Photo: Elizabeth Scott · CC BY-SA 2.079% of Connor Downs’ residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Cornwall National Landscape begins 1.1 mi from the village’s edge. The sea makes up 24% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 5 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 0.7 for every square kilometre. Connor Downs grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Connor Downs?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Connor Downs’ strongest suit is the Cornwall National Landscape close by, followed by the South West Coast Path. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Connor Downs grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Connor Downs, 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.
Connor Downs is 31st of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,400 to 1,600 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Connor Downs falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 55 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Runton and Beeston Regis Norfolk | A+ | 25 | 100% | 4.8 | 34% |
| 2 | Chambercombe Devon | A+ | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 29% |
| 3 | Heathfield Devon | A+ | 20.4 | 100% | 3 | 30% |
| 4 | Charlton Down Dorset | A | 4 | 100% | 2.3 | 58% |
| 5 | Newburn Tyne and Wear | A | 12.1 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 6 | Penrhyndeudraeth Gwynedd | A | 2.5 | 100% | 1 | 68% |
| 7 | Gargrave North Yorkshire | A | 5.2 | 100% | 1.9 | 41% |
| 8 | Three Crosses West Glamorgan | A | 2.4 | 100% | 1.3 | 39% |
| 9 | Denham Buckinghamshire | A− | 5.7 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 10 | Knowle Hampshire | A− | 2 | 100% | 3.1 | 7% |
| 11 | Hale Cheshire | A− | 4.8 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 12 | Twyford Hampshire | A− | 6.8 | 49% | 3.3 | 44% |
| 13 | Little Kingshill Buckinghamshire | A− | 6.5 | 50% | 2.9 | 90% |
| 14 | Holme Cumbria | A− | 2.8 | 100% | 1.8 | 25% |
| 15 | Burnhope County Durham | B+ | 3.1 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Horspath Oxfordshire | B | 14 | 54% | 5 | 0% |
| 17 | Hellifield North Yorkshire | B | 1.3 | 100% | 2.2 | 38% |
| 18 | Staveley Cumbria | B | 1.7 | 85% | 2.5 | 89% |
| 19 | Alconbury Cambridgeshire | B | 5.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Pont Rhyd-y-cyff Mid Glamorgan | B | 4.9 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 21 | Houghton Cumbria | B | 1.7 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Wingrave Buckinghamshire | B− | 3.7 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Kingstone Herefordshire | B− | 3.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 24 | Kibblesworth Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Netherne on-the-Hill Surrey | B− | 1.6 | 40% | 5.9 | 19% |
| 26 | Nether Stowey Somerset | C+ | 1.9 | 18% | 3 | 39% |
| 27 | Killinghall North Yorkshire | C+ | 1 | 100% | 1.6 | 7% |
| 28 | Nether Heyford Northamptonshire | C+ | 1.4 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Lavendon Buckinghamshire | C | 1.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 30 | Castor and Ailsworth Cambridgeshire | C | 3.4 | 41% | 3 | 0% |
| 31 | Connor Downs Cornwall | C | 0.5 | 79% | 0.7 | 8% |
| 32 | Barton Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 47% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Newborough Cambridgeshire | C | 2.1 | 100% | 0.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Eythorne Kent | C | 0.5 | 79% | 2.5 | 9% |
| 35 | Ticehurst East Sussex | C | 1.4 | 75% | 0.8 | 100% |
| 36 | Brabourne Lees Kent | C | 0.9 | 0% | 3.2 | 34% |
| 37 | Warton Warwickshire | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 38 | Cogenhoe Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 78% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 39 | Burniston North Yorkshire | C− | 0.1 | 0% | 0.9 | 49% |
| 40 | Hartwell Northamptonshire | C− | 1.2 | 59% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Silverton Devon | C− | 1 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 42 | Ruishton Somerset | C− | 0.6 | 60% | 2.7 | 4% |
| 43 | Denbury Devon | C− | 2.8 | 24% | 0.7 | 3% |
| 44 | Marnhull Dorset | C− | 1.8 | 41% | 3 | 0% |
| 45 | Pontyberem Dyfed | C− | 4.7 | 58% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 46 | East Rainton Tyne and Wear | D | 1.4 | 34% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Hook East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 19% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 48 | North Somercotes Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 44% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Pontyates Dyfed | D | 4.6 | 39% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Cawood North Yorkshire | D | 1.9 | 60% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Westonzoyland Somerset | D | 3.1 | 30% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Copplestone Devon | D | 1.1 | 88% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Oakington Cambridgeshire | D | 2.1 | 52% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Stockton Warwickshire | D | 1.5 | 44% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Four Crosses Powys | D− | 1.9 | 53% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Badersfield Norfolk | D− | 0.3 | 53% | 1 | 2% |
| 57 | Sturton by Stow Lincolnshire | D− | 1.7 | 41% | 1 | 0% |
| 58 | Tilney St Lawrence Norfolk | D− | 1.5 | 53% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Guilden Sutton Cheshire | D− | 0.3 | 56% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Woodford Northamptonshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Connor Downs’ built-up area.
How close Connor Downs’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 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 3 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 494 residents.
The Cornwall National Landscape is 1.1 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.
8% of the land within 5 km of Connor Downs is National Park or National Landscape, more than 70% of UK towns.
Connor Downs is on the South West Coast Path
5 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Connor Downs and the kilometre around it, 0.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Connor Downs.
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 Connor Downs: June 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.1 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 115 | 89 | 77 | 59 | 55 | 56 | 77 | 82 | 74 | 110 | 129 | 118 |
May is the driest month (55 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 129 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 7 nights a year. The climate in Connor Downs →
Connor Downs is near the sea
24% of the area within 5 km of Connor Downs is sea. 17 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 2 with a name.
The South West 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.
3 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Hills and peaks 2
Nature reserves 1
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 3
Plus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 7
Plus 3 campsites 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.
Camborne, 3.5 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 93% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Hayle, Camborne and Troon have at least twice Connor Downs’ green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Connor Downs
Is Connor Downs near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cornwall National Landscape, 1.1 mi north of the village’s edge. It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Connor Downs?
11 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the South West Coast Path (Section 19: Portreath to Hayle), Gwinear-Gwithian BR 44 and Gwinear-Gwithian FP 15.
How many people in Connor Downs live near a park?
79% 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 Connor Downs?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Connor Downs good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 0.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 3% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 4% (0.5 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 Connor Downs’ overall grade.
Where Connor Downs’ 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.