ramsey Cambridgeshire | C | 2.5 | 72% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Ilminster Somerset | C− | 2.3 | 61% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Ottery St Mary Devon | C− | 1.2 | 71% | 1.7 | 34% |
| 50 | Studley Warwickshire | C− | 1.6 | 63% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Pembury Kent | C− | 1.1 | 45% | 2 | 58% |
| 52 | Stainforth South Yorkshire | C− | 2.2 | 80% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Purfleet-on-Thames Essex | C− | 0.9 | 64% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 54 | Cuddington Cheshire | C− | 1.5 | 66% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Withernsea East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.9 | 60% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Arlesey Bedfordshire | D | 0.9 | 51% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Finningley South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Werrington Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 42% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Sawtry Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 40% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 60 | Burwell Cambridgeshire | D− | 1.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Sawtry’s built-up area.
4 in 10 Sawtry 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 3,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 4 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,468 residents.
Footpaths in and around Sawtry
23 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Sawtry and the kilometre around it, 2.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Sawtry; its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Sawtry: 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 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 37 | 36 | 42 | 45 | 50 | 53 | 53 | 50 | 59 | 55 | 51 |
March is the driest month (36 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 46 nights a year. The climate in Sawtry →
4 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
Playgrounds 4
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Campsites 1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawtry | D | 1.3 | 40% | 0% |
| Stilton 3.7 mi | C− | 0.8 | 100% | 0% |
| Alconbury 4.9 mi | B | 5.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Alconbury Weald 5.1 mi | B | 5.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Yaxley 5.7 mi | B− | 2.6 | 90% | 0% |
| Bury 7.2 mi | C+ | 1.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Warmington 7.2 mi | C | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
Alconbury, 4.9 miles away, grades B, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Alconbury and Alconbury Weald have at least twice Sawtry’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Sawtry
Is Sawtry near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Sawtry.
How many people in Sawtry live near a park?
40% 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 Sawtry?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Sawtry good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 37% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 21% (1.3 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 Sawtry’s overall grade.
Where Sawtry’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.