Willington’s biggest
Jubilee Meadows
Park or garden
16 ha (40 acres)2.8 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.8 km of path
23 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Willington
Nature reserve 1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: David Williams · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Willington · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Willington lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
95% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Willington add up to 4.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The North Pennines National Landscape begins 5.7 mi from the town’s edge. Willington grades B+ for the outdoors: #11 of 52 in County Durham. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
4.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
95%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
37 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
North Pennines starts 5.7 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Willington?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep95% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Room to roam4.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 85% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe North Pennines National Landscape starts 5.7 mi west.
Willington’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Willington grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Willington, 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 69% of UK towns#11 of 52 in County Durham · 23rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space4.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
86out of
100
100
A park within a walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
75out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · North Pennines begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
54out 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
Willington is 23rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,500 to 5,900 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
Willington2.8
Towns its size2.5
County Durham towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Willington4.7
Towns its size2.0
County Durham towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Willington95%
Towns its size81%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Willington stands out most for park space per resident: only 3 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackfield and Langley Hampshire | A+ | 28.1 | 95% | 4.2 | 48% |
| 2 | Ventnor Isle of Wight | A+ | 4.5 | 61% | 3.7 | 25% |
| 3 | Saltburn-by-the-Sea North Yorkshire | A | 4.7 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 4 | Deepcar South Yorkshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 6.4 | 21% |
| 5 | Wareham Dorset | A | 1.9 | 83% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 6 | Amble Northumberland | A | 2 | 100% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 7 | Haworth West Yorkshire | A | 4.1 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 8 | Millom Cumbria | A | 2 | 82% | 3.2 | 13% |
| 9 | Carnforth Lancashire | A− | 1.2 | 89% | 3 | 39% |
| 10 | Nailsworth Gloucestershire | A− | 1.3 | 86% | 5.9 | 88% |
| 11 | Barnard Castle County Durham | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 12 | East Horsley Surrey | A− | 3.5 | 55% | 4.5 | 33% |
| 13 | Steyning West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 86% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 14 | Blaenavon Gwent | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 39% |
| 15 | Henfield West Sussex | A− | 3.8 | 51% | 4.4 | 17% |
| 16 | Kingsbridge Devon | B+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.6 | 67% |
| 17 | Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.1 | 61% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 18 | Marchwood Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 87% | 1.3 | 38% |
| 19 | Cottam Lancashire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 20 | Creswell Derbyshire | B+ | 2.7 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Moor Park Hertfordshire | B+ | 4.5 | 46% | 4.5 | 1% |
| 22 | Thrybergh and Dalton South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 4 | 0% |
| 23 | Willington County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 24 | Garstang Lancashire | B | 2.4 | 89% | 2.3 | 15% |
| 25 | East Tilbury Essex | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2 | 0% |
| 26 | Shipston-on-Stour Warwickshire | B | 2.3 | 94% | 1.6 | 20% |
| 27 | Brixworth Northamptonshire | B | 3.8 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 28 | Hemsby Norfolk | B | 2.5 | 51% | 1.4 | 22% |
| 29 | Bidford-on-Avon Warwickshire | B | 3.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 30 | Cheddar Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 41% | 3 | 56% |
| 31 | Haddenham Buckinghamshire | B− | 3.1 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Hullbridge Essex | C+ | 5.7 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 33 | Aylesham Kent | C+ | 0.3 | 76% | 3.4 | 33% |
| 34 | Broseley Shropshire | C+ | 1.2 | 74% | 3.4 | 8% |
| 35 | Quorndon Leicestershire | C+ | 2.7 | 81% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Rainford Merseyside | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Crawley Down West Sussex | C+ | 1.2 | 80% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 38 | Pontyclun Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.4 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 39 | Ruthin Clwyd | C | 2.7 | 51% | 1.5 | 31% |
| 40 | Egremont Cumbria | C | 1.1 | 63% | 1.8 | 11% |
| 41 | Wadebridge Cornwall | C | 1.8 | 74% | 1.8 | 17% |
| 42 | Bracebridge Heath Lincolnshire | C | 1.1 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Four Marks Hampshire | C | 0.9 | 46% | 3 | 31% |
| 44 | Coningsby and Tattershall Lincolnshire | C | 2.7 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Durrington Wiltshire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Undy and Magor Gwent | C | 0.9 | 86% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Red Lodge Suffolk | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Ramsey Cambridgeshire | C | 2.5 | 72% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Pembury Kent | C− | 1.1 | 45% | 2 | 58% |
| 50 | Abertridwr and Senghenydd Gwent | C− | 1.8 | 87% | 1 | 0% |
| 51 | Purfleet-on-Thames Essex | C− | 0.9 | 64% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Cuddington Cheshire | C− | 1.5 | 66% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Takeley and Little Canfield Essex | D | 1 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Withernsea East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.9 | 60% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Brigg Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 65% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Ruskington Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Bulkington Warwickshire | D | 0.9 | 76% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Sawtry Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 40% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirton Lincolnshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Willington’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 Willington
The biggest is Jubilee Meadows, 16 ha (40 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Willington’s homes are to 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 (95%)Further (5%)
Willington95%
Towns its size81%
County Durham towns88%
All UK towns83%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 12 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 474 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North Pennines National Landscape is 5.7 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Willington scores 0% on it even though the North Pennines National Landscape is 5.7 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Willington
37 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Willington 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.
RegionalLocal
Weardale Way7.1 km
Finchale Camino Inglés (Durham to Escomb)3.8 km
H100 - Spennymoor and Byers Green2.2 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the Weardale Way and Finchale Camino Inglés (Durham to Escomb).
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 Willington: May 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 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 54 | 48 | 55 | 46 | 66 | 62 | 71 | 64 | 70 | 74 | 71 |
May is the driest month (46 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 53 nights a year. The climate in Willington →
Things to do
12 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
Willington is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Shippersea Bay16 mi from Willington’s edge
DirectionsHawthorn Hive16 mi from Willington’s edge
DirectionsBlast Beach16 mi from Willington’s edge
DirectionsHendon Beach17 mi from Willington’s edge
DirectionsShingles18 mi from Willington’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
Nature reserves 2
Jubilee Meadows0.0 mi from town
DirectionsOakenshaw Wildlife Reserve0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 12
Plus 12 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.
CrookBilly RowSpennymoorBrandonCoundon and LeeholmeNew BrancepethWillington
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willington | B+ | 4.7 | 95% | 0% |
| Crook 2.3 mi | C+ | 1.5 | 85% | 0% |
| Billy Row 2.7 mi | B | 2.3 | 100% | 0% |
| Spennymoor 3.5 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 84% | 0% |
| Brandon 3.7 mi | C+ | 2.2 | 72% | 0% |
| Coundon and Leeholme 4.1 mi | B− | 4.4 | 100% | 0% |
| New Brancepeth 4.2 mi | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 0% |
New Brancepeth, 4.2 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Willington
What is the biggest park in Willington?
Jubilee Meadows, 16 ha (40 acres), with 2.8 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Willington near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the North Pennines National Landscape, 5.7 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,985 km² and was designated in 1988.
What are the best walks near Willington?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Weardale Way, Finchale Camino Inglés (Durham to Escomb) and H100 - Spennymoor and Byers Green. Jubilee Meadows alone has 2.8 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Willington?
Shippersea Bay, 16 mi from the edge of the town, then Hawthorn Hive (16 mi). Willington itself is inland.
How many people in Willington live near a park?
95% 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 Willington?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Willington good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 54% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 86% (4.7 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 Willington’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Willington’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.