Penrith’s biggest
Wetheriggs Country Park
Park or garden
5.1 ha (13 acres)1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Colin Kinnear · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Penrith · parks, paths & countryside
91% of Penrith’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Lake District National Park begins 1.7 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Penrith add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 58 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.9 for every square kilometre. Penrith grades B for the outdoors: #15 of 23 in Cumbria. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
91%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
58 km
2.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
9%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Lake District National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Penrith?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside both waysLake District starts 1.7 mi south-west, North Pennines 6.2 mi north-east.Less park per person1.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Penrith’s strongest suit is two protected landscapes close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Penrith grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Penrith, 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#15 of 23 in Cumbria · 31st of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
31out of
100
100
A park within a walk91%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
68out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape9%of the land within 5 km
71out of
100
100
Footpaths2.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
57out 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
Penrith is 31st of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 15,700 to 17,700 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
Penrith2.9
Towns its size3.3
Cumbria towns2.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Penrith1.6
Towns its size2.2
Cumbria towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Penrith91%
Towns its size83%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
Penrith falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 44 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prestatyn Clwyd | A+ | 3.3 | 92% | 2.9 | 14% |
| 2 | Dorking Surrey | A | 4.4 | 75% | 7 | 57% |
| 3 | Clitheroe Lancashire | A | 3 | 98% | 3.1 | 59% |
| 4 | Hadfield Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 91% | 4.5 | 36% |
| 5 | Shiney Row and Penshaw Tyne and Wear | A | 9.6 | 98% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Bishop's Cleeve Gloucestershire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 3.9 | 35% |
| 7 | Connah's Quay Clwyd | A | 5.8 | 97% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 8 | Bedlington Northumberland | A | 5.1 | 94% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Bredbury and Woodley Greater Manchester | A | 4.8 | 94% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Lewes East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 83% | 4.6 | 75% |
| 11 | Porthcawl Mid Glamorgan | A− | 3.5 | 82% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Euxton Lancashire | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 13 | Worcester Park and Stoneleigh Surrey | B+ | 7.3 | 76% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 14 | South Woodham Ferrers Essex | B+ | 7.8 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 15 | Wath upon Dearne South Yorkshire | B+ | 5.5 | 85% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Weybridge Surrey | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Wombwell South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.4 | 92% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 18 | Burnham-on-Sea Somerset | B+ | 2.1 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Swanley Kent | B+ | 1.8 | 78% | 4.2 | 20% |
| 20 | Swinton South Yorkshire | B+ | 3 | 97% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Liversedge West Yorkshire | B+ | 2 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 22 | Tyldesley Greater Manchester | B | 2.3 | 97% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 23 | Brackley Northamptonshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Haydock Merseyside | B | 6.8 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Westbury Wiltshire | B | 1.4 | 97% | 3.3 | 1% |
| 26 | Amersham Buckinghamshire | B | 1.8 | 62% | 3.7 | 64% |
| 27 | Patchway Gloucestershire | B | 2.5 | 80% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 28 | Haslingden Lancashire | B | 1.8 | 89% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Cobham Surrey | B | 3.1 | 49% | 4 | 1% |
| 30 | Wimborne Minster Dorset | B | 2.7 | 51% | 3.6 | 17% |
| 31 | Penrith Cumbria | B | 1.6 | 91% | 2.9 | 9% |
| 32 | Bangor Gwynedd | B | 0.9 | 79% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 33 | Wymondham Norfolk | B | 2.8 | 97% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 34 | Minster (Swale) Kent | B | 2.5 | 89% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 35 | Bramhall Greater Manchester | B− | 4.7 | 71% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 36 | St Ives Cambridgeshire | B− | 1.7 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Biddulph Staffordshire | B− | 3.3 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Baildon West Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 71% | 7.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Heysham Lancashire | B− | 1.4 | 83% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 40 | Ramsbottom Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.1 | 74% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 41 | South Normanton and Pinxton Derbyshire | C+ | 1.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Elland West Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 69% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Royston Hertfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 83% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Aldridge West Midlands | C+ | 3 | 83% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Bodmin Cornwall | C+ | 1.1 | 87% | 2.4 | 3% |
| 46 | Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley Kent | C | 1.2 | 54% | 3.3 | 21% |
| 47 | Streetly West Midlands | C | 7.5 | 58% | 2 | 0% |
| 48 | Bourne Lincolnshire | C | 1.3 | 70% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Ripon North Yorkshire | C | 1 | 75% | 2.4 | 17% |
| 50 | Nailsea Somerset | C | 1.1 | 65% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Tonypandy Mid Glamorgan | C | 1.5 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 52 | Maltby South Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 78% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Hale Greater Manchester | C− | 2.4 | 50% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Stone Staffordshire | C− | 1.5 | 86% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 55 | North Hykeham Lincolnshire | C− | 2.4 | 60% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Saffron Walden Essex | C− | 1.1 | 63% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Louth Lincolnshire | C− | 0.6 | 76% | 1.3 | 47% |
| 58 | Oswestry Shropshire | C− | 1.3 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 59 | Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay Staffordshire | C− | 1.5 | 60% | 1.6 | 3% |
| 60 | Carmarthen Dyfed | D | 1.6 | 76% | 1.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Penrith’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 Penrith
The biggest is Wetheriggs Country Park, 5.1 ha (13 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Castle Park
Park or garden
3.9 ha (10 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Penrith
Penrith Castle Grade I Strickland's Pele Tower and Penrith Castle monument +2 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Penrith Rugby Union Football Club
Playing field
5.6 ha (14 acres)0.3 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Penrith’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 (91%)Further (9%)
Penrith91%
Towns its size83%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 1,600 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 1,392 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Lake District and North Pennines both start about 6 miles from Penrith
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
National Park
Lake District
1.7 mi south-west2,362 km²since 19519% of the land within 5 km
Official site9% of the land within 5 km of Penrith is National Park or National Landscape, more than 70% of UK towns. Lake District National Park covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Penrith
58 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Penrith and the kilometre around it, 2.9 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
Lady Anne's Way6.1 km
Eamont Way3.1 km
The regional route here is the Lady Anne's Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
History inside Penrith’s parks
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Penrith’s named parks.
Park with listed buildings
Castle Park
3.9 ha. 4 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge, including Penrith Castle (Grade I).
IPenrith CastleSMStrickland's Pele Tower and Penrith CastleIIPenrith Boer War MemorialIIWar Memorial Gate
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 Penrith: 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 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 98 | 77 | 70 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 72 | 78 | 78 | 101 | 100 | 111 |
April is the driest month (56 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 111 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 62 nights a year. The climate in Penrith →
The coast
Beaches near Penrith
0% of the area within 5 km of Penrith is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
The Beach3.0 mi from town
DirectionsSea: 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
12 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Beacon Hill0.2 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 2
Thacka Beck Nature Reserve8.3 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsCold Springs Community Nature Reserve15 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 4
Plus 4 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 12
Wetheriggs Lane Childrens' Play Areain town
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Orchard Hideaways0.4 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.
Appleby-in-WestmorlandPenrith
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith | B | 1.6 | 91% | 9% |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland 11.9 mi | C− | 1.2 | 63% | 24% |
Penrith grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Penrith
What is the biggest park in Penrith?
Wetheriggs Country Park, 5.1 ha (13 acres), with 1.3 km of path. Castle Park (3.9 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Penrith near a National Park?
Yes. Lake District National Park begins 1.7 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Penrith?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Lady Anne's Way and Eamont Way.
How many people in Penrith live near a park?
91% 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 Penrith?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Penrith good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 57% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 31% (1.6 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 Penrith’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Penrith’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.