North Tawton’s biggest
Taw Meadow
Playing field
3.9 ha (10 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in North Tawton · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in North Tawton lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Dartmoor National Park begins 3.8 mi from the village’s edge. Footpaths add up to 13 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.5 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in North Tawton add up to 2.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. North Tawton grades B− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
13 km
1.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Dartmoor starts 3.8 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is North Tawton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Countryside close byDartmoor National Park starts 3.8 mi south.Few mapped footpaths1.5 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
North Tawton’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by Dartmoor National Park close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
North Tawton grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is North Tawton, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B−
Better than 46% of UK towns33rd of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space2.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
67out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Dartmoor begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
17out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
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.
Villages its size
North Tawton is 33rd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,700 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
North Tawton1.5
Villages its size2.2
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
North Tawton2.9
Villages its size2.2
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
North Tawton100%
Villages its size80%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, North Tawton stands out most for park space per resident: only 23 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 42 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Market Lavington Wiltshire | A+ | 9.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 1% |
| 2 | Llanbadarn Fawr Dyfed | A+ | 14.7 | 82% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 3 | Rogiet Gwent | A+ | 3.9 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 4 | Malvern Wells Worcestershire | A | 10.8 | 37% | 5.3 | 57% |
| 5 | New Denham Buckinghamshire | A | 8.9 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Scalby North Yorkshire | A | 5.9 | 70% | 2 | 43% |
| 7 | New Hartley Northumberland | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 8 | Wembdon Somerset | A− | 7.4 | 88% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 9 | Heslington North Yorkshire | A− | 6.3 | 80% | 9.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Tow Law County Durham | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 1.3 | 21% |
| 11 | Horam East Sussex | B+ | 3.9 | 91% | 1.4 | 46% |
| 12 | Compton Berkshire | B+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 100% |
| 13 | Pendlebury Greater Manchester | B+ | 18.5 | 74% | 4 | 0% |
| 14 | Trimdon Colliery County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Marks Tey Essex | B+ | 5.5 | 92% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Eight Ash Green Essex | B+ | 8.2 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Denby Bottles Derbyshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Rackheath Norfolk | B | 2.6 | 100% | 1 | 14% |
| 19 | Hemingfield South Yorkshire | B | 3.3 | 80% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 20 | North Benfleet Essex | B | 11 | 56% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | Hughenden Valley Buckinghamshire | B− | 2.1 | 32% | 3.4 | 76% |
| 22 | East Bridgford Nottinghamshire | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Llandeilo Dyfed | B− | 1.8 | 88% | 2.3 | 22% |
| 24 | Delabole Cornwall | B− | 1.1 | 76% | 2 | 35% |
| 25 | Holbrook Derbyshire | B− | 4.2 | 55% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 26 | Warton (Lancaster) Lancashire | B− | 0.3 | 32% | 3.5 | 43% |
| 27 | Blaengarw Mid Glamorgan | B− | 5 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Inkberrow Worcestershire | B− | 5.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Winkfield Row Berkshire | B− | 11 | 80% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Much Wenlock Shropshire | B− | 2.4 | 13% | 3.6 | 20% |
| 31 | Warden Kent | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Copford Essex | B− | 4 | 70% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 33 | North Tawton Devon | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Great Chesterford Essex | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Cheddington Buckinghamshire | C+ | 2.2 | 35% | 3.1 | 16% |
| 36 | Kedington Suffolk | C+ | 3.3 | 83% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Duckmanton Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Great Broughton and Little Broughton Cumbria | C | 1.2 | 85% | 2.3 | 1% |
| 39 | Doveridge Derbyshire | C | 1.7 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Bodelwyddan Clwyd | C | 1.9 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Shireoaks Nottinghamshire | C | 1.5 | 78% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Penygroes Gwynedd | C− | 0.7 | 66% | 0.6 | 26% |
| 43 | Drakes Broughton Worcestershire | C− | 1 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Deddington Oxfordshire | C− | 3.6 | 53% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Shilbottle Northumberland | C− | 1.8 | 49% | 1.9 | 7% |
| 46 | Middle Barton Oxfordshire | C− | 1.9 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Elmstead Market Essex | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Pattingham Staffordshire | C− | 2 | 80% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Hatfield Heath Essex | D | 1.3 | 76% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Frizington Cumbria | D | 1.4 | 52% | 0.9 | 15% |
| 51 | Aiskew North Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Richings Park Buckinghamshire | D | 1 | 72% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Thorp Arch West Yorkshire | D | 2.6 | 29% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Johnston Dyfed | D | 1.4 | 55% | 0.6 | 5% |
| 55 | Stainton North Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 0% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 56 | St Clears Dyfed | D− | 2 | 31% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Bramham West Yorkshire | D− | 1.4 | 47% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Pentre Maelor Clwyd | D− | 1.4 | 8% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Tockwith North Yorkshire | D− | 0.4 | 14% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Wainfleet All Saints Lincolnshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 0.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is North Tawton’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 North Tawton
The biggest is Taw Meadow, 3.9 ha (10 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
North Tawton War Memorial Park
Playing field
1.2 ha (3 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of North Tawton
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close North Tawton’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 (100%)Further (0%)
North Tawton100%
Villages its size80%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Dartmoor National Park is 3.8 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so North Tawton scores 0% on it even though Dartmoor National Park is 3.8 mi away. Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near North Tawton
13 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in North Tawton and the kilometre around it, 1.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Regional
Devonshire Heartland Way7.0 km
Tarka Trail6.1 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the Devonshire Heartland Way 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 North Tawton: 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) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 112 | 93 | 74 | 62 | 64 | 69 | 69 | 79 | 76 | 114 | 113 | 126 |
April is the driest month (62 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 126 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 28 nights a year. The climate in North Tawton →
Things to do
2 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
North Tawton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Instow Beach21 mi from North Tawton’s edge
DirectionsWest Appledore22 mi from North Tawton’s edge
DirectionsBasett's Ridge22 mi from North Tawton’s edge
DirectionsNortham Beach22 mi from North Tawton’s edge
DirectionsPulley Ridge23 mi from North Tawton’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Ashridge, at 200 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of North Tawton.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Ashridge200 m (656 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds 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.
BowWinkleighOkehamptonCopplestoneMorchard BishopChulmleighNorth Tawton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Tawton | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 0% |
| Bow 3.5 mi | C | 1.9 | 100% | 0% |
| Winkleigh 4.5 mi | C | 1.9 | 100% | 0% |
| Okehampton 5.9 mi | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 37% |
| Copplestone 6.6 mi | D | 1.1 | 88% | 0% |
| Morchard Bishop 7.5 mi | B | 2.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Chulmleigh 8.1 mi | C+ | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
Morchard Bishop, 7.5 miles away, grades B, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in North Tawton
What is the biggest park in North Tawton?
Taw Meadow, 3.9 ha (10 acres). North Tawton War Memorial Park (1.2 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is North Tawton near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 3.8 mi south of the village’s edge. It covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near North Tawton?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Devonshire Heartland Way and Tarka Trail.
What is the nearest beach to North Tawton?
Instow Beach, 21 mi from the edge of the village, then West Appledore (22 mi). North Tawton itself is inland.
How many people in North Tawton live near a park?
100% 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 North Tawton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is North Tawton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 17% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 67% (2.9 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 North Tawton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where North Tawton’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.