Photo: Eugene Birchall · CC BY-SA 2.0Dunkeswell is inside the Blackdown Hills National Landscape
Footpaths add up to 10 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 0.7 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Dunkeswell add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Dunkeswell grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Dunkeswell?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Dunkeswell’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Dunkeswell grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Dunkeswell, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Dunkeswell is 40th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,800 to 1,900 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Dunkeswell stands out most for homes near a park: only 24 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 57 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llanberis Gwynedd | A+ | 33.7 | 100% | 3.9 | 49% |
| 2 | St Just Cornwall | A+ | 1.8 | 100% | 4.2 | 50% |
| 3 | Southwick Wiltshire | A+ | 22.2 | 100% | 5.2 | 1% |
| 4 | Market Lavington Wiltshire | A+ | 9.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 1% |
| 5 | Mistley Essex | A | 4.3 | 86% | 1.9 | 41% |
| 6 | Colwall Stone Herefordshire | A | 4.5 | 67% | 5.5 | 64% |
| 7 | Wembury Devon | A− | 2.4 | 53% | 2.7 | 41% |
| 8 | Flamborough East Riding of Yorkshire | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Painswick Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.3 | 81% | 4.3 | 83% |
| 10 | Waddesdon Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 11 | Tongwynlais South Glamorgan | B+ | 8.6 | 65% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Marks Tey Essex | B+ | 5.5 | 92% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 13 | Findon West Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 74% | 3.7 | 70% |
| 14 | Bishop's Castle Shropshire | B+ | 2 | 100% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 15 | Weston Turville Buckinghamshire | B | 2.9 | 64% | 3.1 | 30% |
| 16 | Fernhurst West Sussex | B | 3.1 | 37% | 3 | 92% |
| 17 | Hathersage Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 58% | 4.5 | 100% |
| 18 | Westham East Sussex | B | 3.8 | 18% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Ironville Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 20 | Northop Hall Clwyd | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Rhayader Powys | B | 5.5 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 22 | Hemingfield South Yorkshire | B | 3.3 | 80% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Hughenden Valley Buckinghamshire | B− | 2.1 | 32% | 3.4 | 76% |
| 24 | Chilcompton Somerset | B− | 6.5 | 40% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 25 | Yelverton Devon | B− | 3.6 | 72% | 1.1 | 85% |
| 26 | Meldreth Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.7 | 82% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 27 | Inkberrow Worcestershire | B− | 5.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 28 | Ingrave and Herongate Essex | B− | 5 | 51% | 4 | 0% |
| 29 | Newcastle Emlyn Dyfed | B− | 5.9 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Warden Kent | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 31 | High Halstow Kent | B− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Barnburgh and Harlington South Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Great Yeldham Essex | C+ | 3.1 | 86% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Houghton Conquest Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Lowdham Nottinghamshire | C+ | 3.7 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Pontlottyn Gwent | C+ | 1.8 | 70% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Withnoe Cornwall | C+ | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 3% |
| 38 | Ryton-on-Dunsmore Warwickshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Walkington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 2.3 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 40 | Dunkeswell Devon | C | 1.4 | 83% | 0.7 | 87% |
| 41 | Lympstone Devon | C | 1 | 66% | 1.3 | 16% |
| 42 | Scotby Cumbria | C− | 3 | 75% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 43 | Drakes Broughton Worcestershire | C− | 1 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Toft Hill and High Etherley County Durham | C− | 2.5 | 83% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Woolpit Suffolk | C− | 4.3 | 54% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Branton South Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 71% | 3 | 0% |
| 47 | Bradninch Devon | D | 2.3 | 73% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Thornton-le-Dale North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 58% | 1.1 | 29% |
| 49 | Rickinghall and Botesdale Suffolk | D | 1.7 | 61% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Harston Cambridgeshire | D | 1.6 | 45% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Stainton North Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 0% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Barnetby le Wold Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 59% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Wragby Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Hampton in Arden West Midlands | D− | 0.1 | 44% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Mickle Trafford Cheshire | D− | 0.5 | 70% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Audlem Cheshire | D− | 0.6 | 50% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Great Barton Suffolk | D− | 1.6 | 19% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Pentre Maelor Clwyd | D− | 1.4 | 8% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Bardsey West Yorkshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Burstwick East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Dunkeswell’s built-up area.
8 in 10 Dunkeswell 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).
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 4 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 459 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Dunkeswell
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.
Blackdown Hills
87% of the land within 5 km of Dunkeswell is National Park or National Landscape, more than 97% of UK towns. Exmoor National Park covers 693 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Dunkeswell
10 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Dunkeswell and the kilometre around it, 0.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Dunkeswell: 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 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 111 | 83 | 78 | 75 | 64 | 76 | 72 | 87 | 78 | 116 | 124 | 116 |
May is the driest month (64 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 124 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 34 nights a year. The climate in Dunkeswell →
4 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Dunkeswell is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 4
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Hemyock, 4.1 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Hemyock, Uffculme and Cullompton have at least twice Dunkeswell’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Dunkeswell
Is Dunkeswell near a National Park?
Yes. Exmoor National Park begins 15 mi north-west 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 Blackdown Hills National Landscape, at the edge of the village.
What are the best walks near Dunkeswell?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Broadhembury Circular Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Dunkeswell?
Branscombe Beach, 12 mi from the edge of the village, then Jacobs Ladder Beach (12 mi). Dunkeswell itself is inland.
How many people in Dunkeswell live near a park?
83% 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 Dunkeswell?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Dunkeswell good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 0.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 3% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 25% (1.4 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 Dunkeswell’s overall grade.
Where Dunkeswell’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.