Helston’s biggest
King George V Playing Fields
Playing field
5.2 ha (13 acres)0.3 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Helston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Helston · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Helston
The Cornwall National Landscape reaches the edge of Helston. Parks and playing fields in Helston add up to 1.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 61% of residents. Helston grades B− for the outdoors: #23 of 35 in Cornwall. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
61%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
46 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
21%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cornwall National Landscape
The sea
10%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Helston?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Cornwall National Landscape starts 0.0 mi south-west.Historic parksLismore is a registered historic park (Grade II).Less park per person1.3 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Helston’s strongest suit is the Cornwall National Landscape close by, followed by its historic parks. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Helston grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Helston, 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 54% of UK towns#23 of 35 in Cornwall · 30th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
21out of
100
100
A park within a walk61%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
21out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape21%of the land within 5 km
79out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
52out of
100
100
The sea10%of the area within 5 km
87out 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
Helston is 30th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 10,800 to 11,900 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
Helston2.7
Towns its size2.8
Cornwall towns2.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Helston1.3
Towns its size1.9
Cornwall towns1.6
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Helston61%
Towns its size80%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
Helston 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 | Snodland Kent | A+ | 7.7 | 97% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 2 | Minehead Somerset | A+ | 1.4 | 95% | 4.3 | 47% |
| 3 | Weybourne Surrey | A+ | 7.1 | 86% | 6.1 | 14% |
| 4 | Holyhead Gwynedd | A | 3.4 | 78% | 2.3 | 31% |
| 5 | Penryn Cornwall | A | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 31% |
| 6 | Emsworth Hampshire | A | 2.3 | 56% | 3.7 | 51% |
| 7 | Sandown Isle of Wight | A | 1.4 | 74% | 4.5 | 28% |
| 8 | Great Harwood Lancashire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.3 | 4% |
| 9 | Dawlish Devon | A | 2.1 | 93% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 10 | Bradwell Norfolk | A− | 2 | 80% | 2.7 | 31% |
| 11 | Conisbrough South Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 99% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Romiley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.9 | 80% | 3.8 | 1% |
| 13 | Southwater West Sussex | A− | 3.4 | 82% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 14 | Uppermill Greater Manchester | A− | 2.4 | 70% | 4.8 | 27% |
| 15 | Kearsley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 16 | Cleckheaton West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 98% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 17 | New Milton Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 1.9 | 38% |
| 18 | Blandford Forum Dorset | B+ | 2.1 | 90% | 2.2 | 72% |
| 19 | Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire | B+ | 1.9 | 76% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 20 | Barnoldswick Lancashire | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 4 | 2% |
| 21 | South Elmsall West Yorkshire | B+ | 9 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 22 | Oxted Surrey | B | 2.1 | 84% | 2.8 | 28% |
| 23 | Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.4 | 70% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 24 | Buckhurst Hill Essex | B | 4.5 | 64% | 6.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Corsham Wiltshire | B | 1.9 | 81% | 3 | 31% |
| 26 | Warmsworth South Yorkshire | B | 2.7 | 79% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Gillingham Dorset | B | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 28 | Shirebrook Derbyshire | B | 1.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Sandbach Cheshire | B− | 2.5 | 87% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Helston Cornwall | B− | 1.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 21% |
| 31 | Ystrad Mynach Gwent | B− | 5.4 | 85% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Mossley Greater Manchester | B− | 0.9 | 74% | 4.5 | 14% |
| 33 | Lymm Cheshire | B− | 3.6 | 89% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Leatherhead Surrey | B− | 1 | 72% | 3.9 | 24% |
| 35 | Filton Gloucestershire | B− | 3.3 | 40% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Cambourne Cambridgeshire | B− | 0.7 | 91% | 7.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Liskeard Cornwall | C+ | 0.8 | 89% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 38 | Bolsover Derbyshire | C+ | 1.9 | 85% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Stanwell Surrey | C+ | 1.4 | 93% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Earl Shilton Leicestershire | C | 1.5 | 98% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Sandy Bedfordshire | C | 0.9 | 76% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Brimington Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 72% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Ulverston Cumbria | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.8 | 8% |
| 44 | Towcester Northamptonshire | C | 1.3 | 77% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Featherstone West Yorkshire | C | 2 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Attleborough Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Hexham Northumberland | C− | 1.5 | 64% | 2 | 9% |
| 48 | Cleveleys Lancashire | C− | 0.8 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Downham Market Norfolk | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Chatteris Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.4 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Cheadle Staffordshire | C− | 1.7 | 90% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Dinnington South Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 81% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Codsall Staffordshire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Leominster Herefordshire | C− | 1.1 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Newtown Powys | D | 2.3 | 65% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Sarn Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 75% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Longton Lancashire | D | 1.7 | 60% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Wetherby West Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 14% | 3 | 0% |
| 59 | Tonyrefail Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.7 | 48% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Watton Norfolk | D− | 0.5 | 28% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Helston’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 Helston
The biggest is King George V Playing Fields, 5.2 ha (13 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Coronation Gardens
Park or garden
1.1 ha (3 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Helston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Wellmoor Playground
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Helston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
6 in 10 Helston 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 (61%)Further (39%)
Helston61%
Towns its size80%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 4,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,137 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Helston
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
Cornwall
At the edge south-west964 km²since 195921% of the land within 5 km
Official site21% of the land within 5 km of Helston is National Park or National Landscape, more than 79% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
12 waymarked walks pass through or near Helston
46 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Helston and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Local
A walk around Loe Pool, Penrose6.4 km
Higher Penrose and the Parkland walk, Penrose3.1 km
Helston to the Stables Café accessible woodland trail, Penrose2.5 km
Degibna and Higher Pentire walk, Penrose2.4 km
Plantations and parkland1.9 km
Plantations and parkland walk, Penrose1.8 km
Helston BR 51.2 km
Porthleven BR 181.2 km
Porthleven BR 131.2 km
Helston BR 311.0 km
Helston BR 300.9 km
Helston BR 20.8 km
Close to home, the A walk around Loe Pool, Penrose has 6 km of local walk within 2 km of the town.
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 Helston
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Helston’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IILismore1.1 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 Helston: 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) | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 119 | 104 | 89 | 82 | 66 | 74 | 83 | 100 | 86 | 124 | 145 | 143 |
May is the driest month (66 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 145 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 15 nights a year. The climate in Helston →
The coast
Helston is near the sea
10% of the area within 5 km of Helston is sea. 8 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 4 with a name.
Porthleven Sands1.6 mi from town
DirectionsLoe Bar1.8 mi from town
DirectionsGunwalloe Beach2.2 mi from town
DirectionsSea: 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
10 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
Playgrounds 10
Plus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite 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.
PorthlevenMullionTroonReawlaFour LanesStithiansHelston
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helston | B− | 1.3 | 61% | 21% |
| Porthleven 2.3 mi | B+ | 1.6 | 78% | 19% |
| Mullion 5.5 mi | A+ | 3.7 | 100% | 64% |
| Troon 6.4 mi | A+ | 6.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Reawla 6.6 mi | D | 0.2 | 0% | 3% |
| Four Lanes 6.9 mi | C | 0.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Stithians 7.1 mi | B+ | 3.2 | 80% | 3% |
Mullion, 5.5 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Mullion, Troon and Stithians have at least twice Helston’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Helston
What is the biggest park in Helston?
King George V Playing Fields, 5.2 ha (13 acres). Coronation Gardens (1.1 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Helston near a National Park?
It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Helston?
12 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the A walk around Loe Pool, Penrose, Higher Penrose and the Parkland walk, Penrose and Helston to the Stables Café accessible woodland trail, Penrose.
How many people in Helston live near a park?
61% 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 Helston?
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 Helston are historic?
Lismore (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Helston good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 52% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 21% (1.3 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 Helston’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Helston’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.