Horden’s biggest
Welfare Park
Park or garden
6.8 ha (17 acres)1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Horden
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Horden · parks, paths & countryside
Horden is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 32% of the area within 5 km. 57 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 4.8 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Horden add up to 2.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Horden grades A− for the outdoors: #5 of 52 in County Durham. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
82%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
57 km
4.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: North York Moors National Park
The sea
32%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Horden?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast32% of the area within 5 km is sea; 7 beaches mapped.A town of footpaths4.8 km of path per km², more than 91% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.Historic parksThe Castle, Castle Eden is a registered historic park (Grade II).
Horden’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Horden grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Horden, 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 82% of UK towns#5 of 52 in County Durham · 14th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
47out of
100
100
A park within a walk82%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
52out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths4.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
91out of
100
100
The sea32%of the area within 5 km
93out 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
Horden is 14th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 6,500 to 7,100 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
Horden4.8
Towns its size2.9
County Durham towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Horden2.1
Towns its size2.1
County Durham towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Horden82%
Towns its size79%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Horden stands out most for path per km²: only 4 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheringham Norfolk | A+ | 11.6 | 74% | 3.4 | 32% |
| 2 | Acrefair and Cefn-mawr Clwyd | A | 6.5 | 96% | 2.9 | 36% |
| 3 | Anstey Leicestershire | A | 12.9 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Filey North Yorkshire | A | 5.9 | 89% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 5 | Bishop's Waltham Hampshire | A | 2.6 | 93% | 3.4 | 55% |
| 6 | Chalford Gloucestershire | A | 1.6 | 96% | 4.7 | 94% |
| 7 | East Boldon and West Boldon Tyne and Wear | A | 3.4 | 96% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 8 | Ibstock Leicestershire | A | 8.5 | 96% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 9 | Barton on Sea Hampshire | A | 4.9 | 50% | 2.8 | 22% |
| 10 | Easington County Durham | A− | 5 | 94% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 11 | Walton-on-the-Naze Essex | A− | 3.2 | 96% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 12 | St Blazey Cornwall | A− | 2.4 | 78% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 13 | Olney Buckinghamshire | A− | 6.3 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Horden County Durham | A− | 2.1 | 82% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Shiremoor Tyne and Wear | A− | 2.5 | 76% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitworth Lancashire | B+ | 2.5 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 17 | Lightwater Surrey | B+ | 9.2 | 72% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Fence Houses Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.8 | 81% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 19 | North Anston South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 20 | Cleator Moor Cumbria | B+ | 3.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 11% |
| 21 | Groby Leicestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 96% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 22 | Peasedown St John Somerset | B+ | 1.5 | 88% | 4 | 9% |
| 23 | Skelton (Redcar and Cleveland) North Yorkshire | B+ | 1.7 | 82% | 2.2 | 9% |
| 24 | Burley in Wharfedale West Yorkshire | B | 1.6 | 81% | 3.5 | 35% |
| 25 | Braunton Devon | B | 1.6 | 78% | 2.1 | 24% |
| 26 | Hartford Cheshire | B | 2.2 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Barrow upon Soar Leicestershire | B− | 2.7 | 89% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Rishton Lancashire | B− | 2.2 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 29 | Wincanton Somerset | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 30 | Crigglestone and Durkar West Yorkshire | B− | 4.4 | 45% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 31 | Balsall Common West Midlands | B− | 3.7 | 81% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 32 | Cranfield Bedfordshire | B− | 2.3 | 72% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Blackheath West Midlands | C+ | 2.5 | 57% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Allerton Bywater West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 78% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 35 | North Baddesley Hampshire | C+ | 1.7 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Chiswell Green Hertfordshire | C+ | 4 | 54% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Chipping Norton Oxfordshire | C+ | 1.5 | 67% | 2.4 | 73% |
| 38 | West Mersea Essex | C+ | 1.9 | 69% | 2 | 0% |
| 39 | Rawdon West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.7 | 67% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Bolton-le-Sands Lancashire | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 1.6 | 23% |
| 41 | Brampton Cambridgeshire | C | 3.2 | 61% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Market Deeping Lincolnshire | C | 1.5 | 96% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Farnham Common and Farnham Royal Buckinghamshire | C | 1 | 55% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Hattersley Greater Manchester | C | 0.9 | 52% | 3.9 | 7% |
| 45 | Waddington Lincolnshire | C | 2.3 | 87% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Hagley Worcestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Crewkerne Somerset | C | 0.5 | 66% | 2.8 | 21% |
| 48 | Rhoose South Glamorgan | C | 2 | 43% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Great Wakering Essex | C | 1.1 | 47% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Hethersett Norfolk | C | 2.1 | 65% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Market Warsop Nottinghamshire | C | 2.1 | 67% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Hollywood Worcestershire | C− | 2.4 | 54% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Culcheth Cheshire | C− | 1.7 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Wellesbourne Warwickshire | D | 1.1 | 88% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Holmes Chapel Cheshire | D | 0.8 | 72% | 2 | 0% |
| 56 | Coleshill Warwickshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Broughton Clwyd | D− | 0.8 | 80% | 1 | 0% |
| 58 | Keyworth Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.3 | 58% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook Staffordshire | D− | 1.6 | 49% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Albrighton Shropshire | D− | 0.8 | 32% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Horden’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 Horden
The biggest is Welfare Park, 6.8 ha (17 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
8 in 10 Horden 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 (82%)Further (18%)
Horden82%
Towns its size79%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
About 1,200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 23 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 296 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North York Moors National Park is 18 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
North York Moors National Park covers 1,441 km² and has been a National Park since 1952.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Horden is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
57 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Horden and the kilometre around it, 4.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalLocal
King Charles III England Coast Path: North Gare to South Bents8.9 km
Durham Coastal Path8.8 km
Yew Tree Trail3.2 km
Squirrel Trail0.6 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Horden. Close to home, the Durham Coastal Path has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town.
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 Horden
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Horden’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIThe Castle, Castle Eden0.5 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 Horden: 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) | 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 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 44 | 40 | 37 | 45 | 43 | 58 | 53 | 61 | 48 | 56 | 67 | 51 |
March is the driest month (37 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 67 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 26 nights a year. The climate in Horden →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Horden
32% of the area within 5 km of Horden is sea. 7 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 3 with a name.
Shippersea Bay1.8 mi from town
DirectionsHawthorn Hive2.3 mi from town
DirectionsBlast Beach2.9 mi from town
DirectionsThe King Charles III England 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
2 viewpoints and 23 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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 23
Plus 23 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.
PeterleeBlackhall CollieryEasingtonShotton CollieryWingateHaswellHorden
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horden | A− | 2.1 | 82% | 0% |
| Peterlee 1.1 mi | A− | 2.3 | 85% | 0% |
| Blackhall Colliery 1.6 mi | B | 1.1 | 95% | 0% |
| Easington 1.8 mi | A− | 5.0 | 94% | 0% |
| Shotton Colliery 3.0 mi | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 0% |
| Wingate 3.5 mi | D− | 1.0 | 64% | 0% |
| Haswell 4.3 mi | C+ | 3.2 | 100% | 0% |
Easington, 1.8 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 94% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Easington has at least twice Horden’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Horden
What is the biggest park in Horden?
Welfare Park, 6.8 ha (17 acres), with 1.4 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Horden near a National Park?
Yes. North York Moors National Park begins 18 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,441 km² and has been a National Park since 1952.
What are the best walks near Horden?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: North Gare to South Bents, Durham Coastal Path and Yew Tree Trail.
How many people in Horden live near a park?
82% 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 Horden?
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 Horden are historic?
The Castle, Castle Eden (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Horden good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 91% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 47% (2.1 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 Horden’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Horden’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.