Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.088% of St Stephen’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Cornwall National Landscape begins 4.0 mi from the village’s edge. Footpaths add up to 11 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.2 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in St Stephen add up to 1.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. St Stephen grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is St Stephen?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
St Stephen’s strongest suit is the Cornwall National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
St Stephen grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is St Stephen, 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.
St Stephen is 52nd 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.
St Stephen falls furthest behind on path per km², where 49 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reydon Suffolk | A+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.6 | 49% |
| 2 | Radford Semele Warwickshire | A | 12.3 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 3 | Millbrook Cornwall | A− | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 19% |
| 4 | Picket Piece Hampshire | A− | 3.9 | 100% | 1.3 | 33% |
| 5 | Cannington Somerset | A− | 2.8 | 88% | 3.2 | 3% |
| 6 | Y Felinheli Gwynedd | B+ | 4.9 | 65% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 7 | Hall Green West Yorkshire | B+ | 7.5 | 82% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 8 | Nant-y-moel Mid Glamorgan | B | 7 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Pen-y-fai Mid Glamorgan | B | 3.8 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Stalbridge Dorset | B− | 3.3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Narberth Dyfed | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 1.6 | 4% |
| 12 | Creech St Michael Somerset | B− | 1.2 | 88% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Dormansland Surrey | B− | 2.5 | 70% | 2.3 | 33% |
| 14 | Upper Halliford Surrey | B− | 5.1 | 44% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 15 | Bassingbourn Cambridgeshire | B− | 3.8 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Riccall North Yorkshire | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 17 | Wiveliscombe Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 18 | Ashurst Hampshire | B− | 0.9 | 65% | 3.6 | 72% |
| 19 | Debenham Suffolk | C+ | 1 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 20 | St Dennis Cornwall | C+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Osbaldwick North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 70% | 5 | 0% |
| 22 | Padstow Cornwall | C+ | 0.6 | 33% | 2.5 | 37% |
| 23 | Pentyrch South Glamorgan | C+ | 2.6 | 50% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Bramford Suffolk | C+ | 3.2 | 76% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Mickleton Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.2 | 52% | 2.1 | 45% |
| 26 | Witchford Cambridgeshire | C+ | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Lingwood Norfolk | C+ | 1.2 | 73% | 2.6 | 26% |
| 28 | Stanton Suffolk | C | 2.6 | 87% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Woolavington Somerset | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 30 | Dearham Cumbria | C | 0.6 | 72% | 1.4 | 6% |
| 31 | West Rainton County Durham | C | 2.1 | 73% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Bletchingley Surrey | C | 0.5 | 10% | 3.9 | 18% |
| 33 | Wardley Greater Manchester | C− | 0.6 | 88% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Stanford in the Vale Oxfordshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Credenhill Herefordshire | C− | 1.5 | 87% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Roche Cornwall | C− | 2.8 | 81% | 1 | 0% |
| 37 | Marshfield Gwent | C− | 1 | 85% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 38 | Hathern Leicestershire | C− | 1.8 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Knowsley Merseyside | C− | 3.1 | 77% | 1 | 0% |
| 40 | Creigiau South Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Kings Sutton Northamptonshire | C− | 1.8 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Collingham West Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Reepham Norfolk | C− | 2.3 | 66% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Stilton Cambridgeshire | C− | 0.8 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Coates and Eastrea Cambridgeshire | C− | 0.9 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Dinnington Tyne and Wear | C− | 1.6 | 89% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Brown Edge Staffordshire | C− | 1.1 | 88% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Goxhill Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 69% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Usk Gwent | C− | 3.5 | 56% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Eastry Kent | D | 2 | 77% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Netherton (Wakefield) West Yorkshire | D | 0.7 | 27% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 52 | St Stephen Cornwall | D | 1.2 | 88% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Fishburn County Durham | D | 1.5 | 76% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Burton upon Stather Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 75% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Belton Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 67% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Tattenhall Cheshire | D− | 1.8 | 28% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Ixworth Suffolk | D− | 1 | 73% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Hingham Norfolk | D− | 1.9 | 13% | 1 | 0% |
| 59 | Norton South Yorkshire | D− | 1.3 | 63% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Leven East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.2 | 64% | 0.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is St Stephen’s built-up area.
How close St Stephen’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 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 4 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 585 residents.
The Cornwall National Landscape is 4.0 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 St Stephen scores 0% on it even though the Cornwall National Landscape is 4.0 mi away.
Footpaths in and around St Stephen
11 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in St Stephen and the kilometre around it, 1.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of St Stephen; 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 St Stephen: June 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) | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 141 | 120 | 96 | 81 | 78 | 86 | 88 | 103 | 97 | 152 | 164 | 159 |
May is the driest month (78 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 164 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 20 nights a year. The climate in St Stephen →
4 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
St Stephen 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
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 4
Plus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Polgooth, 3.5 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Foxhole, Nanpean and Grampound Road have at least twice St Stephen’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in St Stephen
Is St Stephen near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cornwall National Landscape, 4.0 mi south-east of the village’s edge. It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What is the nearest beach to St Stephen?
Porthpean Beach, 5.3 mi from the edge of the village, then Duporth Beach (5.4 mi). St Stephen itself is inland.
How many people in St Stephen live near a park?
88% 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 Stephen?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is St Stephen good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 11% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 19% (1.2 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 Stephen’s overall grade.
Where St Stephen’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.