Appledore’s biggest
Anchor Park
Playing field
0.7 ha (2 acres)0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Appledore
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Appledore · parks, paths & countryside
Appledore is on the coast, on the South West Coast Path
The sea makes up 29% of the area within 5 km. The North Devon National Landscape begins 0.1 mi from the village’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Appledore add up to 1.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Appledore grades B+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
14 km
1.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
16%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: North Devon National Landscape
The sea
29%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Appledore?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast29% of the area within 5 km is sea; 13 beaches mapped.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Countryside close byThe North Devon National Landscape starts 0.1 mi north-west.Less park per person1.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Appledore’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Appledore grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Appledore, 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 73% of UK towns20th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space1.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
19out 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 Landscape16%of the land within 5 km
75out of
100
100
Footpaths1.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
19out of
100
100
The sea29%of the area within 5 km
92out 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
Appledore is 20th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,600 to 1,800 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
Appledore1.6
Villages its size2.2
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Appledore1.2
Villages its size1.9
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Appledore100%
Villages its size80%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Appledore stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 42 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pease Pottage West Sussex | A+ | 4.1 | 100% | 7.4 | 65% |
| 2 | Wanborough Wiltshire | A+ | 6 | 100% | 2.7 | 45% |
| 3 | Trimley St Martin Suffolk | A+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.9 | 43% |
| 4 | Penwithick Cornwall | A | 15 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 5 | Wroxall Isle of Wight | A | 1.2 | 84% | 4.6 | 33% |
| 6 | Eccles Kent | A | 3.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 30% |
| 7 | Elstree Hertfordshire | A | 22 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Hutton Somerset | A | 1.8 | 100% | 2.2 | 22% |
| 9 | Flimby Cumbria | A | 1.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 2% |
| 10 | Grain Kent | A | 13 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Southwell Dorset | A | 0.7 | 100% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Upchurch Kent | A | 4 | 76% | 2.3 | 7% |
| 13 | Wickwar Gloucestershire | A− | 2 | 100% | 3.5 | 15% |
| 14 | Lynemouth Northumberland | A− | 3.5 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Seascale Cumbria | A− | 2.1 | 81% | 2.2 | 27% |
| 16 | Clayhanger West Midlands | A− | 17.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 17 | Bathampton Somerset | A− | 1 | 85% | 5.5 | 62% |
| 18 | Ripley Surrey | A− | 15 | 64% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 19 | Harthill South Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Appledore Devon | B+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 21 | Starcross Devon | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 22 | Aldbourne Wiltshire | B+ | 3.2 | 84% | 1.8 | 100% |
| 23 | Kingsdown Kent | B+ | 1.1 | 67% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 24 | Criccieth Gwynedd | B | 2.9 | 75% | 1.3 | 4% |
| 25 | Blewbury Oxfordshire | B | 3.1 | 54% | 2.7 | 79% |
| 26 | Bryn Dyfed | B− | 2.9 | 67% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 27 | Streethouse West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Flockton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 29 | Shaldon Devon | B− | 1.7 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Woodsetts South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 31 | Summit Greater Manchester | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Trethomas Gwent | B− | 6.9 | 48% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Feniton Devon | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 17% |
| 34 | Dunvant West Glamorgan | C+ | 4.3 | 36% | 1.8 | 30% |
| 35 | Langho Lancashire | C+ | 1.6 | 74% | 3 | 7% |
| 36 | Pilling Lancashire | C+ | 4.2 | 46% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 37 | North Leigh Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.3 | 56% | 2.4 | 26% |
| 38 | Harvington Worcestershire | C+ | 2.6 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Minsterley Shropshire | C+ | 1.1 | 77% | 2.4 | 38% |
| 40 | Poyle Berkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 41 | Leeming North Yorkshire | C− | 5 | 76% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 42 | West Thorney West Sussex | C− | 0.4 | 0% | 0.9 | 55% |
| 43 | Embsay North Yorkshire | C− | 0.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 44 | High Bentham North Yorkshire | C− | 0.1 | 0% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 45 | Lower Quinton Warwickshire | C− | 2 | 49% | 1.3 | 18% |
| 46 | Modbury Devon | C− | 1.7 | 39% | 1.2 | 41% |
| 47 | Higher Kinnerton Clwyd | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Sudbrooke Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 82% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Charminster Dorset | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 56% |
| 50 | Holt Wiltshire | D | 1.1 | 45% | 2.1 | 2% |
| 51 | Shrewton Wiltshire | D | 1.4 | 42% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Leverington Cambridgeshire | D | 2.8 | 59% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Houghton on the Hill Leicestershire | D | 1.8 | 60% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Tiddington Warwickshire | D | 0.2 | 79% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 55 | Point Clear Essex | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Soughton Clwyd | D | 0.4 | 67% | 1.3 | 3% |
| 57 | Monk Fryston and Hillam North Yorkshire | D | 2.7 | 40% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Welford-on-Avon Warwickshire | D− | 0.4 | 48% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Swffryd Gwent | D− | 1.4 | 17% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Hambleton North Yorkshire | D− | 0.1 | 52% | 1.1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Appledore’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 Appledore
The biggest is Anchor Park, 0.7 ha (2 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
Everyone in Appledore 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 (100%)Further (0%)
Appledore100%
Villages its size80%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 9 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 190 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The North Devon National Landscape is 0.1 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
National Landscape
North Devon
0.1 mi north-west172 km²since 196016% of the land within 5 km
Official site16% of the land within 5 km of Appledore is National Park or National Landscape, more than 75% of UK towns. Exmoor National Park covers 693 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Appledore is on the South West Coast Path
14 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Appledore and the kilometre around it, 1.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
NationalRegionalOther waymarked
South West Coast Path (Section 7: Instow to Westward Ho! )16.4 km
Tarka Trail5.3 km
Appledore Community Trail2.3 km
South West Coast Path (Section 6: Braunton to Instow)1.1 km
South West Coast Path (Section 5: Woolacombe to Braunton)0.9 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Appledore. The regional route here is the Tarka Trail.
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 Appledore: 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 105 | 84 | 72 | 63 | 62 | 74 | 80 | 90 | 80 | 126 | 124 | 130 |
May is the driest month (62 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 130 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 19 nights a year. The climate in Appledore →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Appledore
29% of the area within 5 km of Appledore is sea. 13 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 6 with a name.
West Appledore0.0 mi from town
DirectionsInstow Beach0.4 mi from town
DirectionsNortham Beach1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPulley Ridge1.1 mi from town
DirectionsSouth Tail2.0 mi from town
DirectionsNorth Tail2.5 mi from town
DirectionsThe South West 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
9 playgrounds
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.
1Viewpoints1Nature reserves3Picnic sites9Playgroundsabout the same as villages its size1Dog parks1Campsites2Slipways
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Burrough Farm0.3 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 9
Plus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Skern0.3 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Marshford Camping & Caravan Site0.1 mi from town
DirectionsSlipways 2
Plus 2 slipways 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.
NorthamWestward Ho!BidefordFremingtonChivenor and WraftonBrauntonAppledore
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appledore | B+ | 1.2 | 100% | 16% |
| Northam 1.1 mi | A− | 6.8 | 43% | 16% |
| Westward Ho! 1.8 mi | A− | 12.3 | 63% | 18% |
| Bideford 2.6 mi | C+ | 0.9 | 83% | 11% |
| Fremington 3.0 mi | B+ | 1.4 | 88% | 10% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton 3.7 mi | C− | 0.6 | 0% | 17% |
| Braunton 4.0 mi | B | 1.6 | 78% | 24% |
Westward Ho!, 1.8 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 63% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Northam and Westward Ho! have at least twice Appledore’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Appledore
What is the biggest park in Appledore?
Anchor Park, 0.7 ha (2 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Appledore near a National Park?
Yes. Exmoor National Park begins 12 mi north-east of the village’s edge. It covers 693 km² and has been a National Park since 1954. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the North Devon National Landscape, 0.1 mi away.
What are the best walks near Appledore?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the South West Coast Path (Section 7: Instow to Westward Ho! ), Tarka Trail and Appledore Community Trail.
How many people in Appledore 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 Appledore?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Appledore good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 19% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 19% (1.2 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 Appledore’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Appledore’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.