Workington’s biggest
Vulcan Park
Park or garden
5.5 ha (14 acres)1.7 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi northfrom the centre
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Mikeca142007 · Public domainA−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Workington · parks, paths & countryside
Workington is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 46% of the area within 5 km. The Solway Coast National Landscape and the Lake District National Park both begin about 6 miles from the town’s edge. 97% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Workington grades A− for the outdoors: #8 of 23 in Cumbria. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.0 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
97%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
60 km
2.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Solway Coast starts 4.8 mi out, past the 5 km
The sea
46%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Workington?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast46% of the area within 5 km is sea.A park on every doorstep97% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Countryside both waysSolway Coast starts 4.8 mi north, Lake District 5.7 mi east.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.
Workington’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home.
Outdoors grade
Workington grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Workington, 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 81% of UK towns#8 of 23 in Cumbria · 16th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
70out of
100
100
A park within a walk97%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
77out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Solway Coast begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
36out of
100
100
The sea46%of the area within 5 km
98out 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
Workington is 16th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 19,800 to 22,900 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
Workington2.2
Towns its size3.7
Cumbria towns2.1
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Workington3.0
Towns its size2.5
Cumbria towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Workington97%
Towns its size85%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Workington stands out most for park space per resident: only 21 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 53 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapeltown and High Green South Yorkshire | A+ | 4.9 | 94% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 2 | Camborne Cornwall | A+ | 2.2 | 93% | 4 | 8% |
| 3 | Dronfield Derbyshire | A+ | 3.2 | 97% | 5.3 | 9% |
| 4 | Buxton Derbyshire | A | 3.5 | 86% | 3.8 | 61% |
| 5 | Reddish Greater Manchester | A | 6.7 | 100% | 5 | 0% |
| 6 | Faversham Kent | A | 2 | 88% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 7 | Caterham Surrey | A | 4.3 | 84% | 4.3 | 17% |
| 8 | Hebburn Tyne and Wear | A | 6.6 | 99% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Quedgeley and Hardwicke Gloucestershire | A | 2.1 | 99% | 4.7 | 21% |
| 10 | Farnham Surrey | A | 5.1 | 73% | 4.3 | 35% |
| 11 | Hazlemere Buckinghamshire | A | 2.5 | 81% | 4.7 | 68% |
| 12 | Stratton St Margaret Wiltshire | A | 3.3 | 82% | 5.1 | 5% |
| 13 | Seaham County Durham | A | 2.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Harwich Essex | A− | 1.7 | 95% | 2.1 | 20% |
| 15 | South Ockendon Essex | A− | 2.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Workington Cumbria | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Dukinfield Greater Manchester | A− | 4 | 95% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 18 | Coalville Leicestershire | A− | 3.7 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 19 | Rothwell West Yorkshire | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 20 | Kempston Bedfordshire | A− | 4.9 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | Whitefield Greater Manchester | A− | 4.7 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Crowborough East Sussex | B+ | 3.2 | 68% | 2.6 | 91% |
| 23 | Kirkby-in-Ashfield Nottinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 93% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Hythe and Dibden Purlieu Hampshire | B+ | 0.8 | 49% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 25 | Ossett West Yorkshire | B+ | 2.8 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 26 | Sandhurst Berkshire | B+ | 5.1 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Hazel Grove Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.9 | 62% | 4.2 | 3% |
| 28 | Brownhills West Midlands | B | 11 | 80% | 2 | 2% |
| 29 | Swinton Greater Manchester | B | 3.9 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Great Bookham and Fetcham Surrey | B | 1.7 | 68% | 4.4 | 33% |
| 31 | Ripley Derbyshire | B | 2.4 | 91% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Biggleswade Bedfordshire | B | 1.6 | 95% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Westhoughton Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Penwortham Lancashire | B | 2.9 | 91% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Old Trafford Greater Manchester | B | 2.5 | 79% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Hailsham East Sussex | B | 1.4 | 87% | 3.2 | 12% |
| 37 | Dorchester Dorset | B | 1.6 | 78% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 38 | Stourport-on-Severn Worcestershire | B | 3.1 | 79% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Romsey Hampshire | B− | 1.2 | 82% | 4.5 | 2% |
| 40 | Bingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.1 | 80% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 41 | Berkhamsted Hertfordshire | B− | 1 | 69% | 3.6 | 56% |
| 42 | Staines-upon-Thames Surrey | B− | 3.4 | 67% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 43 | Wednesbury West Midlands | B− | 2.7 | 93% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Dereham Norfolk | B− | 1.8 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Failsworth Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.8 | 77% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Ashford Surrey | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 47 | Clevedon Somerset | C+ | 1.1 | 69% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Sunbury-on-Thames Surrey | C+ | 2 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Kenilworth Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 75% | 3 | 0% |
| 50 | Spennymoor County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Normanton West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Horwich Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 67% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Maghull Merseyside | C− | 1.6 | 86% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Skegness Lincolnshire | C− | 0.9 | 58% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Stowmarket Suffolk | C− | 0.8 | 50% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Gainsborough Lincolnshire | C− | 1 | 96% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | March Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.7 | 87% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Goole East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 81% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Stamford Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 64% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Darlaston West Midlands | D | 1.3 | 78% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Workington’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 Workington
The biggest is Vulcan Park, 5.5 ha (14 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Lonsdale Park
Park or garden
7.4 ha (18 acres)
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Moorbank (Recn Gd)
Playing field
1.9 ha (5 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Workington
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
Almost everyone in Workington lives 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 (97%)Further (3%)
Workington97%
Towns its size85%
Cumbria towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 22 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 967 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Solway Coast and Lake District both start about 6 miles from Workington
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 Workington scores 0% on it even though the Solway Coast National Landscape is 4.8 mi away. Lake District National Park covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Workington is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
60 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Workington and the kilometre around it, 2.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
National
King Charles III England Coast Path: Allonby to Whitehaven14.5 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Workington.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A registered historic park in Workington
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Workington’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIWorkington Hall2.7 ha
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 Workington: 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 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 101 | 85 | 81 | 59 | 66 | 73 | 88 | 98 | 98 | 132 | 119 | 120 |
April is the driest month (59 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 132 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 38 nights a year. The climate in Workington →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Workington
46% of the area within 5 km of Workington 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
22 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
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
The Howe52 m (171 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsCopperas Hill0.2 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 22
Plus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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 HarringtonStainburnSeatonDistingtonFlimbyMoresby ParksWorkington
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workington | A− | 3.0 | 97% | 0% |
| High Harrington 1.2 mi | C+ | 0.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Stainburn 1.5 mi | C− | 0.1 | 72% | 0% |
| Seaton 2.2 mi | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 0% |
| Distington 2.5 mi | A− | 4.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Flimby 4.2 mi | A | 1.7 | 100% | 2% |
| Moresby Parks 5.0 mi | B− | 1.2 | 100% | 0% |
Flimby, 4.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Workington
What is the biggest park in Workington?
Vulcan Park, 5.5 ha (14 acres), with 1.7 km of path. Lonsdale Park (7.4 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Workington near a National Park?
Yes. Lake District National Park begins 5.7 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Solway Coast National Landscape, 4.8 mi away.
What are the best walks near Workington?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Allonby to Whitehaven.
How many people in Workington live near a park?
97% 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 Workington?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Workington are historic?
Workington Hall (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Workington good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 36% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 70% (3.0 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 Workington’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Workington’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.