St Ives’ biggest
Trewyn Gardens
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of St Ives
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: John Lucas · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in St Ives · parks, paths & countryside
St Ives is on the coast, on the South West Coast Path
The sea makes up 52% of the area within 5 km. The Cornwall National Landscape reaches the edge of St Ives. Parks and playing fields in St Ives add up to 0.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. St Ives grades A for the outdoors: #9 of 35 in Cornwall. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
0.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
89%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
42 km
3.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
24%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cornwall National Landscape
The sea
52%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is St Ives?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast52% of the area within 5 km is sea; 11 beaches mapped.Countryside close byThe Cornwall National Landscape starts 0.0 mi north-west.On a National TrailThe South West Coast Path passes through.Less park per person0.8 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
St Ives’ strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Cornwall National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
St Ives grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is St Ives, 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 87% of UK towns#9 of 35 in Cornwall · 2nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space0.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
9out of
100
100
A park within a walk89%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
65out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape24%of the land within 5 km
81out of
100
100
Footpaths3.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
71out of
100
100
The sea52%of the area within 5 km
99out 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
St Ives is 2nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,200 to 5,700 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
St Ives3.5
Towns its size2.6
Cornwall towns2.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
St Ives0.8
Towns its size2.2
Cornwall towns1.6
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
St Ives89%
Towns its size78%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, St Ives stands out most for path per km²: only 12 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 53 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ventnor Isle of Wight | A+ | 4.5 | 61% | 3.7 | 25% |
| 2 | St Ives Cornwall | A | 0.8 | 89% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 3 | Budleigh Salterton Devon | A− | 2.7 | 70% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 4 | Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire | A− | 5.6 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 5 | Hoylake Merseyside | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 6 | Brotton North Yorkshire | A− | 1.4 | 89% | 3 | 2% |
| 7 | Eynsham Oxfordshire | A− | 3 | 94% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 8 | Steyning West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 86% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 9 | Merley Dorset | B+ | 3.9 | 64% | 4.1 | 6% |
| 10 | Highbridge Somerset | B+ | 2.9 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 11 | Carlton in Lindrick Nottinghamshire | B+ | 9 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Sonning Common Oxfordshire | B+ | 2.6 | 60% | 3.7 | 74% |
| 13 | Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.1 | 61% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 14 | Llantwit Major South Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Drighlington West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.1 | 92% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitchurch Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 3.3 | 43% |
| 17 | Cottam Lancashire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 18 | New Alresford Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 94% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 19 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | B+ | 8.8 | 65% | 5 | 0% |
| 20 | Shrivenham and Watchfield Oxfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 96% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 21 | Dartmouth Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 71% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 22 | Newent Gloucestershire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Battle East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 64% | 4.3 | 84% |
| 24 | Benson Oxfordshire | B | 6 | 44% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 25 | Askern South Yorkshire | B | 8.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 26 | Longstanton and Northstowe Cambridgeshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Rowlands Gill Tyne and Wear | B | 4.9 | 84% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Shinfield Berkshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Llandrindod Wells Powys | B− | 4.5 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire | B− | 1.6 | 84% | 7.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Haddenham Buckinghamshire | B− | 3.1 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Midhurst West Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 28% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 33 | Brynmawr Gwent | C+ | 1.2 | 68% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 34 | Broseley Shropshire | C+ | 1.2 | 74% | 3.4 | 8% |
| 35 | Quorndon Leicestershire | C+ | 2.7 | 81% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Helsby Cheshire | C+ | 1.4 | 66% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Rainford Merseyside | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Oakley Hampshire | C | 1.7 | 56% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 39 | Coningsby and Tattershall Lincolnshire | C | 2.7 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Bovingdon Hertfordshire | C | 1.4 | 55% | 2.3 | 26% |
| 41 | Shevington Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Waterbeach Cambridgeshire | C | 1.5 | 94% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Looe Cornwall | C− | 0.1 | 47% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 44 | Welshpool Powys | C− | 2.6 | 82% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 45 | Ludgershall Wiltshire | C− | 0.7 | 72% | 1.9 | 32% |
| 46 | Llangefni Gwynedd | C− | 1.8 | 95% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Ingatestone Essex | C− | 3.2 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 48 | Measham Leicestershire | C− | 1.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Littlestone-on-Sea Kent | C− | 1.4 | 37% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Long Sutton Lincolnshire | D | 2.2 | 81% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Takeley and Little Canfield Essex | D | 1 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 52 | Blackrod Greater Manchester | D | 1 | 83% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Wigton Cumbria | D | 2.4 | 65% | 1 | 0% |
| 54 | Thornton West Yorkshire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Treherbert Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.2 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Eye Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Winslow Buckinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 59% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Ravenshead Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirton Lincolnshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is St Ives’ 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 St Ives
The biggest is Trewyn Gardens, 0.3 ha (1 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
St Ives Skatepark
Play space
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.1 km of path
0.4 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 St Ives 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 (89%)Further (11%)
St Ives89%
Towns its size78%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 6 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 902 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around St Ives
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 195924% of the land within 5 km
Official site24% of the land within 5 km of St Ives is National Park or National Landscape, more than 80% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
St Ives is on the South West Coast Path
42 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in St Ives and the kilometre around it, 3.5 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 20: Hayle to St Ives)5.7 km
St Michael's Way5.1 km
South West Coast Path (Section 21: St Ives to Pendeen)3.7 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes St Ives. 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 St Ives
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside St Ives’ named parks.
Registered · Grade IIBarbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden0.1 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 St Ives: 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 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 132 | 106 | 85 | 72 | 65 | 66 | 77 | 95 | 92 | 137 | 140 | 139 |
May is the driest month (65 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 140 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 6 nights a year. The climate in St Ives →
The coast
The coast and beaches near St Ives
52% of the area within 5 km of St Ives is sea. 11 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 7 with a name.
Bamaluz Beach0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPorthgwidden Beach0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPorthmeor Beach0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPorthminster Beach0.0 mi from town
DirectionsHarbour Beach0.1 mi from town
DirectionsCarbis Bay Beach0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPorth Kidney Sands1.6 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
5 viewpoints and 6 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.
5Viewpoints2Hills and peaks1Picnic sites6Playgrounds0.6× towns its size3Campsites3.1× towns its size3Slipways
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 5
Plus 5 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
Trevalgan Hill0.9 mi from town
DirectionsRosewall Hill0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Tregenna Castle Picnic & BBQ Area0.0 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 3
Hellesveor Holidays0.1 mi from town
DirectionsTrevalgan Holiday Farm0.7 mi from town
DirectionsBalnoon Campsite0.8 mi from town
DirectionsSlipways 3
Plus 3 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.
Carbis BayHayleSt ErthCrowlasConnor DownsLongrockSt Ives
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Ives | A | 0.8 | 89% | 24% |
| Carbis Bay 1.3 mi | B+ | 0.5 | 88% | 20% |
| Hayle 3.7 mi | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 6% |
| St Erth 4.0 mi | B+ | 0.9 | 100% | 4% |
| Crowlas 4.4 mi | B+ | 3.3 | 73% | 23% |
| Connor Downs 5.2 mi | C | 0.5 | 79% | 8% |
| Longrock 5.8 mi | C | 0.7 | 60% | 26% |
St Ives grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. Crowlas has at least twice St Ives’ green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in St Ives
What is the biggest park in St Ives?
Trewyn Gardens, 0.3 ha (1 acres). St Ives Skatepark (0.3 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is St Ives near a National Park?
It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near St Ives?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the South West Coast Path (Section 20: Hayle to St Ives), St Michael's Way and South West Coast Path (Section 21: St Ives to Pendeen).
How many people in St Ives live near a park?
89% 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 St Ives?
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 St Ives are historic?
Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is St Ives good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 71% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 9% (0.8 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 St Ives’ overall grade.
Sources
Where St Ives’ 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.