Holmes Chapel’s biggest
Strathmore Play Area
Play space
0.2 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Holmes Chapel
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ydam · CC BY 2.5DOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Holmes Chapel · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Holmes Chapel
Parks and playing fields in Holmes Chapel add up to 0.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 27 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.0 for every square kilometre. 72% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Holmes Chapel grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
0.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
72%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
27 km
2.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Peak District National Park
Outdoors grade
Holmes Chapel grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Holmes Chapel, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
D
Better than 7% of UK towns#45 of 46 in Cheshire
Public green space0.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
9out of
100
100
A park within a walk72%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
34out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
30out 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 Holmes Chapel compares with UK towns of 6,400 to 7,000
The 60 UK towns and cities of 6,400 to 7,000 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
Holmes Chapel2.0
Towns its size3.1
Cheshire towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Holmes Chapel0.8
Towns its size2.2
Cheshire towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Holmes Chapel72%
Towns its size81%
Cheshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Holmes Chapel falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 58 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stone Kent | A+ | 3.1 | 100% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 2 | Acrefair and Cefn-mawr Clwyd | A | 6.5 | 96% | 2.9 | 36% |
| 3 | Filey North Yorkshire | A | 5.9 | 89% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 4 | Chalford Gloucestershire | A | 1.6 | 96% | 4.7 | 94% |
| 5 | East Boldon and West Boldon Tyne and Wear | A | 3.4 | 96% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 6 | Wingerworth Derbyshire | A | 9 | 86% | 4 | 0% |
| 7 | Shotton Clwyd | A | 4.5 | 100% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 8 | Ibstock Leicestershire | A | 8.5 | 96% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 9 | Barton on Sea Hampshire | A | 4.9 | 50% | 2.8 | 22% |
| 10 | Bedwas Gwent | A | 4.4 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 11 | Broad Blunsdon Wiltshire | A− | 5.2 | 93% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 12 | St Blazey Cornwall | A− | 2.4 | 78% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 13 | Olney Buckinghamshire | A− | 6.3 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Alcester Warwickshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 15 | Whitfield Kent | A− | 2.3 | 79% | 2.5 | 32% |
| 16 | Horden County Durham | A− | 2.1 | 82% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Paulton Somerset | A− | 2.1 | 96% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 18 | Whitworth Lancashire | B+ | 2.5 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Lightwater Surrey | B+ | 9.2 | 72% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 20 | Fence Houses Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.8 | 81% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Milford and Witley Surrey | B+ | 2.6 | 54% | 3.7 | 78% |
| 22 | Cawston Warwickshire | B+ | 3.6 | 98% | 3 | 0% |
| 23 | North Anston South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 24 | Cleator Moor Cumbria | B+ | 3.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 11% |
| 25 | Little Chalfont Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 3.6 | 45% |
| 26 | Groby Leicestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 96% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Peasedown St John Somerset | B+ | 1.5 | 88% | 4 | 9% |
| 28 | Skelton (Redcar and Cleveland) North Yorkshire | B+ | 1.7 | 82% | 2.2 | 9% |
| 29 | Burley in Wharfedale West Yorkshire | B | 1.6 | 81% | 3.5 | 35% |
| 30 | Hindhead Surrey | B | 1.7 | 37% | 5.9 | 66% |
| 31 | Braunton Devon | B | 1.6 | 78% | 2.1 | 24% |
| 32 | Galleywood Essex | B | 10.3 | 61% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Hartford Cheshire | B | 2.2 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Barrow upon Soar Leicestershire | B− | 2.7 | 89% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Rishton Lancashire | B− | 2.2 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 36 | Wincanton Somerset | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 37 | Crigglestone and Durkar West Yorkshire | B− | 4.4 | 45% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Ushaw Moor and Bearpark County Durham | C+ | 1.6 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 39 | Blackheath West Midlands | C+ | 2.5 | 57% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Chiswell Green Hertfordshire | C+ | 4 | 54% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Denmead Hampshire | C+ | 1.4 | 72% | 2.8 | 35% |
| 42 | Tetbury Gloucestershire | C+ | 1.2 | 66% | 2.6 | 88% |
| 43 | Rawdon West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.7 | 67% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Bolton-le-Sands Lancashire | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 1.6 | 23% |
| 45 | Brampton Cambridgeshire | C | 3.2 | 61% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 46 | Market Deeping Lincolnshire | C | 1.5 | 96% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Farnham Common and Farnham Royal Buckinghamshire | C | 1 | 55% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Waddington Lincolnshire | C | 2.3 | 87% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Rhoose South Glamorgan | C | 2 | 43% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Great Wakering Essex | C | 1.1 | 47% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Lydiate Merseyside | C− | 1.5 | 90% | 2 | 0% |
| 52 | Ashingdon Essex | C− | 1.3 | 61% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Hollywood Worcestershire | C− | 2.4 | 54% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Culcheth Cheshire | C− | 1.7 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Holmes Chapel Cheshire | D | 0.8 | 72% | 2 | 0% |
| 56 | Pontarddulais West Glamorgan | D | 1.9 | 67% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Coleshill Warwickshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Broughton Clwyd | D− | 0.8 | 80% | 1 | 0% |
| 59 | Keyworth Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.3 | 58% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook Staffordshire | D− | 1.6 | 49% | 1.1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Holmes Chapel’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 Holmes Chapel
The biggest is Strathmore Play Area, 0.2 ha (0 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Middlewich Road Play Area
Play space
0.2 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Holmes Chapel
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Holmes Chapel 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 (72%)Further (28%)
Holmes Chapel72%
Towns its size81%
Cheshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
About 1,800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 11 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 607 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 9.6 mi away
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
Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Holmes Chapel
27 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Holmes Chapel and the kilometre around it, 2.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
South Cheshire Market Towns Trail10.1 km
Dane Valley Way9.5 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the South Cheshire Market Towns Trail and Dane Valley 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 Holmes Chapel: 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) | 8.1 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 56 | 49 | 51 | 57 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 67 | 82 | 72 | 79 |
March is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 82 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Holmes Chapel →
Things to do
11 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 1
Dane Meadow6.8 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 11
Cotton Play Areain town
DirectionsStrathmore Play Areain town
DirectionsPlus 9 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.
GoostreyMiddlewichSandbachElworthWheelockChelfordHolmes Chapel
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Wheelock, 4.9 miles away, grades B, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Sandbach, Elworth and Wheelock have at least twice Holmes Chapel’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Holmes Chapel
What is the biggest park in Holmes Chapel?
Strathmore Play Area, 0.2 ha (0 acres). Middlewich Road 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 Holmes Chapel near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 9.6 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Holmes Chapel?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the South Cheshire Market Towns Trail and Dane Valley Way.
How many people in Holmes Chapel live near a park?
72% 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 Holmes Chapel?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Holmes Chapel good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 30% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 9% (0.8 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 Holmes Chapel’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Holmes Chapel’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.