Lympstone’s biggest
Candy's Recreation Ground
Playing field
1.8 ha (4 acres)0.4 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Lympstone
Candy's Path
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ray Girvan · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Lympstone · parks, paths & countryside
Lympstone is on the coast
The sea makes up 19% of the area within 5 km. The East Devon National Landscape begins 1.3 mi from the village’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Lympstone add up to 1.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Lympstone grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.0 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
66%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
12 km
1.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
16%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: East Devon National Landscape
The sea
19%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Lympstone?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast19% of the area within 5 km is sea; 11 beaches mapped.Countryside close byThe East Devon National Landscape starts 1.3 mi east.Less park per person1.0 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Lympstone’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the East Devon National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Lympstone grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Lympstone, 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 towns41st of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space1.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
12out of
100
100
A park within a walk66%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
26out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape16%of the land within 5 km
75out of
100
100
Footpaths1.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
13out of
100
100
The sea19%of the area within 5 km
89out 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
Lympstone is 41st 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.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
Lympstone1.3
Villages its size2.3
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Lympstone1.0
Villages its size2.0
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Lympstone66%
Villages its size75%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Lympstone falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 52 of the 59 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% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Lympstone’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 Lympstone
The biggest is Candy's Recreation Ground, 1.8 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Lympstone 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 (66%)Further (34%)
Lympstone66%
Villages its size75%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 15 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 123 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The East Devon National Landscape is 1.3 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
16% of the land within 5 km of Lympstone is National Park or National Landscape, more than 74% of UK towns. Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
5 waymarked walks pass through or near Lympstone
12 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Lympstone and the kilometre around it, 1.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
RegionalOther waymarked
East Devon Way7.0 km
Exe Valley Way3.3 km
Two Counties Way1.6 km
Kenton Starcross Circular1.2 km
Exminster to Kenton1.1 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the East Devon Way, Exe Valley Way and Two Counties 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 Lympstone: 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 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 89 | 70 | 72 | 58 | 57 | 52 | 44 | 64 | 67 | 98 | 93 | 104 |
July is the driest month (44 mm) and the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 104 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 24 nights a year. The climate in Lympstone →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Lympstone
19% of the area within 5 km of Lympstone is sea. 11 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 2 with a name.
Pirate Cove1.6 mi from town
DirectionsExmouth Beach1.7 mi from town
DirectionsSea: 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
5 viewpoints and 15 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.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 15
Plus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
ExtonExmouthWoodburyStarcrossTopshamExminsterLympstone
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Woodbury, 2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Exton, Woodbury and Exminster have at least twice Lympstone’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Lympstone
What is the biggest park in Lympstone?
Candy's Recreation Ground, 1.8 ha (4 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Lympstone near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 8.9 mi west of the village’s edge. It covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the East Devon National Landscape, 1.3 mi away.
What are the best walks near Lympstone?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the East Devon Way, Exe Valley Way and Two Counties Way.
How many people in Lympstone live near a park?
66% 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 Lympstone?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Lympstone good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 13% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 12% (1.0 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 Lympstone’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Lympstone’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.