Photo: Rod Allday · CC BY-SA 2.081% of Roche’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Cornwall National Landscape begins 5.8 mi from the village’s edge. Footpaths add up to 8 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.0 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Roche add up to 2.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Roche grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Roche?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Roche’s strongest suit is the Cornwall National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Roche grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Roche, 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.
Roche is 40th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,200 to 2,400 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Roche stands out most for park space per resident: only 15 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 52 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radford Semele Warwickshire | A | 12.3 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 2 | Westcott Surrey | A | 1.8 | 86% | 5.5 | 78% |
| 3 | Harlington Bedfordshire | A− | 2.7 | 100% | 2.7 | 16% |
| 4 | Millbrook Cornwall | A− | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 19% |
| 5 | Picket Piece Hampshire | A− | 3.9 | 100% | 1.3 | 33% |
| 6 | Cannington Somerset | A− | 2.8 | 88% | 3.2 | 3% |
| 7 | Clare Suffolk | A− | 7.7 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Y Felinheli Gwynedd | B+ | 4.9 | 65% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 9 | Acle Norfolk | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3.1 | 43% |
| 10 | Hall Green West Yorkshire | B+ | 7.5 | 82% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 11 | Tisbury Wiltshire | B+ | 1.5 | 86% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 12 | Bowness-on-Windermere Cumbria | B | 1.7 | 76% | 2.8 | 100% |
| 13 | Pen-y-fai Mid Glamorgan | B | 3.8 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 14 | Creech St Michael Somerset | B− | 1.2 | 88% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Dormansland Surrey | B− | 2.5 | 70% | 2.3 | 33% |
| 16 | Upper Halliford Surrey | B− | 5.1 | 44% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 17 | Bickershaw Greater Manchester | B− | 5 | 13% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Bassingbourn Cambridgeshire | B− | 3.8 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Wiveliscombe Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 20 | Debenham Suffolk | C+ | 1 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Osbaldwick North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 70% | 5 | 0% |
| 22 | Delph Greater Manchester | C+ | 0.7 | 72% | 3.9 | 17% |
| 23 | Padstow Cornwall | C+ | 0.6 | 33% | 2.5 | 37% |
| 24 | Bramford Suffolk | C+ | 3.2 | 76% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Mickleton Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.2 | 52% | 2.1 | 45% |
| 26 | Boughton under Blean Kent | C+ | 2.7 | 24% | 2.5 | 18% |
| 27 | Cold Ash Berkshire | C+ | 1.5 | 7% | 3.1 | 60% |
| 28 | Bishopsteignton Devon | C | 3 | 62% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Stanton Suffolk | C | 2.6 | 87% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Caistor Lincolnshire | C | 2.8 | 39% | 1.3 | 33% |
| 31 | Hawkesbury Warwickshire | C | 1 | 78% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 32 | Woolavington Somerset | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Dearham Cumbria | C | 0.6 | 72% | 1.4 | 6% |
| 34 | West Rainton County Durham | C | 2.1 | 73% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Tatworth Somerset | C | 1.3 | 71% | 1.7 | 44% |
| 36 | Whaddon Wiltshire | C | 2.6 | 55% | 1.3 | 10% |
| 37 | Wardley Greater Manchester | C− | 0.6 | 88% | 3 | 0% |
| 38 | Stanford in the Vale Oxfordshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Credenhill Herefordshire | C− | 1.5 | 87% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 40 | Roche Cornwall | C− | 2.8 | 81% | 1 | 0% |
| 41 | Hathern Leicestershire | C− | 1.8 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 42 | Knowsley Merseyside | C− | 3.1 | 77% | 1 | 0% |
| 43 | Creigiau South Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Kings Sutton Northamptonshire | C− | 1.8 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Reepham Norfolk | C− | 2.3 | 66% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Coates and Eastrea Cambridgeshire | C− | 0.9 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 47 | Goxhill Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 69% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Usk Gwent | C− | 3.5 | 56% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Netherton (Wakefield) West Yorkshire | D | 0.7 | 27% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Scholes (Leeds) West Yorkshire | D | 0 | 0% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 51 | St Stephen Cornwall | D | 1.2 | 88% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Bicknacre Essex | D | 1 | 56% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Belton Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 67% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Tattenhall Cheshire | D− | 1.8 | 28% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Ixworth Suffolk | D− | 1 | 73% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Hingham Norfolk | D− | 1.9 | 13% | 1 | 0% |
| 57 | Norton South Yorkshire | D− | 1.3 | 63% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Leven East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.2 | 64% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Isleham Cambridgeshire | D− | 0.2 | 71% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Puriton Somerset | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.4 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Roche’s built-up area.
How close Roche’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 400 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 770 residents.
The Cornwall National Landscape is 5.8 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.
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Roche scores 0% on it even though the Cornwall National Landscape is 5.8 mi away.
Footpaths in and around Roche
8 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Roche and the kilometre around it, 1.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Roche; its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Roche: May 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 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 161 | 131 | 104 | 94 | 83 | 85 | 98 | 107 | 101 | 158 | 181 | 171 |
May is the driest month (83 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 181 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 20 nights a year. The climate in Roche →
3 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Roche is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Penwithick, 3.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Penwithick has at least twice Roche’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Roche
Is Roche near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cornwall National Landscape, 5.8 mi south of the village’s edge. It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What is the nearest beach to Roche?
Duporth Beach, 5.9 mi from the edge of the village, then Porthpean Beach (6.1 mi). Roche itself is inland.
How many people in Roche 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 Roche?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Roche good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 8% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 65% (2.8 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 Roche’s overall grade.
Where Roche’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.