Outdoors in Pool and Illogan · parks, paths & countryside
Pool and Illogan has more footpath per square kilometre than 8 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 88 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.0 for every square kilometre. The Cornwall National Landscape reaches the edge of Pool and Illogan. Parks and playing fields in Pool and Illogan add up to 3.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Pool and Illogan grades A+ for the outdoors: #3 of 35 in Cornwall. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Pool and Illogan’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Pool and Illogan grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Pool and Illogan, 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 96% of UK towns#3 of 35 in Cornwall · 3rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
79out of 100
A park within a walk81%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
49out of 100
National Park or National Landscape5%of the land within 5 km
68out of 100
Footpaths4.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
80out of 100
The sea18%of the area within 5 km
89out of 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
Pool and Illogan is 3rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,200 to 9,000 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
Pool and Illogan4.0
Towns its size2.9
Cornwall towns2.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Pool and Illogan3.7
Towns its size2.2
Cornwall towns1.6
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Pool and Illogan81%
Towns its size85%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Pool and Illogan stands out most for park space per resident: only 10 of the other 59 have more.
8 in 10 Pool and Illogan 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 (81%)Further (19%)
Pool and Illogan81%
Towns its size85%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 1,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 32 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 268 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Pool and Illogan
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 north-west964 km²since 19595% of the land within 5 km
5% of the land within 5 km of Pool and Illogan is National Park or National Landscape, more than 67% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
39 waymarked walks pass through or near Pool and Illogan
88 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Pool and Illogan and the kilometre around it, 4.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalLocalOther waymarked
South West Coast Path (Section 19: Portreath to Hayle)3.1 km
Illogan BR 22.3 km
Carn Brea BR 192.1 km
Carn Brea BR 24 Ground Truth2.1 km
South West Coast Path (Section 18: Perranporth to Portreath)1.4 km
Carn Brea BR 181.1 km
Illogan FP 51.0 km
Illogan FP 241.0 km
Redruth FP 60.9 km
Carn Brea FP 150.8 km
Illogan FP 100.8 km
Carn Brea BR 290.8 km
Carn Brea FP 120.8 km
Redruth FP 36 Ground Truth0.8 km
Camborne FP 370.7 km
Illogan BR 280.6 km
Plus 23 more waymarked walks on the map.
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Pool and Illogan.
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 Pool and Illogan: 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
11
12
15
17
19
19
18
15
12
10
Rain (mm)
124
96
74
71
61
64
71
80
77
115
134
131
May is the driest month (61 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 134 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 9 nights a year. The climate in Pool and Illogan →
The coast
Pool and Illogan is near the sea
18% of the area within 5 km of Pool and Illogan is sea. 21 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 4 with a name.
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
3 viewpoints and 32 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.
Illogan, 0.5 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Tolvaddon has at least twice Pool and Illogan’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Pool and Illogan
What is the biggest park in Pool and Illogan?
Tehidy Country Park, 105 ha (259 acres), with 18.9 km of path. Tuckingmill Valley Park (13 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Pool and Illogan near a National Park?
It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Pool and Illogan?
39 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the South West Coast Path (Section 19: Portreath to Hayle), Illogan BR 2 and Carn Brea BR 19. Tehidy Country Park alone has 18.9 km of path.
How many people in Pool and Illogan live near a park?
81% 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 Pool and Illogan?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Pool and Illogan good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 80% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 79% (3.7 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 Pool and Illogan’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Pool and Illogan’s outdoors figures come from
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Trevenson House · Photo: Mutney · CC BY-SA 4.0