Outdoors in Long Eaton · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Long Eaton
123 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.6 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 74% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Long Eaton add up to 1.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Long Eaton grades C for the outdoors: #47 of 59 in Derbyshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Long Eaton, 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 34% of UK towns#47 of 59 in Derbyshire
Public green space1.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
39out of 100
A park within a walk74%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
37out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
74out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of 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
How Long Eaton compares with UK towns of 33,800 to 42,200
The 60 UK towns and cities of 33,800 to 42,200 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
Long Eaton3.6
Towns its size3.8
Derbyshire towns3.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Long Eaton1.8
Towns its size2.6
Derbyshire towns2.2
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Long Eaton74%
Towns its size84%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
Long Eaton falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 46 of the 59 others do better.
The biggest is Toton Fields Open Space, 23 ha (57 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 9 named parks by size: 68 ha (168 acres) and 13 km of path
Parks & gardens 44 haPlaying fields 24 ha
The two biggest, Toton Fields Open Space and Trent Meadows, are 61% of the named green space and carry 10 km of path between them. 4 of the 9 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
7 in 10 Long Eaton 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 (74%)Further (26%)
Long Eaton74%
Towns its size84%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
About 10,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 43 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 879 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 18 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
12 waymarked walks pass through or near Long Eaton
123 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Long Eaton and the kilometre around it, 3.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocalOther waymarked
Erewash Valley Trail15.4 km
Midshires Way14.4 km
Trent Valley Way11.6 km
Derby Nomad Way11.5 km
Skylark Route3.6 km
Erewash Circular Walk 202.3 km
Tufted Duck Route2.2 km
Derwent Valley Heritage Way1.9 km
Kingfisher Trail1.1 km
Erewash Circular Route 41.0 km
Broxtowe Country Trail0.8 km
Erewash Circular Walk 20.5 km
Close to home, the Erewash Valley Trail has 15 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 4 regional routes pass through, including the Midshires Way, Trent Valley Way, Derby Nomad Way and Derwent Valley Heritage 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 Long Eaton: 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
16.4
14.7
12.6
10.5
8.6
7.6
High (°C)
8
8
11
14
17
20
22
22
19
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
51
44
43
45
46
60
62
61
53
65
61
62
March is the driest month (43 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 65 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Long Eaton →
Things to do
43 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.
Stapleford, 2.8 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 95% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Trowell has at least twice Long Eaton’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Long Eaton
What is the biggest park in Long Eaton?
Toton Fields Open Space, 23 ha (57 acres), with 8.1 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Trent Meadows (18 ha) is second. 9 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Long Eaton near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 18 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 Long Eaton?
12 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Erewash Valley Trail, Midshires Way and Trent Valley Way. Toton Fields Open Space alone has 8.1 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Long Eaton?
The Beach, 20 mi from the edge of the town, then library (24 mi). Long Eaton itself is inland.
How many people in Long Eaton live near a park?
74% 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 Long Eaton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Long Eaton good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 74% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 39% (1.8 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 Long Eaton’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: David Hallam-Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0