Distington’s biggest
The Green
Park or garden
0.5 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Distington
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Alexander P Kapp · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Distington · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Distington lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Distington add up to 4.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The sea makes up 22% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 12 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.6 for every square kilometre. Distington grades A− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
4.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
12 km
1.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Lake District starts 5.0 mi out, past the 5 km
The sea
22%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Distington?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Room to roam4.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 83% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe Lake District National Park starts 5.0 mi east.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.
Distington’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Distington grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Distington, 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 towns13th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space4.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
83out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Lake District begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
20out of
100
100
The sea22%of the area within 5 km
90out 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
Distington is 13th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,300 to 1,400 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
Distington1.6
Villages its size2.3
Cumbria towns2.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Distington4.2
Villages its size2.1
Cumbria towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Distington100%
Villages its size81%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Distington stands out most for park space per resident: only 10 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 40 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatsfield Surrey | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 3.1 | 34% |
| 2 | Winsley Wiltshire | A | 12.4 | 79% | 4.2 | 38% |
| 3 | Chilton Oxfordshire | A | 5.4 | 88% | 2.8 | 70% |
| 4 | Cromford Derbyshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 6.6 | 12% |
| 5 | Cowfold West Sussex | A | 2.6 | 100% | 3.6 | 15% |
| 6 | Gomshall Surrey | A | 1.9 | 89% | 4.8 | 87% |
| 7 | West Horsley Surrey | A | 3 | 74% | 5.2 | 40% |
| 8 | Startforth County Durham | A | 6 | 78% | 4.3 | 4% |
| 9 | Maresfield East Sussex | A | 2.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 44% |
| 10 | Sherston Wiltshire | A | 3.7 | 100% | 1.4 | 75% |
| 11 | Sherfield on Loddon Hampshire | A− | 8.3 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 12 | Weston Rhyn Shropshire | A− | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 10% |
| 13 | Distington Cumbria | A− | 4.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 14 | Stoke sub Hamdon Somerset | A− | 25.1 | 81% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Wharncliffe Side South Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 47% | 6.4 | 22% |
| 16 | Bradwell Derbyshire | A− | 1.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 17 | Quintrell Downs Cornwall | B+ | 3.3 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 18 | Appleton Thorn Cheshire | B+ | 5.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 19 | Barrow Lancashire | B | 0.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 27% |
| 20 | Wymeswold Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Motcombe Dorset | B | 9.5 | 74% | 1.5 | 25% |
| 22 | Cwmllynfell and Ystradowen West Glamorgan | B | 4.1 | 79% | 1 | 40% |
| 23 | Cefn Cribwr Mid Glamorgan | B | 6.5 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Sampford Peverell Devon | B− | 3 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 25 | Holymoorside Derbyshire | B− | 1.1 | 82% | 3.8 | 14% |
| 26 | Narborough Norfolk | B− | 3.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Kingswood Kent | B− | 3.8 | 23% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 28 | Clwt-y-bont Gwynedd | B− | 0.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 19% |
| 29 | Steeple Bumpstead Essex | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Trub Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Houghton Cambridgeshire | C+ | 2.2 | 81% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Launton Oxfordshire | C+ | 0.7 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 33 | Great Waldingfield Suffolk | C | 2 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 34 | East Hendred Oxfordshire | C | 1.4 | 29% | 2.8 | 47% |
| 35 | Great Bardfield Essex | C | 2 | 81% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Ringstead Northamptonshire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Tickton East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 2 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Winterley Cheshire | C | 0.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Chelford Cheshire | C | 1.8 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Seaton Burn Tyne and Wear | C | 3.3 | 36% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Easebourne West Sussex | C | 0.4 | 0% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 42 | Blunham Bedfordshire | C | 2.2 | 77% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Walkern Hertfordshire | C− | 2.4 | 52% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Offord D'Arcy and Offord Cluny Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.7 | 78% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Cottingham and Middleton Northamptonshire | C− | 12.1 | 53% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Penperlleni Gwent | C− | 0.6 | 80% | 1.7 | 17% |
| 47 | Newton St Loe Somerset | C− | 0 | 0% | 3.5 | 17% |
| 48 | Cowbit Lincolnshire | C− | 0.9 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Ogmore-by-Sea South Glamorgan | C− | 0 | 0% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 50 | Penrhyn-coch Dyfed | D | 0.7 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Hawley Kent | D | 0.7 | 24% | 2.8 | 3% |
| 52 | Butterwick Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 40% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Malpas Cheshire | D | 1.6 | 61% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Billingborough Lincolnshire | D | 2.4 | 45% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 55 | North Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.5 | 47% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Skelton (York) North Yorkshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Longframlington Northumberland | D | 1.3 | 78% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Bomere Heath Shropshire | D− | 1.8 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Woodmansey East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Griston Norfolk | D− | 0.8 | 15% | 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 Distington’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 Distington
The biggest is The Green, 0.5 ha (1 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Distington’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 (100%)Further (0%)
Distington100%
Villages its size81%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 8 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 172 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Lake District National Park is 5.0 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Distington scores 0% on it even though the Lake District National Park is 5.0 mi away. Lake District National Park covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Distington is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
12 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Distington and the kilometre around it, 1.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
National
King Charles III England Coast Path: Allonby to Whitehaven2.7 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Distington.
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 Distington: May to 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 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 107 | 92 | 86 | 64 | 71 | 79 | 96 | 106 | 108 | 142 | 130 | 125 |
April is the driest month (64 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 142 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Distington →
The coast
Distington is near the sea
22% of the area within 5 km of Distington is sea.
The 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
8 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Copperas Hill1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 8
Plus 8 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.
High HarringtonMoresby ParksWorkingtonStainburnWhitehavenFrizingtonDistington
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distington | A− | 4.2 | 100% | 0% |
| High Harrington 1.3 mi | C+ | 0.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Moresby Parks 2.5 mi | B− | 1.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Workington 2.5 mi | A− | 3.0 | 97% | 0% |
| Stainburn 3.4 mi | C− | 0.1 | 72% | 0% |
| Whitehaven 4.2 mi | B+ | 1.8 | 91% | 1% |
| Frizington 4.2 mi | D | 1.4 | 52% | 15% |
Distington grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Distington
What is the biggest park in Distington?
The Green, 0.5 ha (1 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Distington near a National Park?
Yes. Lake District National Park begins 5.0 mi east of the village’s edge. It covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Distington?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Allonby to Whitehaven.
How many people in Distington live near a park?
100% 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 Distington?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Distington good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 20% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 83% (4.2 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 Distington’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Distington’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.