Shaldon’s biggest
Homeyards Botanical Gardens
Park or garden
2.1 ha (5 acres)1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Shaldon
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Shaldon · parks, paths & countryside
Shaldon is on the coast, on the South West Coast Path
The sea makes up 40% of the area within 5 km. 22 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 2.2 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Shaldon add up to 1.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Shaldon grades B− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
85%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
22 km
2.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Dartmoor National Park
The sea
40%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Shaldon?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast40% of the area within 5 km is sea; 33 beaches mapped.On a National TrailThe South West Coast Path passes through.Less park per person1.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Shaldon’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the South West Coast Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Shaldon grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Shaldon, 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 50% of UK towns26th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space1.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
35out of
100
100
A park within a walk85%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
57out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
36out of
100
100
The sea40%of the area within 5 km
96out 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
Shaldon is 26th 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.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
Shaldon2.2
Villages its size2.2
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Shaldon1.7
Villages its size1.9
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Shaldon85%
Villages its size79%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
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 | Wanborough Wiltshire | A+ | 6 | 100% | 2.7 | 45% |
| 3 | Trimley St Martin Suffolk | A+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.9 | 43% |
| 4 | Penwithick Cornwall | A | 15 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 5 | Wroxall Isle of Wight | A | 1.2 | 84% | 4.6 | 33% |
| 6 | Eccles Kent | A | 3.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 30% |
| 7 | Elstree Hertfordshire | A | 22 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Flimby Cumbria | A | 1.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 2% |
| 9 | Grain Kent | A | 13 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 10 | Southwell Dorset | A | 0.7 | 100% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Upchurch Kent | A | 4 | 76% | 2.3 | 7% |
| 12 | Wickwar Gloucestershire | A− | 2 | 100% | 3.5 | 15% |
| 13 | Hamstreet Kent | A− | 2.3 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Seascale Cumbria | A− | 2.1 | 81% | 2.2 | 27% |
| 15 | Clayhanger West Midlands | A− | 17.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Bathampton Somerset | A− | 1 | 85% | 5.5 | 62% |
| 17 | Ripley Surrey | A− | 15 | 64% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 18 | Harthill South Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 19 | Appledore Devon | B+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 20 | Criccieth Gwynedd | B | 2.9 | 75% | 1.3 | 4% |
| 21 | Blewbury Oxfordshire | B | 3.1 | 54% | 2.7 | 79% |
| 22 | Great Bentley Essex | B− | 6.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Bryn Dyfed | B− | 2.9 | 67% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 24 | Streethouse West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 25 | Flockton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Shaldon Devon | B− | 1.7 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Woodsetts South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 28 | Summit Greater Manchester | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Trethomas Gwent | B− | 6.9 | 48% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Feniton Devon | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 17% |
| 31 | Dunvant West Glamorgan | C+ | 4.3 | 36% | 1.8 | 30% |
| 32 | Langho Lancashire | C+ | 1.6 | 74% | 3 | 7% |
| 33 | Pilling Lancashire | C+ | 4.2 | 46% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 34 | North Leigh Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.3 | 56% | 2.4 | 26% |
| 35 | Sharnbrook Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Harvington Worcestershire | C+ | 2.6 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Minsterley Shropshire | C+ | 1.1 | 77% | 2.4 | 38% |
| 38 | Billington Lancashire | C− | 0.5 | 0% | 3.9 | 14% |
| 39 | Poyle Berkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 40 | Leeming North Yorkshire | C− | 5 | 76% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 41 | West Thorney West Sussex | C− | 0.4 | 0% | 0.9 | 55% |
| 42 | Embsay North Yorkshire | C− | 0.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 43 | High Bentham North Yorkshire | C− | 0.1 | 0% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 44 | Lower Quinton Warwickshire | C− | 2 | 49% | 1.3 | 18% |
| 45 | Higher Kinnerton Clwyd | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Sudbrooke Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 82% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Charminster Dorset | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 56% |
| 48 | Holt Wiltshire | D | 1.1 | 45% | 2.1 | 2% |
| 49 | Shrewton Wiltshire | D | 1.4 | 42% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Glinton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 79% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Leverington Cambridgeshire | D | 2.8 | 59% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Houghton on the Hill Leicestershire | D | 1.8 | 60% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Tiddington Warwickshire | D | 0.2 | 79% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Point Clear Essex | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Soughton Clwyd | D | 0.4 | 67% | 1.3 | 3% |
| 56 | Monk Fryston and Hillam North Yorkshire | D | 2.7 | 40% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Welford-on-Avon Warwickshire | D− | 0.4 | 48% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Necton Norfolk | D− | 1.5 | 17% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Swffryd Gwent | D− | 1.4 | 17% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Hambleton North Yorkshire | D− | 0.1 | 52% | 1.1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Shaldon’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 Shaldon
The biggest is Homeyards Botanical Gardens, 2.1 ha (5 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
King George's Field
Playing field
0.8 ha (2 acres)
Centralin the middle of Shaldon
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Shaldon 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 (85%)Further (15%)
Shaldon85%
Villages its size79%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 172 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Dartmoor National Park is 6.6 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
Dartmoor National Park covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Shaldon is on the South West Coast Path
22 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Shaldon and the kilometre around it, 2.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
NationalRegionalLocal
South West Coast Path (Section 43: Babbacombe to Exmouth)6.1 km
Teignmouth & Dawlish Way5.9 km
Templer Way5.0 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Shaldon. Close to home, the Teignmouth & Dawlish Way has 6 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. The regional route here is the Templer 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 Shaldon: 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 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 104 | 78 | 77 | 66 | 57 | 59 | 50 | 69 | 64 | 112 | 107 | 109 |
July is the driest month (50 mm) and the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 112 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 15 nights a year. The climate in Shaldon →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Shaldon
40% of the area within 5 km of Shaldon is sea. 33 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 13 with a name.
Shaldon Beach0.0 mi from town
DirectionsNess Beach0.1 mi from town
DirectionsSable collecté - Ness Beach0.1 mi from town
DirectionsSprat Sand0.3 mi from town
DirectionsEast Pole Sand0.4 mi from town
DirectionsGales Hill0.4 mi from town
DirectionsCherryred Beach0.4 mi from town
DirectionsTeignmouth Beach0.6 mi from town
DirectionsMaidencombe Beach1.8 mi from town
DirectionsWhitsand Beach2.4 mi from town
DirectionsWatcombe Beach2.5 mi from town
DirectionsCoryton's Cove Beach2.9 mi from town
DirectionsThe South West Coast Path passes the town.
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.
Things to do
7 viewpoints and 10 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 7
New Quay0.3 mi from town
DirectionsFish Quay0.3 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 5 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
RSPB Labrador Bay0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 10
Coombe Valley LNR Play Area1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 9
Polly Steps slipway0.3 mi from town
DirectionsGales Hill0.4 mi from town
DirectionsCoombe Cellars1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 6 slipways 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.
TeignmouthBishopsteigntonKingsteigntonDawlishKingskerswellTorquayShaldon
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaldon | B− | 1.7 | 85% | 0% |
| Teignmouth 1.1 mi | B− | 1.7 | 82% | 0% |
| Bishopsteignton 1.6 mi | C | 3.0 | 62% | 0% |
| Kingsteignton 3.7 mi | B− | 1.9 | 95% | 0% |
| Dawlish 3.7 mi | A | 2.1 | 93% | 0% |
| Kingskerswell 4.0 mi | C+ | 3.5 | 76% | 0% |
| Torquay 4.3 mi | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 0% |
Dawlish, 3.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 93% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Kingskerswell has at least twice Shaldon’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Shaldon
What is the biggest park in Shaldon?
Homeyards Botanical Gardens, 2.1 ha (5 acres), with 1.1 km of path. King George's Field (0.8 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Shaldon near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 6.6 mi west of the village’s edge. It covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Shaldon?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the South West Coast Path (Section 43: Babbacombe to Exmouth), Teignmouth & Dawlish Way and Templer Way.
How many people in Shaldon live near a park?
85% 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 Shaldon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Shaldon good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 36% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 35% (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 Shaldon’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Shaldon’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.