Neston’s biggest
Wirral Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (110 acres)11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
62 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Neston
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Neston · parks, paths & countryside
91% of Neston’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The sea makes up 16% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Neston add up to 2.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 58 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.4 for every square kilometre. Neston grades B+ for the outdoors: #7 of 46 in Cheshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
91%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
58 km
2.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape
The sea
16%
of the area within 5 km
Outdoors grade
Neston grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Neston, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B+
Better than 71% of UK towns#7 of 46 in Cheshire · 28th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
64out of
100
100
A park within a walk91%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
68out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
41out of
100
100
The sea16%of the area within 5 km
88out 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
Neston is 28th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 14,200 to 15,700 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
Neston2.4
Towns its size3.6
Cheshire towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Neston2.7
Towns its size2.6
Cheshire towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Neston91%
Towns its size85%
Cheshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Neston falls furthest behind on path per km², where 49 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lymington Hampshire | A+ | 2.8 | 89% | 3.3 | 56% |
| 2 | Saltash Cornwall | A+ | 2.4 | 96% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 3 | Hythe Kent | A+ | 3.7 | 76% | 4 | 31% |
| 4 | Otley West Yorkshire | A+ | 5.8 | 93% | 4.4 | 26% |
| 5 | Tadley Hampshire | A+ | 11.4 | 96% | 4.2 | 9% |
| 6 | Llandudno Clwyd | A+ | 2.1 | 83% | 4.9 | 3% |
| 7 | Swanscombe Kent | A+ | 3.3 | 90% | 8.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Kesgrave Suffolk | A | 3.3 | 97% | 4.7 | 14% |
| 9 | Petersfield Hampshire | A | 3.2 | 93% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 10 | Staveley Derbyshire | A | 6.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Penzance Cornwall | A | 1.6 | 96% | 2.3 | 34% |
| 12 | Cheadle Greater Manchester | A | 6.5 | 96% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Stapleford Nottinghamshire | A | 3.5 | 95% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 14 | Skipton North Yorkshire | A | 1.7 | 99% | 4.2 | 25% |
| 15 | Yateley Hampshire | A− | 14.9 | 85% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Honley West Yorkshire | A− | 2.1 | 87% | 5.1 | 8% |
| 17 | Kidsgrove Staffordshire | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 18 | Frimley Surrey | A− | 2.9 | 99% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 19 | Tredegar Gwent | A− | 6.9 | 78% | 2.8 | 20% |
| 20 | Hessle East Riding of Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 96% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Risca Gwent | A− | 6.9 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Thornbury Gloucestershire | A− | 2.5 | 97% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Chertsey Surrey | A− | 6.2 | 84% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Birstall Leicestershire | A− | 6 | 80% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Tewkesbury Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.2 | 84% | 4 | 6% |
| 26 | Ilkley West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.6 | 76% | 5.7 | 37% |
| 27 | Uckfield East Sussex | B+ | 2.9 | 47% | 4.9 | 22% |
| 28 | Neston Cheshire | B+ | 2.7 | 91% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Buckingham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.4 | 96% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Somercotes and Swanwick Derbyshire | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Marlow Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 39% |
| 32 | Ashtead Surrey | B+ | 2.7 | 62% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 33 | Newport Pagnell Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 34 | Humberston and New Waltham Lincolnshire | B+ | 4.1 | 44% | 2.2 | 1% |
| 35 | Whickham Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.9 | 77% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 36 | Crowthorne Berkshire | B | 4.7 | 60% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Morpeth Northumberland | B | 3.7 | 80% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Chard Somerset | B− | 1.6 | 94% | 1.9 | 34% |
| 39 | Hawarden Clwyd | B− | 3.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Redruth Cornwall | B− | 1.5 | 78% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 41 | Hoyland South Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Mexborough South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Aberystwyth Dyfed | B− | 1.8 | 51% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Teignmouth Devon | B− | 1.7 | 82% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 45 | East Ardsley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.8 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Cowes Isle of Wight | C+ | 1.1 | 50% | 2.2 | 15% |
| 47 | Herne Kent | C+ | 1.2 | 54% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.2 | 78% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Darton South Yorkshire | C+ | 2.5 | 86% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | South Hayling Hampshire | C+ | 1 | 65% | 1.4 | 26% |
| 51 | Hockley and Hawkwell Essex | C+ | 1.6 | 85% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Kidlington Oxfordshire | C+ | 0.9 | 81% | 3 | 2% |
| 53 | Garforth West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Alsager Cheshire | C | 1.2 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Swallownest and Aston South Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 73% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Taverham and Drayton Norfolk | C− | 1.9 | 67% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Cottingham East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 73% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Middlewich Cheshire | D | 1.4 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Shepshed Leicestershire | D | 1.1 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Neston’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 Neston
The biggest is Wirral Country Park, 45 ha (110 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 162 ha (401 acres) and 42 km of path
Parks & gardens 162 ha
The two biggest, Wirral Country Park and Wirral Country Park, are 55% of the named green space and carry 23 km of path between them.
Wirral Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (110 acres)11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
62 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Neston
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Wirral Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (110 acres)11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
62 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Neston
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The University of Liverpool Botanic Gardens
Park or garden
25 ha (62 acres)6.1 km of path
1 h 20 minto walk all 6.1 km of path
35 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.3 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Stanney Fields
Park or garden
2.9 ha (7 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Neston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Sytchcroft Park
Park or garden
0.8 ha (2 acres)0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Neston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Neston’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 (91%)Further (10%)
Neston91%
Towns its size85%
Cheshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 15 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 998 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 8.4 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
National Landscape
Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley
8.4 mi south-west389 km²since 2011
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Neston is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
58 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Neston and the kilometre around it, 2.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
King Charles III England Coast Path: Birkenhead to Welsh Border9.3 km
Wirral Circular Trail8.5 km
Wirral Way8.5 km
Parkgate Walk5.3 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Neston. Close to home, the Parkgate Walk has 5 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Wirral Circular Trail and Wirral 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 Neston: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 59 | 48 | 47 | 47 | 51 | 62 | 64 | 66 | 68 | 80 | 74 | 78 |
March is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 80 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 30 nights a year. The climate in Neston →
The coast
Neston is near the sea
16% of the area within 5 km of Neston is sea.
The King Charles III England Coast Path passes the town.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
2 viewpoints and 15 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
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Windle Hill Nature Reserve0.5 ha · 0.3 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 15
Plus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 4
Adventure Acres0.6 mi from town
DirectionsDog Go Bark Park0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 2 dog parks 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.
Willaston (Cheshire West and Chester)HeswallBebingtonFlintConnah's QuayBagilltNeston
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neston | B+ | 2.7 | 91% | 0% |
| Willaston (Cheshire West and Chester) 2.4 mi | C− | 4.2 | 60% | 0% |
| Heswall 3.7 mi | C− | 1.1 | 56% | 0% |
| Bebington 4.3 mi | B+ | 3.0 | 86% | 0% |
| Flint 4.5 mi | D | 1.0 | 56% | 0% |
| Connah's Quay 5.3 mi | A | 5.8 | 97% | 0% |
| Bagillt 5.4 mi | C+ | 1.3 | 87% | 0% |
Connah's Quay, 5.3 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 97% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Connah's Quay has at least twice Neston’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Neston
What is the biggest park in Neston?
Wirral Country Park, 45 ha (110 acres), with 11.6 km of path. Wirral Country Park (45 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Neston near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 8.4 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Neston?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Birkenhead to Welsh Border, Wirral Circular Trail and Wirral Way. Wirral Country Park alone has 11.6 km of path.
How many people in Neston live near a park?
91% 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 Neston?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Neston good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 41% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 64% (2.7 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 Neston’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Neston’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.