Newton Aycliffe’s biggest
West Park
Park or garden
6.1 ha (15 acres)1.7 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: David Robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Newton Aycliffe · parks, paths & countryside
Newton Aycliffe has more footpath per square kilometre than 8 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 131 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.1 for every square kilometre. 94% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Newton Aycliffe add up to 2.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Newton Aycliffe grades B for the outdoors: #15 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
94%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
131 km
4.1 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
Outdoors grade
Newton Aycliffe grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Newton Aycliffe, 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 64% of UK towns#15 of 52 in County Durham · 36th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
49out of
100
100
A park within a walk94%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
73out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths4.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
83out 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
Newton Aycliffe is 36th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 23,700 to 28,000 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
Newton Aycliffe4.1
Towns its size3.4
County Durham towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Newton Aycliffe2.1
Towns its size2.5
County Durham towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Newton Aycliffe94%
Towns its size83%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Newton Aycliffe stands out most for path per km²: only 16 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 35 of the 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 | Stroud Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.6 | 79% | 5.8 | 70% |
| 3 | Falmouth Cornwall | A | 1.3 | 96% | 3.5 | 41% |
| 4 | Sevenoaks Kent | A | 8.1 | 76% | 3.8 | 70% |
| 5 | Stalybridge Greater Manchester | A | 5 | 82% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 6 | Newport Isle of Wight | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 7 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | A | 4.3 | 72% | 5.4 | 20% |
| 8 | Huntingdon Cambridgeshire | A | 5.7 | 99% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Burntwood Staffordshire | A− | 5.3 | 81% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 10 | Larkfield Kent | A− | 5.6 | 75% | 3.4 | 27% |
| 11 | Rickmansworth Hertfordshire | A− | 2.9 | 81% | 4.4 | 11% |
| 12 | Ewell Surrey | A− | 7.5 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Droylsden Greater Manchester | A− | 5.2 | 95% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Reigate Surrey | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 15 | Felixstowe Suffolk | A− | 2 | 88% | 1.9 | 28% |
| 16 | Tadworth and Epsom Downs Surrey | A− | 3.4 | 65% | 5.3 | 16% |
| 17 | Heanor Derbyshire | A− | 4.2 | 92% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Gorleston-on-Sea Norfolk | A− | 1.4 | 81% | 3.2 | 17% |
| 19 | Little Hulton Greater Manchester | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 20 | East Grinstead West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 87% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 21 | Wilmslow Cheshire | A− | 4.4 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Newton-le-Willows Merseyside | A− | 5.2 | 99% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Ryde Isle of Wight | A− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.6 | 19% |
| 24 | Daventry Northamptonshire | A− | 4.1 | 99% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Herne Bay Kent | B+ | 2.3 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 26 | Portishead Somerset | B+ | 2 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 27 | Haverhill Suffolk | B+ | 2.4 | 91% | 5 | 0% |
| 28 | Longbenton Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.3 | 80% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 29 | Thatcham Berkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 87% | 3.1 | 27% |
| 30 | Fleetwood Lancashire | B+ | 2.7 | 92% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Cheadle Hulme Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Bradley Stoke Gloucestershire | B+ | 2 | 93% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 33 | Oadby Leicestershire | B+ | 3.7 | 92% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Seaford East Sussex | B+ | 0.8 | 73% | 2.8 | 52% |
| 35 | Darwen Lancashire | B | 2.2 | 89% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Newton Aycliffe County Durham | B | 2.1 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Rugeley Staffordshire | B | 1.2 | 94% | 2.7 | 37% |
| 38 | Witham Essex | B | 1.9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Broadstairs Kent | B | 1.7 | 76% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Atherton Greater Manchester | B | 3.8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Rhyl Clwyd | B | 1 | 84% | 2.2 | 7% |
| 42 | Sudbury Suffolk | B | 3.8 | 77% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Droitwich Spa Worcestershire | B | 2.5 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Thetford Norfolk | B− | 2.9 | 65% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 45 | St Austell Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 71% | 2.5 | 7% |
| 46 | Ashton-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 93% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Melton Mowbray Leicestershire | B− | 3.3 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Hindley Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.5 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Coseley West Midlands | C+ | 1.4 | 84% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Newquay Cornwall | C+ | 1.6 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Horley Surrey | C+ | 1.9 | 84% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Market Harborough Leicestershire | C+ | 1.9 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Ascot Berkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 56% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Walton-on-Thames Surrey | C | 1.6 | 81% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Golborne Greater Manchester | C | 3 | 66% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Frome Somerset | C | 1.3 | 78% | 2.4 | 9% |
| 57 | Wickersley and Bramley South Yorkshire | C | 1.7 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Wickford Essex | C | 2.4 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 59 | Ormskirk Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Wisbech Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Newton Aycliffe’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 Newton Aycliffe
The biggest is West Park, 6.1 ha (15 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 8 named parks by size: 18 ha (44 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 13 haPlaying fields 4.8 ha
The two biggest, West Park and Simpasture Playing Field, are 61% of the named green space and carry 2 km of path between them. 5 of the 8 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Simpasture Playing Field
Playing field
4.8 ha (12 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Town Park
Park or garden
2.7 ha (7 acres)0.2 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Newton Aycliffe
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
St Oswald's Park
Park or garden
1.8 ha (5 acres)0.4 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Kemble Green
Park or garden
1.0 ha (2 acres)
0.7 mi eastfrom the centre
Kemble Green South
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Green
Park or garden
0.7 ha (2 acres)
2 mi southfrom the centre
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Baliol Green
Park or garden
0.5 ha (1 acres)
0.8 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Rufus Green
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)
0.7 mi eastfrom the centre
Rufus Green South
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Newton Aycliffe 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 (94%)Further (6%)
Newton Aycliffe94%
Towns its size83%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
About 2,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 29 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 888 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
Yorkshire Dales National Park covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Newton Aycliffe
131 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Newton Aycliffe and the kilometre around it, 4.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Local
Brafferton & Newton Ketton2.4 km
Locomotion & Historic Shildon1.4 km
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 Newton Aycliffe: May, June 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 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 46 | 44 | 51 | 46 | 64 | 68 | 73 | 57 | 64 | 66 | 60 |
March is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 73 mm of rain falls in August, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 51 nights a year. The climate in Newton Aycliffe →
Things to do
29 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
Newton Aycliffe is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
North Sands15 mi from Newton Aycliffe’s edge
DirectionsShippersea Bay15 mi from Newton Aycliffe’s edge
DirectionsMiddleton Beach15 mi from Newton Aycliffe’s edge
DirectionsHawthorn Hive15 mi from Newton Aycliffe’s edge
DirectionsFish Sands15 mi from Newton Aycliffe’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
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 29
Scott Place Play Areain town
DirectionsTown Park Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 27 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.
School AycliffeHeighingtonChiltonShildonCoundon and LeeholmeFerryhillNewton Aycliffe
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Aycliffe | B | 2.1 | 94% | 0% |
| School Aycliffe 1.5 mi | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Heighington 2.7 mi | D | 2.6 | 64% | 0% |
| Chilton 2.7 mi | D− | 1.1 | 68% | 0% |
| Shildon 2.7 mi | B | 2.8 | 93% | 0% |
| Coundon and Leeholme 3.5 mi | B− | 4.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Ferryhill 4.5 mi | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 0% |
Newton Aycliffe grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. Coundon and Leeholme has at least twice Newton Aycliffe’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Newton Aycliffe
What is the biggest park in Newton Aycliffe?
West Park, 6.1 ha (15 acres), with 1.7 km of path. Simpasture Playing Field (4.8 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Newton Aycliffe near a National Park?
Yes. Yorkshire Dales National Park begins 15 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the North Pennines National Landscape, 12 mi away.
What are the best walks near Newton Aycliffe?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Brafferton & Newton Ketton and Locomotion & Historic Shildon.
What is the nearest beach to Newton Aycliffe?
North Sands, 15 mi from the edge of the town, then Shippersea Bay (15 mi). Newton Aycliffe itself is inland.
How many people in Newton Aycliffe live near a park?
94% 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 Newton Aycliffe?
May, June and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Newton Aycliffe good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 83% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 49% (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 Newton Aycliffe’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Newton Aycliffe’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.