Alfreton’s biggest
Alfreton Park
Park or garden
18 ha (43 acres)0.3 km of path
25 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Alfreton · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Alfreton lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Alfreton add up to 4.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 41 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.7 for every square kilometre. Alfreton grades B+ for the outdoors: #20 of 59 in Derbyshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
4.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
41 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Peak District National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Alfreton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Room to roam4.3 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 83% of UK towns.
Alfreton’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Alfreton grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Alfreton, 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 74% of UK towns#20 of 59 in Derbyshire · 17th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space4.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
84out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
51out 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
Alfreton is 17th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,400 to 9,200 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
Alfreton2.7
Towns its size2.9
Derbyshire towns3.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Alfreton4.3
Towns its size2.5
Derbyshire towns2.2
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Alfreton100%
Towns its size85%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Alfreton stands out most for park space per resident: only 9 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Hawkinge Kent | A+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.2 | 74% |
| 3 | Pool and Illogan Cornwall | A+ | 3.7 | 81% | 4 | 5% |
| 4 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 5 | Storrington West Sussex | A | 5.5 | 85% | 3.2 | 54% |
| 6 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 7 | Wallingford Oxfordshire | A | 3.1 | 85% | 3.7 | 61% |
| 8 | Warlingham Surrey | A | 4.2 | 81% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 9 | Penistone South Yorkshire | A | 2.6 | 97% | 3.9 | 9% |
| 10 | Maryport Cumbria | A− | 1.4 | 100% | 2.4 | 5% |
| 11 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 13 | Ryton Tyne and Wear | A− | 5.5 | 85% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Brightlingsea Essex | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 17 | Alfreton Derbyshire | B+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Longridge Lancashire | B+ | 1.9 | 89% | 3 | 32% |
| 19 | Winnersh Berkshire | B+ | 9.6 | 80% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Hadleigh Suffolk | B+ | 2.6 | 87% | 2.7 | 10% |
| 22 | Higham Ferrers Northamptonshire | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 24 | Banstead Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 5.2 | 3% |
| 25 | Cinderford Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 4.7 | 4% |
| 26 | Ashbourne Derbyshire | B | 1.9 | 92% | 2.7 | 14% |
| 27 | Cockermouth Cumbria | B | 2.6 | 81% | 2.2 | 42% |
| 28 | Ampthill Bedfordshire | B | 6.8 | 71% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Clay Cross Derbyshire | B | 2.6 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 30 | South Kirkby West Yorkshire | B | 3 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 32 | Abergele Clwyd | B | 2.9 | 78% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Wendover Buckinghamshire | B | 1 | 58% | 5.6 | 60% |
| 34 | Hornsea East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 90% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Whitnash Warwickshire | B− | 2 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Cullompton Devon | B− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Stansted Mountfitchet Essex | B− | 0.8 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 39 | West End and Chobham Surrey | B− | 3.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 41 | Hoo St Werburgh Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 92% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 43 | Atherstone Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 44 | Brinsworth South Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 76% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Faringdon Oxfordshire | C | 1.3 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 47 | Rothwell Northamptonshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Burscough Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Sherburn in Elmet North Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | East Leake Nottinghamshire | C− | 2.4 | 68% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Adlington Lancashire | C− | 1.3 | 64% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Harworth and Bircotes Nottinghamshire | D | 1.9 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Holbeach Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 91% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Tarleton and Hesketh Bank Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 63% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Coxheath Kent | D | 1.2 | 48% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Alfreton’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 Alfreton
The biggest is Alfreton Park, 18 ha (43 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 4 named parks by size: 20 ha (50 acres)
Parks & gardens 19 haPlaying fields 1.1 ha
The two biggest, Alfreton Park and Alma Watchorn Park, are 91% of the named green space. 3 of the 4 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Alma Watchorn Park
Park or garden
0.8 ha (2 acres)0.3 km of path
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ewart Watchorn Recreation Ground
Playing field
1.1 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Centenary Green
Park or garden
0.7 ha (2 acres)
0.7 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Alfreton’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 (100%)Further (0%)
Alfreton100%
Towns its size85%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 21 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 419 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 7.3 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
Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Alfreton
41 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Alfreton and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Local
Amber Valley Routeway Walk 33.9 km
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 Alfreton: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.5 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 73 | 63 | 55 | 61 | 57 | 73 | 62 | 66 | 64 | 85 | 83 | 84 |
March is the driest month (55 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 85 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Alfreton →
Things to do
21 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Alfreton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach14 mi from Alfreton’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
Picnic sites 3
Plus 3 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 21
Plus 21 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.
Somercotes and SwanwickSouth Normanton and PinxtonSouth WingfieldShirland and StonebroomNewton and BlackwellMortonAlfreton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfreton | B+ | 4.3 | 100% | 0% |
| Somercotes and Swanwick 1.6 mi | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 0% |
| South Normanton and Pinxton 2.2 mi | C+ | 1.7 | 90% | 0% |
| South Wingfield 2.2 mi | B− | 5.4 | 75% | 0% |
| Shirland and Stonebroom 2.3 mi | C | 3.7 | 43% | 0% |
| Newton and Blackwell 2.3 mi | B | 2.6 | 91% | 0% |
| Morton 2.9 mi | C+ | 18.3 | 66% | 0% |
Alfreton grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. Morton has at least twice Alfreton’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Alfreton
What is the biggest park in Alfreton?
Alfreton Park, 18 ha (43 acres). Alma Watchorn Park (0.8 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Alfreton near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 7.3 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Alfreton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Amber Valley Routeway Walk 3.
What is the nearest beach to Alfreton?
The Beach, 14 mi from the edge of the town. Alfreton itself is inland.
How many people in Alfreton live near a park?
100% 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 Alfreton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Alfreton good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 51% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 84% (4.3 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 Alfreton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Alfreton’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.