Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.034% of the land within 5 km of Ottery St Mary is National Park or National Landscape
The East Devon National Landscape begins 0.8 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Ottery St Mary add up to 1.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 23 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.7 for every square kilometre. Ottery St Mary grades C− for the outdoors: #42 of 47 in Devon. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors town is Ottery St Mary?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Ottery St Mary’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Ottery St Mary grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ottery St Mary, 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.
Ottery St Mary is 44th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,800 to 6,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Ottery St Mary falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 50 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackfield and Langley Hampshire | A+ | 28.1 | 95% | 4.2 | 48% |
| 2 | Saltburn-by-the-Sea North Yorkshire | A | 4.7 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 3 | Bagshot Surrey | A | 10.5 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 4 | Barrowford Lancashire | A | 4.2 | 82% | 5 | 22% |
| 5 | Wareham Dorset | A | 1.9 | 83% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 6 | Leiston Suffolk | A | 1.7 | 95% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 7 | Amble Northumberland | A | 2 | 100% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 8 | West Hallam Derbyshire | A | 4.8 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Boldon Colliery Tyne and Wear | A | 5.3 | 95% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 10 | Menston West Yorkshire | A | 2.4 | 90% | 4.1 | 18% |
| 11 | Shepperton Surrey | A | 8.7 | 89% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 12 | Carnforth Lancashire | A− | 1.2 | 89% | 3 | 39% |
| 13 | Barnton Cheshire | A− | 10 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 14 | Botley Hampshire | A− | 14.6 | 70% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 15 | East Horsley Surrey | A− | 3.5 | 55% | 4.5 | 33% |
| 16 | Burghfield Common Berkshire | A− | 2.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 8% |
| 17 | Dodworth South Yorkshire | A− | 2.3 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 18 | Moor Park Hertfordshire | B+ | 4.5 | 46% | 4.5 | 1% |
| 19 | Thrybergh and Dalton South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 4 | 0% |
| 20 | Crofton West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Axminster Devon | B | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 66% |
| 22 | Throckley Tyne and Wear | B | 3.1 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 23 | Wixams Bedfordshire | B | 5.3 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Shipston-on-Stour Warwickshire | B | 2.3 | 94% | 1.6 | 20% |
| 25 | Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Northumberland | B | 2.2 | 77% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 26 | East Wittering West Sussex | B | 1.1 | 78% | 1.9 | 27% |
| 27 | Bidford-on-Avon Warwickshire | B | 3.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Oundle Northamptonshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Bovey Tracey Devon | B− | 2.2 | 66% | 2.5 | 55% |
| 30 | Cheddar Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 41% | 3 | 56% |
| 31 | Thirsk North Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Great Torrington Devon | B− | 2.6 | 88% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 33 | Danbury Essex | B− | 3.9 | 34% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 34 | South Molton Devon | C+ | 2.2 | 96% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Annesley Woodhouse Nottinghamshire | C+ | 1.1 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Kirby Cross Essex | C+ | 2.4 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Waltham Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.2 | 84% | 1.3 | 19% |
| 38 | Oakdale Gwent | C+ | 5.2 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Lower Willingdon East Sussex | C+ | 0.8 | 57% | 4.2 | 33% |
| 40 | Bagillt Clwyd | C+ | 1.3 | 87% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Strensall North Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Bowdon Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 43 | Ilminster Somerset | C− | 2.3 | 61% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Ottery St Mary Devon | C− | 1.2 | 71% | 1.7 | 34% |
| 45 | Studley Warwickshire | C− | 1.6 | 63% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Great Shelford and Stapleford Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.6 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Weaverham Cheshire | C− | 0.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 48 | Stainforth South Yorkshire | C− | 2.2 | 80% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Purfleet-on-Thames Essex | C− | 0.9 | 64% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Cuddington Cheshire | C− | 1.5 | 66% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Cottenham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 86% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Staplehurst Kent | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 53 | Arlesey Bedfordshire | D | 0.9 | 51% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Finningley South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Werrington Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 42% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Aintree Merseyside | D | 1.3 | 43% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Earls Barton Northamptonshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 58 | Sawtry Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 40% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Burwell Cambridgeshire | D− | 1.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Thurcroft South Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ottery St Mary’s built-up area.
7 in 10 Ottery St Mary 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 1,800 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 town, about one for every 1,511 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Ottery St Mary
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.
34% of the land within 5 km of Ottery St Mary is National Park or National Landscape, more than 85% of UK towns. Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Ottery St Mary
23 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ottery St Mary and the kilometre around it, 1.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Close to home, the Coleridge Link has 6 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 3 regional routes pass through, including the Exeter to Honiton Way, Otter Valley Walk and Orange Way.
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 Ottery St Mary: May to September
The town’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 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 98 | 75 | 74 | 71 | 58 | 66 | 56 | 79 | 72 | 104 | 116 | 107 |
July is the driest month (56 mm) and the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 116 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. The climate in Ottery St Mary →
4 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK town its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Ottery St Mary is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
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
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
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.
Sidmouth, 4.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 73% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Whimple and Sidmouth have at least twice Ottery St Mary’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Ottery St Mary
Is Ottery St Mary near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 16 mi west of the town’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, 0.8 mi away.
What are the best walks near Ottery St Mary?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Exeter to Honiton Way, Otter Valley Walk and Orange Way.
What is the nearest beach to Ottery St Mary?
Jacobs Ladder Beach, 4.9 mi from the edge of the town, then Branscombe Beach (7.5 mi). Ottery St Mary itself is inland.
How many people in Ottery St Mary live near a park?
71% 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 Ottery St Mary?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Ottery St Mary good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 22% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 18% (1.2 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 Ottery St Mary’s overall grade.
Where Ottery St Mary’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.