Swarthmoor’s biggest
Millennium Garden
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Swarthmoor
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Yohan euan o4 · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Swarthmoor · parks, paths & countryside
79% of Swarthmoor’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Lake District National Park begins 3.5 mi from the village’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Swarthmoor add up to 0.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 10 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.5 for every square kilometre. Swarthmoor grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
0.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
79%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
10 km
1.5 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 3.5 mi out, past the 5 km
The sea
10%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Swarthmoor?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Lake District National Park starts 3.5 mi north-east.Less park per person0.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Swarthmoor’s strongest suit is the Lake District National Park close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Swarthmoor grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Swarthmoor, 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 17% of UK towns40th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space0.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
2out of
100
100
A park within a walk79%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
44out 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
Footpaths1.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
18out of
100
100
The sea10%of the area within 5 km
87out 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
Swarthmoor is 40th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,000 to 1,100 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
Swarthmoor1.5
Villages its size2.0
Cumbria towns2.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Swarthmoor0.2
Villages its size2.1
Cumbria towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Swarthmoor79%
Villages its size74%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
Swarthmoor falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 49 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grove Dorset | A+ | 6 | 100% | 8.7 | 0% |
| 2 | Totternhoe Bedfordshire | A+ | 9.6 | 100% | 4.9 | 26% |
| 3 | Lizard Cornwall | A+ | 2.3 | 100% | 3.3 | 30% |
| 4 | Winchelsea Beach East Sussex | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 45% |
| 5 | East Challow Oxfordshire | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 6 | Cemaes Gwynedd | A+ | 5 | 100% | 1.3 | 14% |
| 7 | Abingworth West Sussex | A | 6.1 | 100% | 2.7 | 27% |
| 8 | Bellingham Northumberland | A | 8.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 57% |
| 9 | Aberaeron Dyfed | A | 6.1 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 10 | Shorne Kent | A | 28.3 | 23% | 3.4 | 24% |
| 11 | Misterton Somerset | A | 2.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 35% |
| 12 | Godshill Isle of Wight | A | 2.1 | 100% | 2.7 | 53% |
| 13 | Ardleigh Essex | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.5 | 21% |
| 14 | Llangynidr Powys | B+ | 2.4 | 65% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 15 | Loddiswell Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 100% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 16 | Thornwood Common Essex | B+ | 6.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Clyst Honiton Devon | B+ | 8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 18 | Morchard Bishop Devon | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 19 | Thornton Leicestershire | B | 13.7 | 50% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Whitwell Hertfordshire | B | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Levens Cumbria | B | 0.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 53% |
| 22 | Llanymynech Shropshire | B | 2 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 23 | Minley Hampshire | B− | 5.7 | 0% | 6.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Great Amwell Hertfordshire | B− | 5.7 | 0% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 25 | High Shincliffe County Durham | B− | 0.5 | 100% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 26 | King's Bromley Staffordshire | B− | 3.4 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Derry Hill and Studley Wiltshire | C+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.7 | 1% |
| 28 | St Newlyn East Cornwall | C+ | 3 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Little Waltham Essex | C+ | 2.3 | 63% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Warmington Northamptonshire | C | 1.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 31 | Bempton East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.6 | 100% | 0.2 | 0% |
| 32 | Upper Bucklebury Berkshire | C | 0.1 | 0% | 4 | 48% |
| 33 | Clifton Lancashire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Elswick Lancashire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Ansley Warwickshire | C− | 1.8 | 64% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Ewyas Harold Herefordshire | C− | 2.1 | 55% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Hoylandswaine South Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 60% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Marchwiel Clwyd | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 39 | Castle Hedingham Essex | C− | 1.7 | 52% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Swarthmoor Cumbria | C− | 0.2 | 79% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Surfleet Lincolnshire | C− | 4.2 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Scole Norfolk | C− | 2.1 | 51% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Llangeinor Mid Glamorgan | C− | 3.1 | 62% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Loxwood West Sussex | D | 0 | 0% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 45 | New Quay Dyfed | D | 1.2 | 30% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Sutton St James Lincolnshire | D | 0.1 | 100% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Marshland St James Norfolk | D | 3.5 | 0% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Northop Clwyd | D | 1.6 | 70% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Hevingham Norfolk | D | 1.8 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 50 | Waltham on the Wolds Leicestershire | D | 2 | 23% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Overton Lancashire | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Henham Essex | D | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0% |
| 53 | Sutton Norfolk | D− | 0 | 0% | 1 | 29% |
| 54 | Methwold Norfolk | D− | 1.8 | 61% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Wawne East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1 | 0% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Foulsham Norfolk | D− | 1.4 | 29% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Mendlesham Suffolk | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Wainfleet St Mary Lincolnshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Stockton on the Forest North Yorkshire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Ranby Nottinghamshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 0.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Swarthmoor’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 Swarthmoor
The biggest is Millennium Garden, 0.1 ha (0 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Swarthmoor’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 (79%)Further (21%)
Swarthmoor79%
Villages its size74%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 103 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Lake District National Park is 3.5 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 Swarthmoor scores 0% on it even though the Lake District National Park is 3.5 mi away. Lake District National Park covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Swarthmoor
10 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Swarthmoor and the kilometre around it, 1.5 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
Furness Haematite Trail2.0 km
Westmorland and Furness Way: Stage 6 (The Abbey Trail)1.1 km
Westmorland and Furness Way: Stage 5 (Low Furness Fells)1.1 km
Cumbria Way1.1 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Westmorland and Furness Way: Stage 6 (The Abbey Trail), Westmorland and Furness Way: Stage 5 (Low Furness Fells) and Cumbria 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 Swarthmoor: 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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.1 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 120 | 94 | 86 | 68 | 72 | 84 | 103 | 116 | 113 | 142 | 142 | 140 |
April is the driest month (68 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 142 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 44 nights a year. The climate in Swarthmoor →
The coast
Swarthmoor is near the sea
10% of the area within 5 km of Swarthmoor is sea.
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
10 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
Copse Hill1.1 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Urswick Campsite0.8 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.
UlverstonDalton-in-FurnessAskam in FurnessBarrow-in-FurnessMillomAllithwaiteSwarthmoor
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swarthmoor | C− | 0.2 | 79% | 0% |
| Ulverston 1.1 mi | C | 0.7 | 60% | 8% |
| Dalton-in-Furness 3.3 mi | C | 0.9 | 74% | 0% |
| Askam in Furness 3.7 mi | B− | 1.7 | 90% | 0% |
| Barrow-in-Furness 6.3 mi | B | 2.0 | 91% | 0% |
| Millom 6.4 mi | A | 2.0 | 82% | 13% |
| Allithwaite 7.0 mi | C+ | 1.9 | 60% | 17% |
Millom, 6.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 82% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Ulverston, Dalton-in-Furness and Askam in Furness have at least twice Swarthmoor’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Swarthmoor
What is the biggest park in Swarthmoor?
Millennium Garden, 0.1 ha (0 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Swarthmoor near a National Park?
Yes. Lake District National Park begins 3.5 mi north-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 Swarthmoor?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Furness Haematite Trail, Westmorland and Furness Way: Stage 6 (The Abbey Trail) and Westmorland and Furness Way: Stage 5 (Low Furness Fells).
How many people in Swarthmoor live near a park?
79% 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 Swarthmoor?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Swarthmoor good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 18% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 2% (0.2 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 Swarthmoor’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Swarthmoor’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.