Keswick, #1 on this list · Photo: Richard Humphrey · CC BY-SA 2.0

Cumbria rankings · Outdoors

Best towns for the outdoors in Cumbria

Keswick ranks first on outdoors among Cumbria’s 23 towns of 2,500+; 8 of the 23 grade A− or better against UK towns.

The Outdoors Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): green space per resident, parks within 400 m, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths and the coast. The rank across England and Wales sits beside each letter. How grades work

Keswick

4,465 people

A⁺

Better than almost every UK town·#6 of 2,156 in England and Wales

Ambleside

2,624 people

A⁺

Better than almost every UK town·#20 of 2,156 in England and Wales

Silloth

2,542 people

A⁺

Better than 97% of UK towns·#51 of 2,156 in England and Wales

All 23 towns, ranked

Outdoors grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England and Wales links to the national list.

Every town in Cumbria →

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23 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns

1Keswick4,465 peopleA⁺#6 of 2,156 nationallybetter than almost every UK town

2Ambleside2,624 peopleA⁺#20 of 2,156 nationallybetter than almost every UK town

3Silloth2,542 peopleA⁺#51 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 97% of UK towns

4Windermere4,819 peopleA⁺#83 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 96% of UK towns

5Millom5,690 peopleA#283 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 87% of UK towns

6Maryport8,526 peopleA⁻#339 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 85% of UK towns

7Carlisle77,729 peopleA⁻#441 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns

8Workington21,276 peopleA⁻#443 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns

9Whitehaven22,952 peopleB⁺#639 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 73% of UK towns

10Seaton5,051 peopleB⁺#664 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 72% of UK towns

11Cleator Moor6,671 peopleB⁺#757 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 68% of UK towns

12Cockermouth8,859 peopleB#883 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 63% of UK towns

13Barrow-in-Furness55,260 peopleB#936 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 61% of UK towns

14Grange-over-Sands4,047 peopleB#998 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 59% of UK towns

15Penrith16,705 peopleB#1,000 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 58% of UK towns

16Brampton4,187 peopleB#1,039 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 57% of UK towns

17Askam in Furness3,172 peopleB⁻#1,187 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 50% of UK towns

18Kendal28,939 peopleC⁺#1,305 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 45% of UK towns

19Egremont5,791 peopleC#1,561 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 33% of UK towns

20Ulverston11,219 peopleC#1,646 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 29% of UK towns

21Dalton-in-Furness7,551 peopleC#1,680 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 27% of UK towns

22Appleby-in-Westmorland3,233 peopleC⁻#1,777 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 23% of UK towns

23Wigton5,396 peopleD#2,006 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 10% of UK towns

Quick answers

Questions people ask

Which town in Cumbria is best for the outdoors?

Keswick ranks first on outdoors among 23 towns, with an A+: better than almost every UK town. Ambleside and Silloth follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Outdoors Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): green space per resident, parks within 400 m, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths and the coast. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Cumbria’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Cumbria is on the county page.

Go deeper

More Cumbria lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Cumbria rankings →

Best places to live23 towns · #1 Grange-over-Sands Best small towns16 towns · #1 Grange-over-Sands Most affordable towns23 towns · #1 Cleator Moor Safest towns23 towns · #1 Seaton Towns with the best schools23 towns · #1 Kendal Healthiest towns23 towns · #1 Keswick Best towns for jobs & income23 towns · #1 Windermere Most walkable towns23 towns · #1 Ambleside Towns with the lowest flood risk23 towns · #1 Millom Most historic towns23 towns · #1 Appleby-in-Westmorland Towns with the most civic life23 towns · #1 Grange-over-Sands Towns with the highest household incomes23 towns · #1 CockermouthDescribed, no letters Towns with the lowest council tax23 towns · #1 CarlisleDescribed, no letters Towns with the mildest winters23 towns · #1 WorkingtonDescribed, no letters Towns with the warmest summers23 towns · #1 CarlisleDescribed, no letters Towns with the coolest summers23 towns · #1 Cleator MoorDescribed, no letters Towns with the fewest frosts23 towns · #1 Barrow-in-FurnessDescribed, no letters Driest towns23 towns · #1 CarlisleDescribed, no letters Wettest towns23 towns · #1 AmblesideDescribed, no letters

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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.