Hayle’s biggest
Hayle Football Club
Playing field
2.3 ha (6 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Hayle
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: John Bennett · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Hayle · parks, paths & countryside
Hayle is on the coast, on the South West Coast Path
The sea makes up 22% of the area within 5 km. The Cornwall National Landscape begins 1.6 mi from the town’s edge. 57 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.4 for every square kilometre. Hayle grades B+ for the outdoors: #17 of 35 in Cornwall. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
72%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
57 km
3.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
6%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cornwall National Landscape
The sea
22%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Hayle?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast22% of the area within 5 km is sea; 15 beaches mapped.Countryside close byThe Cornwall National Landscape starts 1.6 mi west.On a National TrailThe South West Coast Path passes through.Less park per person1.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Hayle’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Cornwall National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Hayle grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Hayle, 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 68% of UK towns#17 of 35 in Cornwall · 22nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
26out of
100
100
A park within a walk72%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
33out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape6%of the land within 5 km
68out of
100
100
Footpaths3.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
69out of
100
100
The sea22%of the area within 5 km
90out 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
Hayle is 22nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,700 to 9,400 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
Hayle3.4
Towns its size3.1
Cornwall towns2.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Hayle1.4
Towns its size2.5
Cornwall towns1.6
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Hayle72%
Towns its size84%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
Hayle falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 45 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 3 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 4 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 5 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Linthwaite and Slaithwaite West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 7 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 8 | Warlingham Surrey | A | 4.2 | 81% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 9 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 13 | Ryton Tyne and Wear | A− | 5.5 | 85% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 16 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 17 | Irthlingborough Northamptonshire | A− | 4.7 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Alfreton Derbyshire | B+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Winnersh Berkshire | B+ | 9.6 | 80% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Higham Ferrers Northamptonshire | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 22 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 23 | Banstead Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 5.2 | 3% |
| 24 | Cinderford Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 4.7 | 4% |
| 25 | Ashbourne Derbyshire | B | 1.9 | 92% | 2.7 | 14% |
| 26 | Cockermouth Cumbria | B | 2.6 | 81% | 2.2 | 42% |
| 27 | Ampthill Bedfordshire | B | 6.8 | 71% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 29 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Clay Cross Derbyshire | B | 2.6 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 31 | South Kirkby West Yorkshire | B | 3 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 33 | Tiptree Essex | B | 2.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Perton Staffordshire | B | 2.4 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 35 | Hornsea East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 90% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Whitnash Warwickshire | B− | 2 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Cullompton Devon | B− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 39 | West End and Chobham Surrey | B− | 3.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 41 | Hoo St Werburgh Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 92% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 44 | Brinsworth South Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 76% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Milnrow Greater Manchester | C | 2.9 | 58% | 3 | 0% |
| 47 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 49 | Burscough Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 50 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Adlington Lancashire | C− | 1.3 | 64% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Harworth and Bircotes Nottinghamshire | D | 1.9 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Holbeach Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 91% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Tarleton and Hesketh Bank Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 63% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Hayle’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 Hayle
The biggest is Hayle Football Club, 2.3 ha (6 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Ellis Park
Park or garden
0.5 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Millpond Gardens
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.1 km of path
0.7 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Hayle residents live within a 5-minute walk of 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 (72%)Further (29%)
Hayle72%
Towns its size84%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 2,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 16 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 565 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cornwall National Landscape is 1.6 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
6% of the land within 5 km of Hayle is National Park or National Landscape, more than 68% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Hayle is on the South West Coast Path
57 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Hayle and the kilometre around it, 3.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegional
South West Coast Path (Section 19: Portreath to Hayle)6.3 km
South West Coast Path (Section 20: Hayle to St Ives)5.4 km
St Michael's Way1.6 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Hayle. The regional route here is the St Michael's Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A registered historic park in Hayle
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Hayle’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIThe Downes (St Michael's Convent)1.2 ha
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hayle: June 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.1 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 124 | 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 8 nights a year. The climate in Hayle →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Hayle
22% of the area within 5 km of Hayle is sea. 15 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 6 with a name.
Porth Kidney Sands0.9 mi from town
DirectionsCarbis Bay Beach1.8 mi from town
DirectionsPorthminster Beach2.7 mi from town
DirectionsBamaluz Beach2.9 mi from town
DirectionsHarbour Beach2.9 mi from town
DirectionsPorthgwidden Beach2.9 mi from town
DirectionsThe 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.
Things to do
2 viewpoints and 16 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.
2Viewpoints2Hills and peaks1Nature reserves16Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size7Campsites2Slipways
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
View Over Atlantic Coast Holiday Park0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
New Nitro Hill0.3 mi from town
DirectionsJack Straw's Hill0.5 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 1
St Erth Pits1.1 ha · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 16
Hayle Recreation Groundin town
DirectionsPlus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 7
St Ives Bay Holiday Park0.0 mi from town
DirectionsBeachside Holiday Park0.3 mi from town
DirectionsTreglisson campsite0.5 mi from town
DirectionsCamping & Caravaning0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 3 campsites without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Plus 2 slipways 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.
St ErthConnor DownsReawlaCarbis BaySt IvesCrowlasHayle
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayle | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 6% |
| St Erth 1.8 mi | B+ | 0.9 | 100% | 4% |
| Connor Downs 2.1 mi | C | 0.5 | 79% | 8% |
| Reawla 2.5 mi | D | 0.2 | 0% | 3% |
| Carbis Bay 2.6 mi | B+ | 0.5 | 88% | 20% |
| St Ives 3.7 mi | A | 0.8 | 89% | 24% |
| Crowlas 4.2 mi | B+ | 3.3 | 73% | 23% |
St Ives, 3.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 89% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Crowlas has at least twice Hayle’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Hayle
What is the biggest park in Hayle?
Hayle Football Club, 2.3 ha (6 acres). Ellis Park (0.5 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Hayle near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cornwall National Landscape, 1.6 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Hayle?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the South West Coast Path (Section 19: Portreath to Hayle), South West Coast Path (Section 20: Hayle to St Ives) and St Michael's Way.
How many people in Hayle live near a park?
72% 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 Hayle?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Hayle are historic?
The Downes (St Michael's Convent) (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Hayle good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 69% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 26% (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 Hayle’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Hayle’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.