Ashburton’s biggest
Ashburton Cricket Club
Playing field
1.2 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ruth Sharville · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Ashburton · parks, paths & countryside
Ashburton is inside Dartmoor National Park
14 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.0 for every square kilometre. 74% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Ashburton grades C for the outdoors: #39 of 47 in Devon. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
74%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
14 km
1.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
60%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Dartmoor National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Ashburton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside Dartmoor National ParkAshburton sits inside it: 956 km² of protected landscape.Few mapped footpaths1.0 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Ashburton’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Ashburton grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ashburton, 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 30% of UK towns#39 of 47 in Devon · 37th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
33out of
100
100
A park within a walk74%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
37out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape60%of the land within 5 km
95out of
100
100
Footpaths1.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
8out 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
Ashburton is 37th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 3,200 to 3,500 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
Ashburton1.0
Towns its size2.5
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ashburton1.7
Towns its size1.9
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ashburton74%
Towns its size80%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Ashburton falls furthest behind on path per km², where 54 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minchinhampton Gloucestershire | A+ | 5.6 | 91% | 5.3 | 90% |
| 2 | Lane End Buckinghamshire | A+ | 3.1 | 92% | 4.7 | 90% |
| 3 | Silsoe Bedfordshire | A+ | 6.6 | 100% | 3.8 | 2% |
| 4 | Goring Oxfordshire | A+ | 3 | 100% | 3.2 | 98% |
| 5 | Bakewell Derbyshire | A | 5.5 | 91% | 2.7 | 98% |
| 6 | Talke and Talke Pits Staffordshire | A | 16.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 7 | Broadwell and Coalway Gloucestershire | A | 2.8 | 72% | 5.5 | 38% |
| 8 | Elsenham Essex | A− | 3 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Westward Ho! Devon | A− | 12.3 | 63% | 1.7 | 18% |
| 10 | Birdwell South Yorkshire | A− | 3.6 | 90% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 11 | Essington Staffordshire | B+ | 6.8 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Newlyn Cornwall | B+ | 1.5 | 67% | 3.2 | 24% |
| 13 | Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd | B+ | 3.6 | 70% | 2.5 | 78% |
| 14 | Mickletown West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 93% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 15 | Hartley Wintney Hampshire | B+ | 6.1 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Elton Cheshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Madeley Staffordshire | B | 3.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 18 | Whalley Lancashire | B | 1.2 | 88% | 3.5 | 23% |
| 19 | Treeton South Yorkshire | B | 4.4 | 63% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 20 | Fishbourne West Sussex | B | 1.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 21 | Westerham Kent | B | 1.9 | 61% | 3.5 | 66% |
| 22 | Fernhill Heath Worcestershire | B | 3.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Caddington Bedfordshire | B | 1.3 | 81% | 3.6 | 33% |
| 24 | Hemingford Grey Cambridgeshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Sunniside Tyne and Wear | B | 2.1 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 26 | Istead Rise Kent | B− | 1.9 | 82% | 2.7 | 15% |
| 27 | Pangbourne Berkshire | B− | 2.9 | 61% | 2 | 85% |
| 28 | Ruabon Clwyd | B− | 3.8 | 69% | 1.9 | 20% |
| 29 | Castle Cary Somerset | B− | 2.2 | 91% | 3 | 0% |
| 30 | Stalham Norfolk | B− | 1.9 | 85% | 2 | 23% |
| 31 | Pilsley and Lower Pilsley Derbyshire | B− | 1.9 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Fishguard Dyfed | C+ | 0.8 | 64% | 2.1 | 23% |
| 33 | Highley Shropshire | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Pegswood Northumberland | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Leadgate County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 36 | Marlow Bottom Buckinghamshire | C | 0.5 | 40% | 3.4 | 50% |
| 37 | Ashburton Devon | C | 1.7 | 74% | 1 | 60% |
| 38 | Somersham Cambridgeshire | C | 2.7 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Earls Colne Essex | C | 1.4 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Bedale North Yorkshire | C | 3.6 | 78% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Alvechurch Worcestershire | C | 2.2 | 84% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Adderbury and Twyford Oxfordshire | C | 1.7 | 89% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Laceby Lincolnshire | C | 1.6 | 64% | 2.1 | 18% |
| 44 | Eastchurch Kent | C | 1.9 | 72% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Nettleham Lincolnshire | C | 4.2 | 74% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Holsworthy Devon | C− | 2.7 | 84% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Bishopthorpe North Yorkshire | C− | 3.2 | 51% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Lytchett Matravers Dorset | C− | 1.2 | 83% | 1.2 | 5% |
| 49 | Talbot Green Mid Glamorgan | D | 0.7 | 66% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Wadhurst East Sussex | D | 0.9 | 19% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 51 | Chapel St Leonards Lincolnshire | D | 0.4 | 53% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 52 | Messingham Lincolnshire | D | 3.4 | 46% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Eglwys-Brewis South Glamorgan | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Iver Buckinghamshire | D | 1.3 | 60% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Cherry Willingham Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 79% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Spixworth Norfolk | D | 0.6 | 59% | 1.2 | 5% |
| 57 | Heckington Lincolnshire | D | 1.4 | 68% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 58 | New Tredegar Gwent | D− | 1.4 | 68% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Headcorn Kent | D− | 1.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Bawtry South Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 49% | 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 Ashburton’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 Ashburton
The biggest is Ashburton Cricket Club, 1.2 ha (3 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Ashburton 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%)
Ashburton74%
Towns its size80%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 12 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 281 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Ashburton
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 Park
Dartmoor
Ashburton is inside it956 km²since 195160% of the land within 5 km
Official site60% of the land within 5 km of Ashburton is National Park or National Landscape, more than 94% of UK towns. Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Ashburton
14 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ashburton and the kilometre around it, 1.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Dartmoor Way10.4 km
The regional route here is the Dartmoor 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 Ashburton: 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 163 | 153 | 123 | 102 | 91 | 88 | 80 | 100 | 111 | 188 | 184 | 218 |
July is the driest month (80 mm) and the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 218 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 26 nights a year. The climate in Ashburton →
Things to do
12 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
Ashburton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Hollicombe Beach9.6 mi from Ashburton’s edge
DirectionsLivermead Beach9.7 mi from Ashburton’s edge
DirectionsCorbyn Beach9.7 mi from Ashburton’s edge
DirectionsPreston Sands9.7 mi from Ashburton’s edge
DirectionsInstitute Beach9.8 mi from Ashburton’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
Hills and peaks 1
Hawkes Ball0.8 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 1
Peartree Nature Areain town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 12
Adventure Playground0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
Summerhill Farm0.2 mi from town
DirectionsLower Riverside Campsite0.9 mi from town
DirectionsWalled Garden Campsite0.9 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.
BuckfastleighDenburyColdeastIpplepenHeathfieldBovey TraceyAshburton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburton | C | 1.7 | 74% | 60% |
| Buckfastleigh 3.0 mi | B+ | 2.9 | 89% | 53% |
| Denbury 4.0 mi | C− | 2.8 | 24% | 3% |
| Coldeast 4.6 mi | C+ | 1.6 | 47% | 30% |
| Ipplepen 5.4 mi | D− | 0.8 | 42% | 0% |
| Heathfield 5.5 mi | A+ | 20.4 | 100% | 30% |
| Bovey Tracey 5.9 mi | B− | 2.2 | 66% | 55% |
Heathfield, 5.5 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Heathfield has at least twice Ashburton’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Ashburton
What is the biggest park in Ashburton?
Ashburton Cricket Club, 1.2 ha (3 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Ashburton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Dartmoor Way.
What is the nearest beach to Ashburton?
Hollicombe Beach, 9.6 mi from the edge of the town, then Livermead Beach (9.7 mi). Ashburton itself is inland.
How many people in Ashburton 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 Ashburton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Ashburton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 8% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 33% (1.7 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 Ashburton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Ashburton’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.