Clay Cross’ biggest
Kenning Park
Park or garden
9.3 ha (23 acres)1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Clay Cross · parks, paths & countryside
88% of Clay Cross’ residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Peak District National Park begins 4.0 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 63 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.7 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Clay Cross add up to 2.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Clay Cross grades B for the outdoors: #31 of 59 in Derbyshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
88%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
63 km
3.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Peak District starts 4.0 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Clay Cross?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths3.7 km of path per km², more than 76% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Peak District National Park starts 4.0 mi north-west.
Clay Cross’ strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by the Peak District National Park close by.
Outdoors grade
Clay Cross grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Clay Cross, 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 60% of UK towns#31 of 59 in Derbyshire · 30th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
61out of
100
100
A park within a walk88%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
62out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Peak District begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
76out 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
Clay Cross is 30th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,600 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
Clay Cross3.7
Towns its size3.1
Derbyshire towns3.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Clay Cross2.6
Towns its size2.5
Derbyshire towns2.2
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Clay Cross88%
Towns its size85%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Clay Cross stands out most for path per km²: only 19 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 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 3 | Storrington West Sussex | A | 5.5 | 85% | 3.2 | 54% |
| 4 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 5 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 6 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 7 | Warlingham Surrey | A | 4.2 | 81% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 8 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 9 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 10 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 12 | Ryton Tyne and Wear | A− | 5.5 | 85% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 13 | Brightlingsea Essex | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 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 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Clay Cross Derbyshire | B | 2.6 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 32 | South Kirkby West Yorkshire | B | 3 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 33 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 34 | Wendover Buckinghamshire | B | 1 | 58% | 5.6 | 60% |
| 35 | Hornsea East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 90% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Whitnash Warwickshire | B− | 2 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Cullompton Devon | B− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Stansted Mountfitchet Essex | B− | 0.8 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 39 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 40 | West End and Chobham Surrey | B− | 3.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 42 | Hoo St Werburgh Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 92% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 45 | Atherstone Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 46 | Brinsworth South Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 76% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Faringdon Oxfordshire | C | 1.3 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Burscough Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 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 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Harworth and Bircotes Nottinghamshire | D | 1.9 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Holbeach Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 91% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Tarleton and Hesketh Bank Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 63% | 1.7 | 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 Clay Cross’ 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 Clay Cross
The biggest is Kenning Park, 9.3 ha (23 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Garrett Green
Park or garden
0.2 ha (0 acres)
0.4 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Clay Cross’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 (88%)Further (12%)
Clay Cross88%
Towns its size85%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
About 1,100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 23 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 388 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 4.0 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 Clay Cross scores 0% on it even though the Peak District National Park is 4.0 mi away. Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
5 waymarked walks pass through or near Clay Cross
63 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Clay Cross and the kilometre around it, 3.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
LocalOther waymarked
Chesterfield Round Walk7.3 km
South Chesterfield Way6.1 km
North Wingfield Walk2.8 km
Pilsley Walk2.5 km
Astwith Walk1.1 km
Close to home, the Chesterfield Round Walk has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town.
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 Clay Cross: 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 | 9.7 | 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 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 71 | 63 | 60 | 59 | 69 | 74 | 65 | 68 | 70 | 91 | 89 | 89 |
April is the driest month (59 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 91 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Clay Cross →
Things to do
23 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
Clay Cross is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach14 mi from Clay Cross’ edge
DirectionsDoncaster Lakeside Beach26 mi from Clay Cross’ edge
DirectionsBeach at Doncaster Lakeside26 mi from Clay Cross’ edge
DirectionsSea Lions27 mi from Clay Cross’ 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.
Up high. The Fabrick, at 299 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Clay Cross.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
The Fabrick299 m (981 ft) · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 2
North Wingfield Nature Reserve3.6 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsAvenue Washlands6.8 ha · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 23
Sampsonfield Play Area1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
10 Acres Farm0.6 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.
Old TuptonPilsley and Lower PilsleyNorth Wingfield and HolmewoodMortonGrassmoorWingerworthClay Cross
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Cross | B | 2.6 | 88% | 0% |
| Old Tupton 1.4 mi | C+ | 2.3 | 73% | 0% |
| Pilsley and Lower Pilsley 1.8 mi | B− | 1.9 | 91% | 0% |
| North Wingfield and Holmewood 2.0 mi | B | 2.7 | 84% | 0% |
| Morton 2.0 mi | C+ | 18.3 | 66% | 0% |
| Grassmoor 2.5 mi | A− | 6.8 | 85% | 0% |
| Wingerworth 2.5 mi | A | 9.0 | 86% | 0% |
Wingerworth, 2.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Morton, Grassmoor and Wingerworth have at least twice Clay Cross’ green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Clay Cross
What is the biggest park in Clay Cross?
Kenning Park, 9.3 ha (23 acres), with 1.8 km of path. Garrett Green (0.2 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Clay Cross near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 4.0 mi north-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 Clay Cross?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Chesterfield Round Walk, South Chesterfield Way and North Wingfield Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Clay Cross?
The Beach, 14 mi from the edge of the town, then Doncaster Lakeside Beach (26 mi). Clay Cross itself is inland.
How many people in Clay Cross live near a park?
88% 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 Clay Cross?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Clay Cross good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 76% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 61% (2.6 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 Clay Cross’ overall grade.
Sources
Where Clay Cross’ 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.