Photo: Martin Dawes · CC BY-SA 2.041% of the land within 5 km of Modbury is National Park or National Landscape
The South Devon National Landscape reaches the edge of Modbury. 39% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 9 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.2 for every square kilometre. Modbury grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Modbury?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Modbury’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Modbury grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Modbury, 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.
Modbury is 47th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,600 to 1,800 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Modbury falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 52 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pease Pottage West Sussex | A+ | 4.1 | 100% | 7.4 | 65% |
| 2 | Manningtree Essex | A+ | 5.6 | 100% | 2.5 | 43% |
| 3 | Guston Kent | A+ | 5.8 | 100% | 2.5 | 25% |
| 4 | Llansanffraid Glan Conwy Clwyd | A+ | 10.8 | 100% | 1.6 | 8% |
| 5 | Penwithick Cornwall | A | 15 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Wroxall Isle of Wight | A | 1.2 | 84% | 4.6 | 33% |
| 7 | Eccles Kent | A | 3.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 30% |
| 8 | Hutton Somerset | A | 1.8 | 100% | 2.2 | 22% |
| 9 | Flimby Cumbria | A | 1.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 2% |
| 10 | Southwell Dorset | A | 0.7 | 100% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Wickwar Gloucestershire | A− | 2 | 100% | 3.5 | 15% |
| 12 | Lynemouth Northumberland | A− | 3.5 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 13 | Hemyock Devon | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.3 | 82% |
| 14 | Seascale Cumbria | A− | 2.1 | 81% | 2.2 | 27% |
| 15 | Clayhanger West Midlands | A− | 17.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Harrold Bedfordshire | A− | 19.1 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Bathampton Somerset | A− | 1 | 85% | 5.5 | 62% |
| 18 | Ripley Surrey | A− | 15 | 64% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 19 | Appledore Devon | B+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 20 | Starcross Devon | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 21 | Aldbourne Wiltshire | B+ | 3.2 | 84% | 1.8 | 100% |
| 22 | Kingsdown Kent | B+ | 1.1 | 67% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 23 | Blewbury Oxfordshire | B | 3.1 | 54% | 2.7 | 79% |
| 24 | Great Kingshill Buckinghamshire | B | 2.7 | 55% | 2.9 | 84% |
| 25 | Silkstone South Yorkshire | B | 1 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Normandy Surrey | B− | 3.2 | 23% | 3.1 | 26% |
| 27 | Streethouse West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Eynsford Kent | B− | 2.1 | 81% | 1.9 | 46% |
| 29 | Shaldon Devon | B− | 1.7 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Woodsetts South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 31 | Allhallows Kent | B− | 3.2 | 76% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Onley Northamptonshire | B− | 2.3 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Trethomas Gwent | B− | 6.9 | 48% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Pilling Lancashire | C+ | 4.2 | 46% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Seahouses and North Sunderland Northumberland | C+ | 1.6 | 17% | 1.7 | 21% |
| 36 | Chipperfield Hertfordshire | C+ | 2.4 | 37% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 37 | Rocester Staffordshire | C+ | 15.2 | 58% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 38 | Templecombe Somerset | C+ | 2 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 39 | Harvington Worcestershire | C+ | 2.6 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 40 | New Arley Warwickshire | C+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Acton Suffolk | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Stonesfield Oxfordshire | C | 1.9 | 60% | 1.8 | 38% |
| 43 | Wylam Northumberland | C− | 1.1 | 74% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Leeming North Yorkshire | C− | 5 | 76% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 45 | High Bentham North Yorkshire | C− | 0.1 | 0% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 46 | Lower Quinton Warwickshire | C− | 2 | 49% | 1.3 | 18% |
| 47 | Modbury Devon | C− | 1.7 | 39% | 1.2 | 41% |
| 48 | Creunant West Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 79% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Whitehill County Durham | C− | 0.3 | 0% | 7.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Upper Arncott Oxfordshire | D | 3.1 | 59% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Holt Wiltshire | D | 1.1 | 45% | 2.1 | 2% |
| 52 | Leverington Cambridgeshire | D | 2.8 | 59% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Dobwalls Cornwall | D | 1.4 | 28% | 1.5 | 15% |
| 54 | Tiddington Warwickshire | D | 0.2 | 79% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 55 | Point Clear Essex | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Soughton Clwyd | D | 0.4 | 67% | 1.3 | 3% |
| 57 | Monk Fryston and Hillam North Yorkshire | D | 2.7 | 40% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Skirlaugh East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1 | 85% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Ulceby Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 72% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Welford-on-Avon Warwickshire | D− | 0.4 | 48% | 1.5 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Modbury’s built-up area.
4 in 10 Modbury 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 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 3 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 562 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Modbury
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.
South Devon
41% of the land within 5 km of Modbury is National Park or National Landscape, more than 88% of UK towns. Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Modbury
9 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Modbury and the kilometre around it, 1.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
The regional route here is the Erme-Plym Trail.
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 Modbury: 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 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 141 | 104 | 87 | 72 | 67 | 74 | 75 | 94 | 88 | 124 | 144 | 144 |
May is the driest month (67 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 144 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 23 nights a year. The climate in Modbury →
Beaches near Modbury
1% of the area within 5 km of Modbury is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 1 beach is mapped within 5 km.
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.
3 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 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 3
Plus 3 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.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modbury | C− | 1.7 | 39% | 41% |
| Ivybridge 3.2 mi | B+ | 1.8 | 86% | 38% |
| Loddiswell 4.2 mi | B+ | 2.1 | 100% | 53% |
| Yealmpton 5.2 mi | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 50% |
| South Brent 5.9 mi | C | 1.5 | 79% | 64% |
| Kingsbridge 6.6 mi | B+ | 1.5 | 91% | 67% |
| Sherford 7.3 mi | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 28% |
Sherford, 7.3 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Modbury
Is Modbury near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 2.5 mi north 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, at the edge of the village.
What are the best walks near Modbury?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Erme-Plym Trail.
How many people in Modbury live near a park?
39% 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 Modbury?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Modbury good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 11% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 36% (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 Modbury’s overall grade.
Where Modbury’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.