Sedgefield’s biggest
Hardwick Park
Park or garden
69 ha (170 acres)9.7 km of path
2 h 10 minto walk all 9.7 km of path
97 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Sedgefield
Grand Terrace
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Rod Grealish · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Sedgefield · parks, paths & countryside
Sedgefield has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Sedgefield add up to 6.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 36 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.8 for every square kilometre. 81% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Sedgefield grades B for the outdoors: #20 of 52 in County Durham. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
6.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
81%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
36 km
2.8 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
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Sedgefield?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam6.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 90% of UK towns.Historic parks2 registered historic parks and gardens, including Ceddesfeld Hall Gardens.
Sedgefield’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by its historic parks.
Outdoors grade
Sedgefield grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Sedgefield, 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 58% of UK towns#20 of 52 in County Durham · 29th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space6.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
91out of
100
100
A park within a walk81%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
49out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
55out 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
Sedgefield is 29th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,800 to 5,200 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
Sedgefield2.8
Towns its size2.6
County Durham towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Sedgefield6.2
Towns its size2.2
County Durham towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Sedgefield81%
Towns its size79%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Sedgefield stands out most for park space per resident: only 11 of the other 59 have more.
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 | Burry Port Dyfed | A+ | 11.8 | 75% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 5 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 6 | Moreton-in-Marsh Gloucestershire | A | 5 | 100% | 1.8 | 55% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Rhymney Gwent | A | 2.9 | 97% | 3.8 | 6% |
| 9 | Meols Merseyside | A | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Holmfirth West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 88% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 11 | Fitzwilliam and Kinsley West Yorkshire | A− | 11.5 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 12 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 13 | Fordingbridge Hampshire | A− | 3.6 | 92% | 2 | 56% |
| 14 | Coleford Gloucestershire | A− | 2.8 | 66% | 4.3 | 48% |
| 15 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Needham Market Suffolk | A− | 7.2 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 17 | Overseal and Castle Gresley Derbyshire | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Huthwaite Nottinghamshire | B+ | 8.1 | 75% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Seaton Cumbria | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 21 | Cranbrook Devon | B+ | 6.4 | 87% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 22 | Hildenborough Kent | B+ | 6.5 | 40% | 2.8 | 46% |
| 23 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 24 | Stone Cross East Sussex | B+ | 1.4 | 86% | 2.3 | 9% |
| 25 | Aspull Greater Manchester | B | 7.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Easingwold North Yorkshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 1.5 | 14% |
| 27 | Grimethorpe South Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | B | 2.6 | 94% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 29 | Sedgefield County Durham | B | 6.2 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Headley Down and Headley Hampshire | B | 2.1 | 55% | 3.4 | 44% |
| 31 | Whitburn Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.5 | 46% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Wotton-under-Edge Gloucestershire | C+ | 0.4 | 32% | 5.4 | 60% |
| 33 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 34 | Wool Dorset | C+ | 2.3 | 51% | 2.5 | 33% |
| 35 | Steeton West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Moulton Northamptonshire | C+ | 3.3 | 88% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Barton-le-Clay Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 43% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 38 | Church Lancashire | C | 1.5 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Billinge Merseyside | C | 0.9 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Treharris Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.6 | 72% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 42 | Bungay Suffolk | C | 0.5 | 78% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 43 | Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe Lincolnshire | C | 1.8 | 67% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 45 | Odiham Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Jaywick Essex | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Shavington Cheshire | C− | 1.1 | 87% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 50 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Haslington Cheshire | D | 1.8 | 41% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Gresford Clwyd | D | 1.4 | 76% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Lepton West Yorkshire | D− | 0.9 | 36% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Wingate County Durham | D− | 1 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Harleston Norfolk | D− | 0.2 | 42% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 58 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Shotton Colliery County Durham | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Somerton Somerset | D− | 0.6 | 48% | 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 Sedgefield’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 Sedgefield
The biggest is Hardwick Park, 69 ha (170 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
8 in 10 Sedgefield 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 (81%)Further (19%)
Sedgefield81%
Towns its size79%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 8 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 622 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North York Moors National Park is 16 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
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Sedgefield
36 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Sedgefield and the kilometre around it, 2.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Local
Hardwick Park & Bishop's Fen6.3 km
H100 - Sedgefield4.9 km
Historical Circuit Walk2.1 km
Close to home, the Hardwick Park & Bishop's Fen has 6 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
2 registered historic parks in Sedgefield
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Sedgefield’s named parks.
Registered · Grade II*Hardwick Park1.5 ha
Registered · Grade IICeddesfeld Hall Gardens2.8 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 Sedgefield: 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 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 49 | 47 | 53 | 47 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 59 | 71 | 74 | 66 |
March is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 74 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 55 nights a year. The climate in Sedgefield →
Things to do
8 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
Sedgefield is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
North Sands10 mi from Sedgefield’s edge
DirectionsMiddleton Beach10 mi from Sedgefield’s edge
DirectionsShippersea Bay10 mi from Sedgefield’s edge
DirectionsFish Sands11 mi from Sedgefield’s edge
DirectionsBlock Sands11 mi from Sedgefield’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.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 8
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Todd's House Farm Campsite0.4 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
FishburnBishop MiddlehamTrimdonStillingtonCornforthTrimdon GrangeSedgefield
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgefield | B | 6.2 | 81% | 0% |
| Fishburn 1.9 mi | D | 1.5 | 76% | 0% |
| Bishop Middleham 2.2 mi | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Trimdon 3.1 mi | C | 1.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Stillington 3.7 mi | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0% |
| Cornforth 4.0 mi | C− | 1.9 | 66% | 0% |
| Trimdon Grange 4.1 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 100% | 0% |
Sedgefield grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Sedgefield
What is the biggest park in Sedgefield?
Hardwick Park, 69 ha (170 acres), with 9.7 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Sedgefield near a National Park?
Yes. North York Moors National Park begins 16 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 Sedgefield?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Hardwick Park & Bishop's Fen, H100 - Sedgefield and Historical Circuit Walk. Hardwick Park alone has 9.7 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Sedgefield?
North Sands, 10 mi from the edge of the town, then Middleton Beach (10 mi). Sedgefield itself is inland.
How many people in Sedgefield live near a park?
81% 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 Sedgefield?
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.
Which parks in Sedgefield are historic?
Ceddesfeld Hall Gardens (Grade II) and Hardwick Park (Grade II*) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Sedgefield good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 55% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 91% (6.2 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 Sedgefield’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Sedgefield’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.