Bowburn’s biggest
Bowburn Recreation Ground
Playing field
5.3 ha (13 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bowburn
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Francis Hannaway · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Bowburn · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Bowburn
Footpaths add up to 46 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.8 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Bowburn add up to 1.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 71% of residents. Bowburn grades C for the outdoors: #41 of 52 in County Durham. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
71%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
46 km
3.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: North Pennines National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Bowburn?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths3.8 km of path per km², more than 76% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Less park per person1.5 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Bowburn’s strongest suit is dense footpaths. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Bowburn grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Bowburn, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C
Better than 29% of UK towns#41 of 52 in County Durham · 42nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
29out of
100
100
A park within a walk71%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
31out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
77out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
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
Bowburn is 42nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,700 to 5,000 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
Bowburn3.8
Towns its size2.6
County Durham towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Bowburn1.5
Towns its size2.2
County Durham towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Bowburn71%
Towns its size82%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Bowburn stands out most for path per km²: only 7 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 39 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rye East Sussex | A+ | 3.5 | 89% | 3.5 | 46% |
| 2 | Pill Somerset | A+ | 5.2 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Frinton-on-Sea Essex | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 4 | Windermere Cumbria | A+ | 3 | 94% | 3.6 | 100% |
| 5 | Rownhams and Nursling Hampshire | A+ | 4.9 | 86% | 6.7 | 12% |
| 6 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Carleton Lancashire | A | 3 | 86% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Rudheath Cheshire | A | 5.5 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 10 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 11 | Fordingbridge Hampshire | A− | 3.6 | 92% | 2 | 56% |
| 12 | Dersingham Norfolk | A− | 3.1 | 76% | 1.9 | 39% |
| 13 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 14 | Liss Hampshire | A− | 2.3 | 87% | 2.6 | 98% |
| 15 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Saxmundham Suffolk | B+ | 3.3 | 100% | 1.9 | 3% |
| 17 | Bodicote Oxfordshire | B+ | 10.2 | 86% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Cranbrook Devon | B+ | 6.4 | 87% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 19 | Hildenborough Kent | B+ | 6.5 | 40% | 2.8 | 46% |
| 20 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 21 | Aspull Greater Manchester | B | 7.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | B | 2.6 | 94% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 23 | Headley Down and Headley Hampshire | B | 2.1 | 55% | 3.4 | 44% |
| 24 | Coedpoeth Clwyd | B | 1.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 24% |
| 25 | Lenham and Harrietsham Kent | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.4 | 47% |
| 26 | Kelvedon and Feering Essex | B− | 3.5 | 94% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Astley Greater Manchester | B− | 3.5 | 78% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Handsacre and Armitage Staffordshire | B− | 1.8 | 89% | 2.1 | 12% |
| 29 | Dudley Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.6 | 69% | 4 | 0% |
| 30 | Bramley Hampshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Dickens Heath West Midlands | C+ | 3.2 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 33 | Cross Hills North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Ripponden West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Moulton Northamptonshire | C+ | 3.3 | 88% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Edwalton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 2.1 | 58% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Barton-le-Clay Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 43% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 38 | Shortstown Bedfordshire | C | 2.4 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Billinge Merseyside | C | 0.9 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Datchet Berkshire | C | 8.4 | 72% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 42 | Bowburn County Durham | C | 1.5 | 71% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Minster (Thanet) Kent | C | 2.3 | 64% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Mynydd Isa Clwyd | C | 0.9 | 87% | 2 | 3% |
| 45 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 46 | Winterton Lincolnshire | C | 1.6 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 47 | Middleton St George County Durham | C− | 1.8 | 94% | 1 | 0% |
| 48 | Sowerby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Bailrigg Lancashire | C− | 0 | 0% | 3.4 | 18% |
| 50 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 52 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Gresford Clwyd | D | 1.4 | 76% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | South Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 43% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Markfield Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Lepton West Yorkshire | D− | 0.9 | 36% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Shotton Colliery County Durham | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 1.5 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Bowburn’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 Bowburn
The biggest is Bowburn Recreation Ground, 5.3 ha (13 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Bowburn 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 (71%)Further (29%)
Bowburn71%
Towns its size82%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 484 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North Pennines National Landscape is 12 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.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
Footpaths & waymarked walks
5 waymarked walks pass through or near Bowburn
46 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Bowburn and the kilometre around it, 3.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
West Bowburn Way7.2 km
Cassop-cum-Quarrington circular walk4.6 km
Way of Love3.7 km
Heritage 100 - Coxhoe3.0 km
Weardale Way2.9 km
Close to home, the West Bowburn Way has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Way of Love and Weardale Way.
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 Bowburn: May to July and 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) | 7.8 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.1 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 47 | 45 | 53 | 46 | 64 | 64 | 70 | 58 | 68 | 75 | 62 |
March is the driest month (45 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 75 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 56 nights a year. The climate in Bowburn →
Things to do
10 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
Bowburn is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Shippersea Bay9.1 mi from Bowburn’s edge
DirectionsHawthorn Hive9.3 mi from Bowburn’s edge
DirectionsBlast Beach9.5 mi from Bowburn’s edge
DirectionsHendon Beach12 mi from Bowburn’s edge
DirectionsNorth Sands13 mi from Bowburn’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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 10
Plus 10 playgrounds 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.
High ShincliffeCoxhoeKelloeCornforthSherburnThornleyBowburn
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Thornley, 3.3 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Kelloe and Thornley have at least twice Bowburn’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Bowburn
What is the biggest park in Bowburn?
Bowburn Recreation Ground, 5.3 ha (13 acres), with 1.6 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Bowburn near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the North Pennines National Landscape, 12 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,985 km² and was designated in 1988.
What are the best walks near Bowburn?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the West Bowburn Way, Cassop-cum-Quarrington circular walk and Way of Love.
What is the nearest beach to Bowburn?
Shippersea Bay, 9.1 mi from the edge of the town, then Hawthorn Hive (9.3 mi). Bowburn itself is inland.
How many people in Bowburn live near a park?
71% 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 Bowburn?
May to July and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Bowburn good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 77% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 29% (1.5 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 Bowburn’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Bowburn’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.