Barnstaple’s biggest
Yeo Valley Community Woodland
Park or garden
11 ha (28 acres)2.8 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.8 km of path
16 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Barnstaple · parks, paths & countryside
92% of Barnstaple’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The North Devon National Landscape begins 3.7 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Barnstaple add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 83 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.4 for every square kilometre. Barnstaple grades C for the outdoors: #38 of 47 in Devon. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
92%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
83 km
2.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
North Devon starts 3.7 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Barnstaple?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside both waysNorth Devon starts 3.7 mi west, Exmoor 6.1 mi north-east.On a National TrailThe South West Coast Path passes through.Less park per person1.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Barnstaple’s strongest suit is two protected landscapes close by, followed by the South West Coast Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Barnstaple grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Barnstaple, 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 32% of UK towns#38 of 47 in Devon · 49th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
32out of
100
100
A park within a walk92%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
71out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · North Devon begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
42out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 3.5% sea, under the 5% that counts
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
Barnstaple is 49th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 28,400 to 34,100 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
Barnstaple2.4
Towns its size3.2
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Barnstaple1.6
Towns its size2.2
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Barnstaple92%
Towns its size84%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Barnstaple falls furthest behind on path per km², where 47 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Malvern Worcestershire | A+ | 3.9 | 90% | 6 | 38% |
| 2 | Jarrow Tyne and Wear | A+ | 5.3 | 90% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Northfleet Kent | A | 2 | 85% | 7.7 | 4% |
| 4 | Burgess Hill West Sussex | A | 2.4 | 87% | 5 | 27% |
| 5 | Witney Oxfordshire | A | 2.5 | 88% | 4.6 | 19% |
| 6 | Prestwich Greater Manchester | A | 9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 7 | Redhill Surrey | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 4.3 | 14% |
| 8 | Rustington West Sussex | A− | 2.1 | 78% | 2.7 | 25% |
| 9 | Chandler's Ford Hampshire | A− | 2.7 | 80% | 5.3 | 6% |
| 10 | Caversham Berkshire | A− | 2.5 | 77% | 4.3 | 32% |
| 11 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 73% | 3.2 | 18% |
| 12 | Nelson Lancashire | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 5.2 | 15% |
| 13 | St Neots Cambridgeshire | A− | 3.5 | 91% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Cleethorpes Lincolnshire | A− | 3 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Eston North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 93% | 2.8 | 2% |
| 16 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 84% | 2.9 | 2% |
| 17 | Cramlington Northumberland | B+ | 2.3 | 91% | 6.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Deal Kent | B+ | 1 | 86% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 19 | Farnworth Greater Manchester | B+ | 3 | 85% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 20 | Chichester West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3 | 40% |
| 21 | Lichfield Staffordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 82% | 3.1 | 2% |
| 22 | Pontypool Gwent | B+ | 3.6 | 93% | 1.8 | 7% |
| 23 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | B+ | 3.1 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Colwyn Bay Clwyd | B+ | 1.9 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 25 | Windsor Berkshire | B | 5.5 | 83% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Shipley West Yorkshire | B | 2.1 | 87% | 6 | 0% |
| 27 | Consett County Durham | B | 1.7 | 87% | 3.1 | 19% |
| 28 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 29 | Billingham County Durham | B | 4.7 | 86% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 30 | Loughton Essex | B | 2.9 | 74% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Letchworth Hertfordshire | B | 2.2 | 85% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Abingdon-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 33 | Bushey Hertfordshire | B | 3.1 | 77% | 4 | 0% |
| 34 | Caerphilly Gwent | B | 2.6 | 82% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Morecambe Lancashire | B− | 0.8 | 84% | 2.2 | 2% |
| 36 | Radcliffe Greater Manchester | B− | 1.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Stanford-le-Hope Essex | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Whitstable Kent | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Kendal Cumbria | C+ | 0.9 | 67% | 4 | 33% |
| 40 | Billericay Essex | C+ | 4.1 | 70% | 3 | 0% |
| 41 | Winsford Cheshire | C+ | 1.3 | 92% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 43 | New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater Surrey | C+ | 2.2 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Newton Abbot Devon | C+ | 2.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 6% |
| 45 | Morley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 46 | Horndean Hampshire | C+ | 0.9 | 57% | 3.3 | 53% |
| 47 | Newark-on-Trent Nottinghamshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 2 | 0% |
| 48 | Bedworth Warwickshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 49 | Barnstaple Devon | C | 1.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Rayleigh Essex | C | 2 | 71% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.7 | 92% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Sedgley West Midlands | C | 1.5 | 65% | 4 | 0% |
| 53 | Congleton Cheshire | C | 1.7 | 72% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Hertford Hertfordshire | C | 0.9 | 65% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Rushden Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Heywood Greater Manchester | C− | 1.3 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Heswall Merseyside | C− | 1.1 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Port Talbot West Glamorgan | C− | 1.3 | 68% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Spalding Lincolnshire | D | 1.1 | 85% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.5 | 70% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Barnstaple’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 Barnstaple
The biggest is Yeo Valley Community Woodland, 11 ha (28 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 31 ha (77 acres) and 7 km of path
Parks & gardens 14 haPlaying fields 17 haPlay spaces 0.2 ha
The two biggest, Yeo Valley Community Woodland and Rock Park, are 76% of the named green space and carry 6 km of path between them. 4 of the 7 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Rock Park
Playing field
12 ha (30 acres)3.1 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.1 km of path
17 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Barnstaple
2 listedTarka Trail
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Pilton Park
Park or garden
1.8 ha (5 acres)0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi northfrom the centre
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Raleigh Meadow Cricket Ground
Playing field
3.8 ha (9 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Tower View Recreation Ground
Playing field
0.8 ha (2 acres)0.4 km of path
0.9 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Rotary Gardens
Park or garden
0.8 ha (2 acres)0.2 km of path
0.7 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Barnstaple’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 (92%)Further (8%)
Barnstaple92%
Towns its size84%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 3,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 41 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 763 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
North Devon and Exmoor both start about 6 miles from Barnstaple
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 Barnstaple scores 0% on it even though the North Devon National Landscape is 3.7 mi away. Exmoor National Park covers 693 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Barnstaple is on the South West Coast Path
83 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Barnstaple and the kilometre around it, 2.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
Macmillan Way West8.9 km
South West Coast Path (Section 6: Braunton to Instow)8.4 km
Tarka Trail7.8 km
Barnstaple Heritage Trail2.9 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Barnstaple. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Macmillan Way West and 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 Barnstaple: 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) | 8.4 | 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 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 109 | 84 | 73 | 62 | 62 | 74 | 81 | 94 | 81 | 123 | 125 | 127 |
May is the driest month (62 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 127 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 26 nights a year. The climate in Barnstaple →
The coast
Beaches near Barnstaple
4% of the area within 5 km of Barnstaple is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 6 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Basett's Ridge1.5 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
2 viewpoints and 41 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 41
Plus 41 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Tarka Holiday Park0.6 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.
BickingtonLandkeyFremingtonChivenor and WraftonBrauntonAppledoreBarnstaple
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstaple | C | 1.6 | 92% | 0% |
| Bickington 1.8 mi | B | 1.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Landkey 2.5 mi | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Fremington 3.4 mi | B+ | 1.4 | 88% | 10% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton 3.9 mi | C− | 0.6 | 0% | 17% |
| Braunton 5.2 mi | B | 1.6 | 78% | 24% |
| Appledore 6.4 mi | B+ | 1.2 | 100% | 16% |
Appledore, 6.4 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Barnstaple
What is the biggest park in Barnstaple?
Yeo Valley Community Woodland, 11 ha (28 acres), with 2.8 km of path. Rock Park (12 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Barnstaple near a National Park?
Yes. Exmoor National Park begins 6.1 mi north-east of the town’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, 3.7 mi away.
What are the best walks near Barnstaple?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Macmillan Way West, South West Coast Path (Section 6: Braunton to Instow) and Tarka Trail. Yeo Valley Community Woodland alone has 2.8 km of path.
How many people in Barnstaple live near a park?
92% 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 Barnstaple?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Barnstaple good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 42% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 32% (1.6 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 Barnstaple’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Barnstaple’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.