Rudheath’s biggest
Griffiths Park
Park or garden
18 ha (45 acres)3.2 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.2 km of path
26 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Rudheath
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ian Warburton · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Rudheath · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Rudheath lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Rudheath add up to 5.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 39 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.7 for every square kilometre. Rudheath grades A for the outdoors: #3 of 46 in Cheshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
5.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
39 km
3.7 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
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Rudheath?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Room to roam5.5 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 88% of UK towns.
Rudheath’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Rudheath grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Rudheath, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A
Better than 86% of UK towns#3 of 46 in Cheshire · 10th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space5.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
89out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
74out 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
Rudheath is 10th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,600 to 5,000 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
Rudheath3.7
Towns its size2.7
Cheshire towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Rudheath5.5
Towns its size2.1
Cheshire towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Rudheath100%
Towns its size81%
Cheshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Rudheath stands out most for park space per resident: only 9 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rye East Sussex | A+ | 3.5 | 89% | 3.5 | 46% |
| 2 | Frinton-on-Sea Essex | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 3 | Windermere Cumbria | A+ | 3 | 94% | 3.6 | 100% |
| 4 | Rownhams and Nursling Hampshire | A+ | 4.9 | 86% | 6.7 | 12% |
| 5 | Marple Bridge Greater Manchester | A | 9.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 13% |
| 6 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Huntington Staffordshire | A | 3.7 | 74% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 9 | Carleton Lancashire | A | 3 | 86% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Rudheath Cheshire | A | 5.5 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 12 | Writtle Essex | A− | 5.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Cringleford Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 94% | 7.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Dersingham Norfolk | A− | 3.1 | 76% | 1.9 | 39% |
| 15 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Liss Hampshire | A− | 2.3 | 87% | 2.6 | 98% |
| 17 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 18 | Saxmundham Suffolk | B+ | 3.3 | 100% | 1.9 | 3% |
| 19 | Borough Green Kent | B+ | 2.5 | 93% | 1.9 | 50% |
| 20 | Bodicote Oxfordshire | B+ | 10.2 | 86% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Cranbrook Devon | B+ | 6.4 | 87% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 22 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 23 | Headley Down and Headley Hampshire | B | 2.1 | 55% | 3.4 | 44% |
| 24 | Coedpoeth Clwyd | B | 1.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 24% |
| 25 | Lenham and Harrietsham Kent | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.4 | 47% |
| 26 | Chalfont St Giles Buckinghamshire | B− | 1.8 | 57% | 3.5 | 37% |
| 27 | Kelvedon and Feering Essex | B− | 3.5 | 94% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 28 | Astley Greater Manchester | B− | 3.5 | 78% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Handsacre and Armitage Staffordshire | B− | 1.8 | 89% | 2.1 | 12% |
| 30 | Dudley Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.6 | 69% | 4 | 0% |
| 31 | Bramley Hampshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Dickens Heath West Midlands | C+ | 3.2 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 34 | Cross Hills North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 3 | 0% |
| 35 | Ripponden West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Edwalton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 2.1 | 58% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Shortstown Bedfordshire | C | 2.4 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 38 | Datchet Berkshire | C | 8.4 | 72% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 40 | Bowburn County Durham | C | 1.5 | 71% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Minster (Thanet) Kent | C | 2.3 | 64% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Makeney Derbyshire | C | 2.1 | 56% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Mynydd Isa Clwyd | C | 0.9 | 87% | 2 | 3% |
| 44 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 45 | Winterton Lincolnshire | C | 1.6 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Woodhall Spa Lincolnshire | C− | 1.9 | 61% | 3 | 0% |
| 47 | Barton-under-Needwood Staffordshire | C− | 2.3 | 70% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea Lancashire | C− | 0.7 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 49 | Middleton St George County Durham | C− | 1.8 | 94% | 1 | 0% |
| 50 | Sowerby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Bailrigg Lancashire | C− | 0 | 0% | 3.4 | 18% |
| 52 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 54 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 55 | South Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 43% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Markfield Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Chilton County Durham | D− | 1.1 | 68% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Rudheath’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 Rudheath
The biggest is Griffiths Park, 18 ha (45 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Rudheath’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 (100%)Further (0%)
Rudheath100%
Towns its size81%
Cheshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 37 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 130 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 15 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
5 waymarked walks pass through or near Rudheath
39 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Rudheath and the kilometre around it, 3.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalOther waymarked
Cheshire Ring Canal Walk7.4 km
Dane Valley Way6.4 km
Cheshire Circuit3.5 km
Weaver Way3.3 km
Saltscape Trail1.1 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Dane Valley Way, Cheshire Circuit and Weaver 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 Rudheath: 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 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 57 | 53 | 52 | 58 | 65 | 73 | 72 | 68 | 83 | 78 | 83 |
April is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 83 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 30 nights a year. The climate in Rudheath →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 37 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Rudheath is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Tranmere Beach23 mi from Rudheath’s edge
DirectionsWader Point23 mi from Rudheath’s edge
DirectionsStone Beach23 mi from Rudheath’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South23 mi from Rudheath’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North23 mi from Rudheath’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Wildlife Corridor0.1 ha · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsCarey Park37 ha · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 37
Elizabethan Way Play Areain town
DirectionsBelmont Road Play Area0.1 mi from town
DirectionsJames Street Play Area0.3 mi from town
DirectionsOld Hall Road Play Area0.4 mi from town
DirectionsToddlers Play Area1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 32 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.
NorthwichDavenhamLostock GralamPickmereHartfordBarntonRudheath
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Northwich, 1.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 92% 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 Rudheath
What is the biggest park in Rudheath?
Griffiths Park, 18 ha (45 acres), with 3.2 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Rudheath near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 15 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 Rudheath?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Cheshire Ring Canal Walk, Dane Valley Way and Cheshire Circuit. Griffiths Park alone has 3.2 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Rudheath?
Tranmere Beach, 23 mi from the edge of the town, then Wader Point (23 mi). Rudheath itself is inland.
How many people in Rudheath 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 Rudheath?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Rudheath good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 74% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 89% (5.5 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 Rudheath’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Rudheath’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.