Wetheral’s biggest
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Fields
Playing field
2.4 ha (6 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Wetheral
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: JonnyH · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Wetheral · parks, paths & countryside
Wetheral has more park space per resident than 8 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Wetheral add up to 3.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The North Pennines National Landscape begins 4.3 mi from the village’s edge. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 51% of residents. Wetheral grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
51%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
15 km
1.9 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 4.3 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Wetheral?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam3.8 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 80% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe North Pennines National Landscape starts 4.3 mi east.Parks can be a walk away49% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Wetheral’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the North Pennines National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Wetheral grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Wetheral, 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 21% of UK towns43rd of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space3.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
80out of
100
100
A park within a walk51%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
14out 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
Footpaths1.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
26out 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.
Villages its size
Wetheral is 43rd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,100 to 1,200 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
Wetheral1.9
Villages its size2.0
Cumbria towns2.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Wetheral3.8
Villages its size2.0
Cumbria towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Wetheral51%
Villages its size75%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Wetheral stands out most for park space per resident: only 8 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 42 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corton Suffolk | A+ | 4.4 | 100% | 3 | 5% |
| 2 | Upton St Leonards Gloucestershire | A+ | 5.2 | 80% | 7.5 | 43% |
| 3 | Fairlands Surrey | A+ | 2.8 | 100% | 5 | 11% |
| 4 | Masham North Yorkshire | A+ | 3.7 | 100% | 3 | 44% |
| 5 | Ditchling East Sussex | A | 7.4 | 77% | 4 | 57% |
| 6 | Horsted Keynes West Sussex | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.3 | 83% |
| 7 | Wenvoe South Glamorgan | A− | 5.9 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 8 | Chatburn Lancashire | A− | 1.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 59% |
| 9 | Boosbeck North Yorkshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 22% |
| 10 | Camber East Sussex | A− | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 5% |
| 11 | Grange Moor West Yorkshire | A− | 4.3 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 12 | St Erth Cornwall | B+ | 0.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 4% |
| 13 | Gotherington Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.7 | 72% | 3.7 | 33% |
| 14 | South Bents Tyne and Wear | B+ | 4.9 | 62% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 15 | Borth Dyfed | B | 3.1 | 74% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 16 | Oakley Buckinghamshire | B | 2.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 17 | High Pittington County Durham | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 18 | Cropston Leicestershire | B | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 19 | Jacobs Well Surrey | B | 1.4 | 77% | 4.7 | 8% |
| 20 | Curdworth Warwickshire | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Bishop Middleham County Durham | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Plaxtol Kent | B− | 2.6 | 57% | 2.5 | 40% |
| 23 | Harpur Hill Derbyshire | B− | 3.1 | 31% | 2.3 | 60% |
| 24 | Kelly Bray Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 22% |
| 25 | Thurlton Norfolk | B− | 1.5 | 100% | 0.7 | 39% |
| 26 | Roydon (South Norfolk) Norfolk | B− | 4.3 | 50% | 4 | 0% |
| 27 | Beaumaris Gwynedd | B− | 2.7 | 30% | 0.8 | 18% |
| 28 | Latchingdon Essex | B− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Castlethorpe Buckinghamshire | C+ | 3.5 | 72% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 30 | Gainford County Durham | C+ | 2.6 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Lacey Green and Loosley Row Buckinghamshire | C+ | 2.1 | 27% | 2.4 | 82% |
| 32 | Whimple Devon | C+ | 5.2 | 70% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 33 | Brinklow Warwickshire | C+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 34 | St Cleer Cornwall | C | 3 | 29% | 1.6 | 32% |
| 35 | Three Legged Cross Dorset | C | 1.5 | 77% | 2.6 | 1% |
| 36 | Bow Devon | C | 1.9 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Swindon Staffordshire | C | 2.5 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Mannings Heath West Sussex | C | 1 | 71% | 1.9 | 44% |
| 39 | Baldwin's Gate Staffordshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 40 | North Newbald East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Milverton Somerset | C− | 2.1 | 70% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Maiden Newton Dorset | C− | 1.1 | 27% | 2 | 100% |
| 43 | Wetheral Cumbria | C− | 3.8 | 51% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Crowle Worcestershire | C− | 2.4 | 34% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Beachley Gloucestershire | C− | 0.3 | 0% | 1.2 | 14% |
| 46 | Capel Hendre Dyfed | D | 0.8 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 47 | Cawston Norfolk | D | 2.7 | 71% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Benwick Cambridgeshire | D | 0.3 | 100% | 0.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Orwell Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 78% | 2 | 0% |
| 50 | Ramsey Island Essex | D | 1.4 | 39% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Pelynt Cornwall | D | 0 | 0% | 0.6 | 13% |
| 52 | Chawley Oxfordshire | D | 0.3 | 0% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Great Doddington Northamptonshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Reawla Cornwall | D | 0.2 | 0% | 2 | 3% |
| 55 | High Legh Cheshire | D− | 1.9 | 50% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Moulton Chapel Lincolnshire | D− | 1.5 | 60% | 0 | 0% |
| 57 | Kentford Suffolk | D− | 1.9 | 0% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Austrey Warwickshire | D− | 1.7 | 0% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 59 | East Keswick West Yorkshire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Llanfyllin Powys | D− | 0 | 0% | 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 Wetheral’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 Wetheral
The biggest is Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Fields, 2.4 ha (6 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The Green
Park or garden
0.4 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Wetheral
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Turnmire Common
Play space
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Wetheral
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
5 in 10 Wetheral residents live within a 5-minute walk of 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 (51%)Further (49%)
Wetheral51%
Villages its size75%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 226 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North Pennines National Landscape is 4.3 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 Wetheral scores 0% on it even though the North Pennines National Landscape is 4.3 mi away. Lake District National Park covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Wetheral
15 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Wetheral and the kilometre around it, 1.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Wetheral; its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Wetheral: 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 | 16.1 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.3 | 7.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 78 | 59 | 52 | 42 | 50 | 64 | 73 | 75 | 67 | 78 | 78 | 82 |
April is the driest month (42 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 82 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Wetheral →
Things to do
5 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Wetheral is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
The Beach18 mi from Wetheral’s edge
DirectionsDouble Mills Beach26 mi from Wetheral’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
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 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.
ScotbyWarwick BridgeCarlisleHoughtonBramptonDalstonWetheral
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Carlisle, 4.1 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 91% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Wetheral
What is the biggest park in Wetheral?
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Fields, 2.4 ha (6 acres). The Green (0.4 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Wetheral near a National Park?
Yes. Lake District National Park begins 12 mi south-west of the village’s edge. It covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the North Pennines National Landscape, 4.3 mi away.
What is the nearest beach to Wetheral?
The Beach, 18 mi from the edge of the village, then Double Mills Beach (26 mi). Wetheral itself is inland.
How many people in Wetheral live near a park?
51% 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 Wetheral?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Wetheral good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 26% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 80% (3.8 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 Wetheral’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Wetheral’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.