Photo: Dennis Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0Almost everyone in Moston lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Moston add up to 7.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 26 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 3.8 for every square kilometre. Moston grades A for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Moston?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Moston’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Moston grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Moston, 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.
Moston is 8th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,000 to 1,200 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Moston stands out most for park space per resident: only 2 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illogan Cornwall | A+ | 3 | 100% | 3.2 | 7% |
| 2 | Polgooth Cornwall | A+ | 7 | 100% | 2 | 13% |
| 3 | Fairlands Surrey | A+ | 2.8 | 100% | 5 | 11% |
| 4 | Chagford Devon | A+ | 4.7 | 100% | 2.5 | 98% |
| 5 | Masham North Yorkshire | A+ | 3.7 | 100% | 3 | 44% |
| 6 | Tolvaddon Cornwall | A | 11.9 | 24% | 4.5 | 9% |
| 7 | Leigh Kent | A | 3 | 100% | 2.6 | 49% |
| 8 | Moston Cheshire | A | 7.8 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Charnock Richard Lancashire | A | 29.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Barns Green West Sussex | A | 6.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 11 | Mayfield Staffordshire | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 14% |
| 12 | Grange Moor West Yorkshire | A− | 4.3 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 13 | Winford Isle of Wight | A− | 1.7 | 0% | 4.4 | 39% |
| 14 | Llanddulas Clwyd | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | North Thoresby Lincolnshire | B+ | 3.7 | 100% | 0.8 | 21% |
| 16 | Bethel Gwynedd | B+ | 1.6 | 100% | 1.4 | 10% |
| 17 | Grassington North Yorkshire | B+ | 1.3 | 79% | 4.1 | 100% |
| 18 | South Bents Tyne and Wear | B+ | 4.9 | 62% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Borth Dyfed | B | 3.1 | 74% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Upperthong West Yorkshire | B | 1.7 | 65% | 4.7 | 26% |
| 21 | Cropston Leicestershire | B | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Barwick and Stoford Somerset | B | 6.4 | 71% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 23 | Holt Clwyd | B | 0.9 | 100% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 24 | Milborne St Andrew Dorset | B | 3.3 | 71% | 2.1 | 33% |
| 25 | Pentre Halkyn Clwyd | B | 1.3 | 59% | 3.6 | 3% |
| 26 | Bedlinog Mid Glamorgan | B | 4.1 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 27 | Goudhurst Kent | B | 1.5 | 100% | 1.2 | 65% |
| 28 | Challock Kent | B− | 3 | 62% | 2 | 88% |
| 29 | Twyning Gloucestershire | B− | 1 | 100% | 2.5 | 10% |
| 30 | Shipham Somerset | B− | 1.2 | 63% | 4 | 55% |
| 31 | South Wingfield Derbyshire | B− | 5.4 | 75% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Roydon (South Norfolk) Norfolk | B− | 4.3 | 50% | 4 | 0% |
| 33 | Beeford East Riding of Yorkshire | C+ | 3.9 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Easton on the Hill Northamptonshire | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Castlethorpe Buckinghamshire | C+ | 3.5 | 72% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 36 | Whimple Devon | C+ | 5.2 | 70% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 37 | Lower Shiplake Oxfordshire | C+ | 3 | 0% | 2 | 28% |
| 38 | Ashchurch Gloucestershire | C | 2 | 59% | 2.2 | 21% |
| 39 | Bow Street Dyfed | C | 3.1 | 33% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Woodhouses Greater Manchester | C | 2.6 | 40% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Charlton Marshall Dorset | C | 0.5 | 78% | 2 | 50% |
| 42 | Glazebury Cheshire | C− | 5.1 | 58% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Milverton Somerset | C− | 2.1 | 70% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Pattishall and Astcote Northamptonshire | C− | 2.9 | 39% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Beachley Gloucestershire | C− | 0.3 | 0% | 1.2 | 14% |
| 46 | North Leverton with Habblesthorpe Nottinghamshire | C− | 0.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Bildeston Suffolk | C− | 0.5 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Farmborough Somerset | C− | 2 | 38% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Cawston Norfolk | D | 2.7 | 71% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Broad Oak (Wealden) East Sussex | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.4 | 96% |
| 51 | Wattstown Mid Glamorgan | D | 3.1 | 26% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Landrake Cornwall | D | 0.9 | 0% | 0.6 | 38% |
| 53 | Reawla Cornwall | D | 0.2 | 0% | 2 | 3% |
| 54 | Stickney Lincolnshire | D | 2.4 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| 55 | Berryfield Wiltshire | D− | 0.4 | 53% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Pilton Somerset | D− | 1.2 | 28% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Moulton Chapel Lincolnshire | D− | 1.5 | 60% | 0 | 0% |
| 58 | Llanfyllin Powys | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Great Horwood Buckinghamshire | D− | 0.8 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Whaplode Lincolnshire | D− | 0.4 | 0% | 0.2 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Moston’s built-up area.
How close Moston’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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 18 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 61 residents.
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 12 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.
Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Moston
26 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Moston and the kilometre around it, 3.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
2 regional routes pass through, including the North Cheshire Way (Chester Spur) and North Cheshire Way.
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 Moston: May to 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 58 | 47 | 45 | 48 | 53 | 67 | 64 | 70 | 69 | 78 | 74 | 76 |
March is the driest month (45 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 78 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 36 nights a year. The climate in Moston →
18 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Moston is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 18
Plus 10 playgrounds 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moston | A | 7.8 | 100% | 0% |
| Chester 2.3 mi | C | 1.6 | 86% | 0% |
| Saughall 2.5 mi | D | 2.5 | 27% | 0% |
| Mickle Trafford 2.6 mi | D− | 0.5 | 70% | 0% |
| Guilden Sutton 2.9 mi | D− | 0.3 | 56% | 0% |
| Ellesmere Port 3.6 mi | B | 2.8 | 90% | 0% |
| Christleton and Waverton 4.0 mi | D | 2.4 | 55% | 0% |
Moston grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Moston
Is Moston near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 12 mi west of the village’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Moston?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the North Cheshire Way (Chester Spur), North Cheshire Way and Canalside Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Moston?
Tranmere Beach, 11 mi from the edge of the village, then East Hoyle Bank (16 mi). Moston itself is inland.
How many people in Moston live near a park?
100% 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 Moston?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Moston good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 78% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 94% (7.8 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 Moston’s overall grade.
Where Moston’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.