Photo: Mike Parker · CC BY-SA 2.076% of Gresford’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape begins 4.5 mi from the town’s edge. 25 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.8 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Gresford add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Gresford grades D for the outdoors: #37 of 39 in Clwyd. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors town is Gresford?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Gresford’s strongest suit is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Gresford grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Gresford, 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.
Gresford is 53rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,800 to 5,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Gresford falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 40 of the 59 others do better.
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 | Pill Somerset | A+ | 5.2 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Frinton-on-Sea Essex | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 4 | Burry Port Dyfed | A+ | 11.8 | 75% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 5 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 6 | Moreton-in-Marsh Gloucestershire | A | 5 | 100% | 1.8 | 55% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Rhymney Gwent | A | 2.9 | 97% | 3.8 | 6% |
| 9 | Meols Merseyside | A | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Holmfirth West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 88% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 11 | Fitzwilliam and Kinsley West Yorkshire | A− | 11.5 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 12 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 13 | Fordingbridge Hampshire | A− | 3.6 | 92% | 2 | 56% |
| 14 | Coleford Gloucestershire | A− | 2.8 | 66% | 4.3 | 48% |
| 15 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Needham Market Suffolk | A− | 7.2 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 17 | Overseal and Castle Gresley Derbyshire | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Huthwaite Nottinghamshire | B+ | 8.1 | 75% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Seaton Cumbria | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 21 | Cranbrook Devon | B+ | 6.4 | 87% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 22 | Hildenborough Kent | B+ | 6.5 | 40% | 2.8 | 46% |
| 23 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 24 | Stone Cross East Sussex | B+ | 1.4 | 86% | 2.3 | 9% |
| 25 | Aspull Greater Manchester | B | 7.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Easingwold North Yorkshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 1.5 | 14% |
| 27 | Grimethorpe South Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | B | 2.6 | 94% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 29 | Sedgefield County Durham | B | 6.2 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Headley Down and Headley Hampshire | B | 2.1 | 55% | 3.4 | 44% |
| 31 | Handsacre and Armitage Staffordshire | B− | 1.8 | 89% | 2.1 | 12% |
| 32 | Wotton-under-Edge Gloucestershire | C+ | 0.4 | 32% | 5.4 | 60% |
| 33 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 34 | Wool Dorset | C+ | 2.3 | 51% | 2.5 | 33% |
| 35 | Steeton West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Moulton Northamptonshire | C+ | 3.3 | 88% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Barton-le-Clay Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 43% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 38 | Church Lancashire | C | 1.5 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Shortstown Bedfordshire | C | 2.4 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Billinge Merseyside | C | 0.9 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 41 | Treharris Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.6 | 72% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 43 | Bowburn County Durham | C | 1.5 | 71% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Bungay Suffolk | C | 0.5 | 78% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 45 | Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe Lincolnshire | C | 1.8 | 67% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 47 | Jaywick Essex | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Shavington Cheshire | C− | 1.1 | 87% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 51 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Haslington Cheshire | D | 1.8 | 41% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Gresford Clwyd | D | 1.4 | 76% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Lepton West Yorkshire | D− | 0.9 | 36% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Wingate County Durham | D− | 1 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Harleston Norfolk | D− | 0.2 | 42% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Shotton Colliery County Durham | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 1.5 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Gresford’s built-up area.
How close Gresford’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).
About 1,200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 14 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 353 residents.
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 4.5 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Gresford scores 0% on it even though the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 4.5 mi away.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Gresford
25 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Gresford and the kilometre around it, 1.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The regional route here is the Llwybr Clawdd Wat.
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 Gresford: 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 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 66 | 54 | 51 | 50 | 59 | 59 | 59 | 62 | 61 | 74 | 76 | 79 |
April is the driest month (50 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 79 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 38 nights a year. The climate in Gresford →
14 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
Gresford is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. Natural Resources Wales tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Marford Rofft Mount, at 50 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Gresford.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 3
Nature reserves 2
Plus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 14
Plus 14 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.
Wrexham, 2.6 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 92% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Llay, Bradley and Gwersyllt have at least twice Gresford’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Gresford
Is Gresford near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 4.5 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Gresford?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Llwybr Clawdd Wat.
What is the nearest beach to Gresford?
Tranmere Beach, 19 mi from the edge of the town, then East Hoyle Bank (22 mi). Gresford itself is inland.
How many people in Gresford live near a park?
76% 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 Gresford?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Gresford good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 24% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 25% (1.4 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 Gresford’s overall grade.
Where Gresford’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.