Truro’s biggest
Boscawen Park
Park or garden
5.3 ha (13 acres)0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Tim Green · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Truro · parks, paths & countryside
84% of Truro’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Cornwall National Landscape reaches the edge of Truro. Parks and playing fields in Truro add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 87 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.9 for every square kilometre. Truro grades B for the outdoors: #21 of 35 in Cornwall. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
87 km
2.9 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
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Truro?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Cornwall National Landscape starts 0.0 mi south.Less park per person1.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Truro’s strongest suit is the Cornwall National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Truro grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Truro, 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 56% of UK towns#21 of 35 in Cornwall · 38th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
31out of
100
100
A park within a walk84%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
56out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape21%of the land within 5 km
79out of
100
100
Footpaths2.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
57out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 3.2% sea, under the 5% that counts
42out 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
Truro is 38th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 21,400 to 24,800 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
Truro2.9
Towns its size3.5
Cornwall towns2.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Truro1.6
Towns its size2.5
Cornwall towns1.6
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Truro84%
Towns its size82%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
Truro 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 | Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire | A+ | 5.7 | 96% | 3.7 | 1% |
| 2 | Chapeltown and High Green South Yorkshire | A+ | 4.9 | 94% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Falmouth Cornwall | A | 1.3 | 96% | 3.5 | 41% |
| 4 | Reddish Greater Manchester | A | 6.7 | 100% | 5 | 0% |
| 5 | Caterham Surrey | A | 4.3 | 84% | 4.3 | 17% |
| 6 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | A | 4.3 | 72% | 5.4 | 20% |
| 7 | Seaham County Durham | A | 2.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 8 | Thornaby-on-Tees North Yorkshire | A | 5.4 | 92% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 9 | South Ockendon Essex | A− | 2.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Droylsden Greater Manchester | A− | 5.2 | 95% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Reigate Surrey | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 12 | Felixstowe Suffolk | A− | 2 | 88% | 1.9 | 28% |
| 13 | Heanor Derbyshire | A− | 4.2 | 92% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Gorleston-on-Sea Norfolk | A− | 1.4 | 81% | 3.2 | 17% |
| 15 | Hedge End Hampshire | A− | 5.5 | 87% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Coalville Leicestershire | A− | 3.7 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 17 | Kempston Bedfordshire | A− | 4.9 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 18 | Newton-le-Willows Merseyside | A− | 5.2 | 99% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 19 | Ryde Isle of Wight | A− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.6 | 19% |
| 20 | Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 74% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 21 | Whitefield Greater Manchester | A− | 4.7 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Ingleby Barwick North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 87% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Maldon Essex | B+ | 2.8 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Whitehaven Cumbria | B+ | 1.8 | 91% | 2 | 1% |
| 25 | Chesham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 64% |
| 26 | Crowborough East Sussex | B+ | 3.2 | 68% | 2.6 | 91% |
| 27 | Cheadle Hulme Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 28 | Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock Essex | B+ | 2.2 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Oadby Leicestershire | B+ | 3.7 | 92% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 30 | Seaford East Sussex | B+ | 0.8 | 73% | 2.8 | 52% |
| 31 | Ossett West Yorkshire | B+ | 2.8 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Orrell Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.1 | 77% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 33 | Swinton Greater Manchester | B | 3.9 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Great Bookham and Fetcham Surrey | B | 1.7 | 68% | 4.4 | 33% |
| 35 | Biggleswade Bedfordshire | B | 1.6 | 95% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Westhoughton Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Sudbury Suffolk | B | 3.8 | 77% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 38 | Truro Cornwall | B | 1.6 | 84% | 2.9 | 21% |
| 39 | Hailsham East Sussex | B | 1.4 | 87% | 3.2 | 12% |
| 40 | Rawtenstall Lancashire | B | 1.9 | 83% | 6.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Royton Greater Manchester | B− | 2.8 | 71% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 42 | St Austell Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 71% | 2.5 | 7% |
| 43 | Bishop Auckland County Durham | B− | 2.7 | 85% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Chester-le-Street County Durham | C+ | 1.7 | 75% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Hindley Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.5 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Newquay Cornwall | C+ | 1.6 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Ashford Surrey | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Clifton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 1.5 | 76% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Sunbury-on-Thames Surrey | C+ | 2 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Kenilworth Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 75% | 3 | 0% |
| 51 | Market Harborough Leicestershire | C+ | 1.9 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Formby Merseyside | C+ | 1.4 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Ascot Berkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 56% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Potters Bar Hertfordshire | C | 1.6 | 71% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Normanton West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Wickersley and Bramley South Yorkshire | C | 1.7 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Stowmarket Suffolk | C− | 0.8 | 50% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Retford Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Gainsborough Lincolnshire | C− | 1 | 96% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Darlaston West Midlands | D | 1.3 | 78% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Truro’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 Truro
The biggest is Boscawen Park, 5.3 ha (13 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 8 named parks by size: 9 ha (23 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 8.2 haPlaying fields 1.1 haPlay spaces 0.2 ha
The two biggest, Boscawen Park and Victoria Gardens, are 83% of the named green space and carry 2 km of path between them. 6 of the 8 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Victoria Gardens
Park or garden
2.6 ha (6 acres)1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Truro
5 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Dreadnought Playground
Playing field
1.1 ha (3 acres)0.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Truro
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Furniss Island
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
0.4 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Millpool Gardens
Park or garden
0.0 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Truro
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Truro’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).
Within 400 m (84%)Further (16%)
Truro84%
Towns its size82%
Cornwall towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 4,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 35 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 659 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Truro
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 south964 km²since 195921% of the land within 5 km
Official site21% of the land within 5 km of Truro is National Park or National Landscape, more than 78% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Truro
87 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Truro and the kilometre around it, 2.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Truro; 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.
History along the way
History inside Truro’s parks
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Truro’s named parks.
Park with listed buildings
Victoria Gardens
2.6 ha. 5 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
IIBandstandIIBridge over River Kenwyn and Adjoining Bridge over Leat, Walls and StepsIIFountainIIMethodist Church of St George and Attached RailingsIITrecara Lodge and Attached Forecourt Walls
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 Truro: May 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 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 128 | 103 | 80 | 70 | 63 | 64 | 68 | 84 | 77 | 123 | 141 | 144 |
May is the driest month (63 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 144 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 19 nights a year. The climate in Truro →
Things to do
35 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Truro is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Loe Beach3.2 mi from Truro’s edge
DirectionsTrevaunance Cove5.8 mi from Truro’s edge
DirectionsChapel Porth Beach6.2 mi from Truro’s edge
DirectionsPorthtowan Beach6.3 mi from Truro’s edge
DirectionsTowan6.7 mi from Truro’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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
Nature reserves 1
Halbullock Nature Reserve7.5 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 35
Hendra Playgroundin town
DirectionsRosedale Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 33 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Tomperrow Scout Campsite0.9 mi from town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
ShortlanesendThreemilestoneCarnon Downs and DevoranSt Erme and TrispenPerranarworthalProbusTruro
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truro | B | 1.6 | 84% | 21% |
| Shortlanesend 1.9 mi | C+ | 1.0 | 100% | 2% |
| Threemilestone 2.4 mi | A− | 3.1 | 100% | 1% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran 3.3 mi | B+ | 0.3 | 87% | 36% |
| St Erme and Trispen 3.6 mi | D | 0.3 | 69% | 2% |
| Perranarworthal 4.5 mi | C+ | 2.5 | 76% | 19% |
| Probus 5.2 mi | C− | 0.6 | 75% | 15% |
Threemilestone, 2.4 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Truro
What is the biggest park in Truro?
Boscawen Park, 5.3 ha (13 acres), with 0.9 km of path. Victoria Gardens (2.6 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Truro near a National Park?
It covers 964 km² and was designated in 1959.
What is the nearest beach to Truro?
Loe Beach, 3.2 mi from the edge of the town, then Trevaunance Cove (5.8 mi). Truro itself is inland.
How many people in Truro live near a park?
84% 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 Truro?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Truro good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 57% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 31% (1.6 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 Truro’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Truro’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.