Marldon’s biggest
Preston Park
Park or garden · 210 m outside town
36 ha (88 acres)7.7 km of path
1 h 45 minto walk all 7.7 km of path
50 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Marldon
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Totnesmartin · Public domainA−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Marldon · parks, paths & countryside
Marldon has more park space per resident than 8 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Marldon add up to 4.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The South Devon National Landscape begins 2.4 mi from the village’s edge. The sea makes up 10% of the area within 5 km. Marldon grades A− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
4.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
70%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
25 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
3%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: South Devon National Landscape
The sea
10%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Marldon?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam4.1 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 82% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe South Devon National Landscape starts 2.4 mi south-west.Parks can be a walk away31% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Marldon’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the South Devon National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Marldon grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Marldon, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A−
Better than 83% of UK towns8th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space4.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
82out of
100
100
A park within a walk70%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
30out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape3%of the land within 5 km
66out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
52out of
100
100
The sea10%of the area within 5 km
86out 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
Marldon is 8th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,000 to 2,200 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
Marldon2.7
Villages its size2.6
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Marldon4.1
Villages its size2.0
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Marldon70%
Villages its size69%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Marldon stands out most for park space per resident: only 9 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hay-on-Wye Powys | A+ | 9.3 | 100% | 3.8 | 21% |
| 2 | Wye Kent | A+ | 4.7 | 100% | 3.1 | 71% |
| 3 | Crickhowell Powys | A+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 4 | Seaview and Nettlestone Isle of Wight | A+ | 3.6 | 89% | 2.8 | 8% |
| 5 | Chigwell Row Essex | A | 30.3 | 100% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 6 | Chiseldon Wiltshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 3.4 | 69% |
| 7 | Highfields Caldecote Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 8 | Marldon Devon | A− | 4.1 | 70% | 2.7 | 3% |
| 9 | Bishops Lydeard Somerset | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 23% |
| 10 | Culverstone Green Kent | B+ | 5.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 42% |
| 11 | Brompton North Yorkshire | B+ | 4.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Bermuda Warwickshire | B | 4.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 13 | Alveston Gloucestershire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 14 | Bickington Devon | B | 1.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 15 | Meppershall Bedfordshire | B | 2.3 | 83% | 3 | 2% |
| 16 | Needingworth Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.6 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Dyserth Clwyd | B− | 0.5 | 54% | 3.6 | 22% |
| 18 | Bishop's Tachbrook Warwickshire | B− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 19 | Felbridge Surrey | B− | 2 | 80% | 2.4 | 25% |
| 20 | Uffculme Devon | B− | 2.8 | 86% | 1.3 | 14% |
| 21 | Edenfield Lancashire | B− | 2.7 | 69% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Wardle Greater Manchester | B− | 1 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Exning Suffolk | B− | 3.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Westoning Bedfordshire | B− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 25 | Aspley Guise Bedfordshire | B− | 2.2 | 69% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 26 | Ightham Kent | C+ | 2 | 30% | 3 | 56% |
| 27 | Brantham Suffolk | C+ | 1 | 27% | 2.6 | 42% |
| 28 | Kintbury Berkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 71% | 1.8 | 92% |
| 29 | Gregson Lane Lancashire | C+ | 1.7 | 86% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Pembrey Dyfed | C+ | 0.3 | 48% | 2.6 | 11% |
| 31 | Read Lancashire | C+ | 1.6 | 71% | 2.5 | 21% |
| 32 | Hixon Staffordshire | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 1.3 | 11% |
| 33 | Market Bosworth Leicestershire | C | 10.9 | 25% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Galgate Lancashire | C | 1.1 | 58% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 35 | Bredon Worcestershire | C | 2.1 | 66% | 1.6 | 25% |
| 36 | Benllech Gwynedd | C | 0.1 | 17% | 1.8 | 27% |
| 37 | Maesycwmmer Gwent | C− | 1.9 | 73% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Barrowby Lincolnshire | C− | 3.5 | 66% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Keyingham East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Micklefield West Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 48% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Carlton North Yorkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Crich Derbyshire | C− | 0.6 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 43 | Sutton Bonington Nottinghamshire | C− | 2.7 | 28% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Urpeth County Durham | C− | 1.3 | 0% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Radley Oxfordshire | C− | 2.1 | 36% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Winwick Cheshire | C− | 3.2 | 48% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Ilchester Somerset | C− | 3.5 | 40% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Scholar Green Cheshire | C− | 0.7 | 65% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Bardney Lincolnshire | D | 4.1 | 49% | 1 | 0% |
| 50 | Stone Buckinghamshire | D | 2.2 | 57% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Stretham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 60% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Merriott Somerset | D | 1.1 | 39% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Meden Vale Nottinghamshire | D | 0.3 | 58% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Haxey Lincolnshire | D | 1.6 | 46% | 2 | 0% |
| 55 | Great Eccleston Lancashire | D | 1.2 | 72% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 56 | West Hill Devon | D | 0 | 0% | 1.2 | 27% |
| 57 | Wymott Lancashire | D− | 0.3 | 10% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Keelby Lincolnshire | D− | 1 | 71% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Westwoodside Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 33% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Wythall Worcestershire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Marldon’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 Marldon
The biggest is Preston Park, 36 ha (88 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Marldon 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 (70%)Further (31%)
Marldon70%
Villages its size69%
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; 11 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 188 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The South Devon National Landscape is 2.4 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
South Devon
2.4 mi south-west340 km²since 19603% of the land within 5 km
Official site3% of the land within 5 km of Marldon is National Park or National Landscape, more than 65% of UK towns. Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Marldon
25 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Marldon and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
RegionalLocal
John Musgrave Heritage Trail8.8 km
Torbay Totnes Trail (3T)7.0 km
Orange Way3.9 km
Close to home, the Torbay Totnes Trail (3T) has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. 2 regional routes pass through, including the John Musgrave Heritage Trail and Orange 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 Marldon: 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 137 | 101 | 84 | 72 | 62 | 68 | 60 | 77 | 71 | 126 | 130 | 137 |
July is the driest month (60 mm) and the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 137 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 19 nights a year. The climate in Marldon →
The coast
Marldon is near the sea
10% of the area within 5 km of Marldon is sea. 21 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 11 with a name.
Preston Sands1.6 mi from town
DirectionsPaignton Beach1.6 mi from town
DirectionsHollicombe Beach1.6 mi from town
DirectionsInstitute Beach2.0 mi from town
DirectionsLivermead Beach2.0 mi from town
DirectionsFairy Cove2.0 mi from town
DirectionsGoodrington Sands (North)2.1 mi from town
DirectionsCorbyn Beach2.2 mi from town
DirectionsTorre Abbey Sands2.4 mi from town
DirectionsBeacon Cove2.9 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
2 viewpoints and 11 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
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 4
Windmill Hill0.1 mi from town
DirectionsBeacon Hill196 m (643 ft) · 0.3 mi from town
DirectionsBrownscombe Hill1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 11
Wild Fox Adventure Playground0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Widdecombe Farm Touring Park0.4 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.
PaigntonIpplepenKingskerswellTorquayAbbotskerswellStoke GabrielMarldon
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marldon | A− | 4.1 | 70% | 3% |
| Paignton 1.4 mi | A | 1.8 | 84% | 20% |
| Ipplepen 2.9 mi | D− | 0.8 | 42% | 0% |
| Kingskerswell 3.2 mi | C+ | 3.5 | 76% | 0% |
| Torquay 3.3 mi | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 0% |
| Abbotskerswell 3.6 mi | C− | 4.2 | 49% | 0% |
| Stoke Gabriel 3.7 mi | C+ | 1.2 | 70% | 30% |
Paignton, 1.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 84% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Marldon
What is the biggest park in Marldon?
Preston Park, 36 ha (88 acres), with 7.7 km of path, just outside the built-up area. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Marldon near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 7.0 mi north-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 South Devon National Landscape, 2.4 mi away.
What are the best walks near Marldon?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the John Musgrave Heritage Trail, Torbay Totnes Trail (3T) and Orange Way. Preston Park alone has 7.7 km of path.
How many people in Marldon live near a park?
70% 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 Marldon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Marldon good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 52% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 82% (4.1 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 Marldon’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Marldon’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.