Whitehill’s biggest
Memorial Park
Park or garden · 350 m outside town
1.6 ha (4 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Whitehill · parks, paths & countryside
Whitehill has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
50 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 7.7 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Whitehill add up to 0.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. No park or playing field is mapped within a 5-minute walk of homes in Whitehill. Whitehill grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
0.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
0%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
50 km
7.7 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 village is Whitehill?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A village of footpaths7.7 km of path per km², more than 99% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Parks can be a walk away100% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Whitehill’s strongest suit is dense footpaths. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Whitehill grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Whitehill, 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 15% of UK towns50th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space0.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
3out of
100
100
A park within a walk0%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
2out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths7.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
99out 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.
Villages its size
Whitehill is 50th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,600 to 1,800 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
Whitehill7.7
Villages its size2.1
County Durham towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Whitehill0.3
Villages its size2.1
County Durham towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Whitehill0%
Villages its size81%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Whitehill stands out most for path per km²: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 57 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pease Pottage West Sussex | A+ | 4.1 | 100% | 7.4 | 65% |
| 2 | Manningtree Essex | A+ | 5.6 | 100% | 2.5 | 43% |
| 3 | Guston Kent | A+ | 5.8 | 100% | 2.5 | 25% |
| 4 | Llansanffraid Glan Conwy Clwyd | A+ | 10.8 | 100% | 1.6 | 8% |
| 5 | Pen-clawdd West Glamorgan | A | 4 | 100% | 0.5 | 42% |
| 6 | Penwithick Cornwall | A | 15 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 7 | Wroxall Isle of Wight | A | 1.2 | 84% | 4.6 | 33% |
| 8 | Eccles Kent | A | 3.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 30% |
| 9 | Hutton Somerset | A | 1.8 | 100% | 2.2 | 22% |
| 10 | Southwell Dorset | A | 0.7 | 100% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Wickwar Gloucestershire | A− | 2 | 100% | 3.5 | 15% |
| 12 | Lynemouth Northumberland | A− | 3.5 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 13 | Hemyock Devon | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.3 | 82% |
| 14 | Seascale Cumbria | A− | 2.1 | 81% | 2.2 | 27% |
| 15 | Clayhanger West Midlands | A− | 17.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Harrold Bedfordshire | A− | 19.1 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Bathampton Somerset | A− | 1 | 85% | 5.5 | 62% |
| 18 | Starcross Devon | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 19 | Aldbourne Wiltshire | B+ | 3.2 | 84% | 1.8 | 100% |
| 20 | Kingsdown Kent | B+ | 1.1 | 67% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 21 | Blewbury Oxfordshire | B | 3.1 | 54% | 2.7 | 79% |
| 22 | Great Kingshill Buckinghamshire | B | 2.7 | 55% | 2.9 | 84% |
| 23 | Abridge Essex | B | 3 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Silkstone South Yorkshire | B | 1 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 25 | Edgworth Lancashire | B | 3.2 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 26 | Normandy Surrey | B− | 3.2 | 23% | 3.1 | 26% |
| 27 | Streethouse West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Eynsford Kent | B− | 2.1 | 81% | 1.9 | 46% |
| 29 | Woodsetts South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 30 | Allhallows Kent | B− | 3.2 | 76% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Onley Northamptonshire | B− | 2.3 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 32 | Pilling Lancashire | C+ | 4.2 | 46% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Seahouses and North Sunderland Northumberland | C+ | 1.6 | 17% | 1.7 | 21% |
| 34 | Chipperfield Hertfordshire | C+ | 2.4 | 37% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 35 | Rocester Staffordshire | C+ | 15.2 | 58% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Bartestree Herefordshire | C+ | 2.1 | 81% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 37 | Templecombe Somerset | C+ | 2 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 38 | New Arley Warwickshire | C+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 39 | High Littleton Somerset | C+ | 1 | 58% | 4.9 | 1% |
| 40 | Acton Suffolk | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Stonesfield Oxfordshire | C | 1.9 | 60% | 1.8 | 38% |
| 42 | Earith Cambridgeshire | C | 1.2 | 78% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 43 | Wylam Northumberland | C− | 1.1 | 74% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 44 | High Bentham North Yorkshire | C− | 0.1 | 0% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 45 | Thorney Cambridgeshire | C− | 3.4 | 74% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Lower Quinton Warwickshire | C− | 2 | 49% | 1.3 | 18% |
| 47 | Modbury Devon | C− | 1.7 | 39% | 1.2 | 41% |
| 48 | Creunant West Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 79% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Pensilva Cornwall | C− | 1.6 | 60% | 1.3 | 15% |
| 50 | Whitehill County Durham | C− | 0.3 | 0% | 7.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Upper Arncott Oxfordshire | D | 3.1 | 59% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Holt Wiltshire | D | 1.1 | 45% | 2.1 | 2% |
| 53 | Leverington Cambridgeshire | D | 2.8 | 59% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Dobwalls Cornwall | D | 1.4 | 28% | 1.5 | 15% |
| 55 | Tiddington Warwickshire | D | 0.2 | 79% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Point Clear Essex | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Soughton Clwyd | D | 0.4 | 67% | 1.3 | 3% |
| 58 | Skirlaugh East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1 | 85% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Ulceby Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 72% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Welford-on-Avon Warwickshire | D− | 0.4 | 48% | 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 Whitehill’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 Whitehill
The biggest is Memorial Park, 1.6 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
Few Whitehill 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 (0%)Further (100%)
Whitehill0%
Villages its size81%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
About 1,700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 14 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 120 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North Pennines National Landscape is 10.0 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
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Whitehill
50 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Whitehill and the kilometre around it, 7.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
RegionalLocal
The Angel's Way5.0 km
Heritage 100 - Walridge Fell4.7 km
Chester-le-Street Heritage Trail3.5 km
Waldridge Fell Country Park: Easy Access Route1.3 km
The regional route here is the The Angel's 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 Whitehill: May to July and September
The village’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 | 10.3 | 8.3 | 7.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 48 | 45 | 52 | 49 | 67 | 60 | 69 | 61 | 67 | 75 | 60 |
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 44 nights a year. The climate in Whitehill →
Things to do
14 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Whitehill is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Shingles9.8 mi from Whitehill’s edge
DirectionsHendon Beach10.0 mi from Whitehill’s edge
DirectionsShingle Beach10 mi from Whitehill’s edge
DirectionsBlast Beach12 mi from Whitehill’s edge
DirectionsHawthorn Hive12 mi from Whitehill’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.
Up high. Pelton Hills, at 133 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Whitehill.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Pelton Hills133 m (437 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 14
Newfield Play Space0.6 mi from town
DirectionsThornton Pocket Park1.0 mi from town
DirectionsMoorfoot Play Space1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park 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.
NewfieldChester-le-StreetPelton and OustonUrpethSacristonGreat LumleyWhitehill
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehill | C− | 0.3 | 0% | 0% |
| Newfield 0.7 mi | A | 8.3 | 100% | 0% |
| Chester-le-Street 1.1 mi | C+ | 1.7 | 75% | 0% |
| Pelton and Ouston 1.4 mi | C+ | 2.0 | 64% | 0% |
| Urpeth 2.1 mi | C− | 1.3 | 0% | 0% |
| Sacriston 2.7 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 72% | 0% |
| Great Lumley 3.0 mi | C+ | 1.4 | 88% | 0% |
Newfield, 0.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Newfield, Chester-le-Street and Pelton and Ouston have at least twice Whitehill’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Whitehill
What is the biggest park in Whitehill?
Memorial Park, 1.6 ha (4 acres), just outside the built-up area. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Whitehill near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the North Pennines National Landscape, 10.0 mi west of the village’s edge. It covers 1,985 km² and was designated in 1988.
What are the best walks near Whitehill?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the The Angel's Way, Heritage 100 - Walridge Fell and Chester-le-Street Heritage Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Whitehill?
Shingles, 9.8 mi from the edge of the village, then Hendon Beach (10.0 mi). Whitehill itself is inland.
How many people in Whitehill live near a park?
0% 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 Whitehill?
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 Whitehill good for walking?
For paths, yes: 7.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 99% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 3% (0.3 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 Whitehill’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Whitehill’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.