Tavistock’s biggest
Whitchurch Down
Park or garden
163 ha (403 acres)10.5 km of path
2 h 20 minto walk all 10.5 km of path
228 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Tavistock
Viewpoint
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Chris Andrews · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Tavistock · parks, paths & countryside
72% of the land within 5 km of Tavistock is National Park or National Landscape
Dartmoor National Park and the Tamar Valley National Landscape both begin about a mile from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Tavistock add up to 5.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 34 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.6 for every square kilometre. Tavistock grades A− for the outdoors: #11 of 47 in Devon. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
5.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
83%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
34 km
1.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
72%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Dartmoor National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Tavistock?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside72% of the land within 5 km is Dartmoor National Park.Room to roam5.9 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 90% of UK towns.
Tavistock’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Tavistock grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Tavistock, 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 76% of UK towns#11 of 47 in Devon · 17th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space5.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
90out of
100
100
A park within a walk83%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
53out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape72%of the land within 5 km
96out of
100
100
Footpaths1.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
20out 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.
Towns its size
Tavistock is 17th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 12,000 to 13,400 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
Tavistock1.6
Towns its size2.9
Devon towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Tavistock5.9
Towns its size2.1
Devon towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Tavistock83%
Towns its size79%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Tavistock stands out most for park space per resident: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 53 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitby North Yorkshire | A+ | 4 | 100% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 2 | Farncombe Surrey | A+ | 5.7 | 92% | 3.8 | 54% |
| 3 | Sidmouth Devon | A | 2.6 | 73% | 2.9 | 60% |
| 4 | Newhaven East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 84% | 2.9 | 50% |
| 5 | Rhosllannerchrugog Clwyd | A | 3.5 | 98% | 2.8 | 31% |
| 6 | Southwick West Sussex | A | 1.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 34% |
| 7 | Houghton-le-Spring Tyne and Wear | A | 4.8 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 8 | Killingworth Tyne and Wear | A | 4.7 | 97% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Little Lever Greater Manchester | A | 4.5 | 97% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 10 | Wick West Sussex | A | 1.3 | 91% | 3 | 25% |
| 11 | Blackwood Gwent | A− | 3.6 | 97% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Bridport Dorset | A− | 0.9 | 75% | 3.7 | 71% |
| 13 | Flackwell Heath and Wooburn Green Buckinghamshire | A− | 1.7 | 90% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 14 | Guiseley West Yorkshire | A− | 2.5 | 75% | 5.7 | 6% |
| 15 | Wantage Oxfordshire | A− | 2.5 | 71% | 3.9 | 47% |
| 16 | Lees Greater Manchester | A− | 2.5 | 80% | 4.4 | 4% |
| 17 | Tavistock Devon | A− | 5.9 | 83% | 1.6 | 72% |
| 18 | Ivybridge Devon | B+ | 1.8 | 86% | 3.4 | 38% |
| 19 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | B+ | 2.5 | 62% | 2.7 | 1% |
| 20 | Ringwood Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 78% | 3.2 | 43% |
| 21 | Chorleywood Hertfordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 37% | 5.7 | 22% |
| 22 | Poulton-le-Fylde Lancashire | B+ | 3.6 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 23 | Marple Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 64% | 3.8 | 5% |
| 24 | Poynton Cheshire | B+ | 2.2 | 79% | 3.7 | 14% |
| 25 | Royal Wootton Bassett Wiltshire | B+ | 1.6 | 98% | 3.1 | 10% |
| 26 | Cudworth and Shafton South Yorkshire | B | 3.1 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Littleborough Greater Manchester | B | 5 | 85% | 3 | 0% |
| 28 | Stotfold Bedfordshire | B | 2.1 | 96% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Enderby and Narborough Leicestershire | B | 1.9 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Rushall and Shelfield West Midlands | B | 4.3 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Honiton Devon | B− | 1.3 | 90% | 2 | 73% |
| 32 | Scawthorpe and Cusworth South Yorkshire | B− | 3.1 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Standish Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Chigwell Essex | B− | 2.9 | 64% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Wells Somerset | B− | 1.7 | 65% | 3.4 | 26% |
| 36 | Sheerness Kent | B− | 3 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Ince-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2 | 74% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 38 | Rochford Essex | B− | 2 | 71% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 39 | Knutsford Cheshire | C+ | 2.6 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Thame Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.9 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Huntington North Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 72% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Street Somerset | C+ | 0.7 | 96% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Todmorden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 72% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Hersham Surrey | C | 2.5 | 73% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Ferndown Dorset | C | 0.7 | 13% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Rhondda Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Bridgnorth Shropshire | C− | 2.4 | 66% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Haverfordwest Dyfed | C− | 1 | 85% | 1.4 | 8% |
| 49 | Oakham Rutland | C− | 1.8 | 86% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | North Walsham Norfolk | C− | 1.3 | 69% | 2 | 10% |
| 51 | Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Amesbury Wiltshire | D | 1.8 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Northallerton North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 70% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Driffield East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 75% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Mountsorrel Leicestershire | D | 0.9 | 56% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Flint Clwyd | D | 1 | 56% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Mountain Ash Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.4 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Wombourne Staffordshire | D | 0.8 | 78% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Balderton Nottinghamshire | D | 1.4 | 64% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Thorne South Yorkshire | D− | 1.6 | 65% | 0.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Tavistock’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 Tavistock
The biggest is Whitchurch Down, 163 ha (403 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 183 ha (453 acres) and 13 km of path
Parks & gardens 170 haPlaying fields 13 haPlay spaces 0.0 ha
The two biggest, Whitchurch Down and The Meadows Pleasure Ground, are 92% of the named green space and carry 13 km of path between them. 3 of the 7 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
The Meadows Pleasure Ground
Park or garden
6.5 ha (16 acres)2.1 km of path
25 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Tavistock
Playground 1 listedCanal Towpath
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Tavistock Community Football Club
Playing field
6.8 ha (17 acres)
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Tavistock Rugby Football Club
Playing field · 370 m outside town
6.7 ha (17 acres)
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Benson Meadow
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Tavistock
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Celle Garden
Park or garden
0.0 ha (0 acres)
0.6 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Kestrel Park Play Area
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
0.9 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Tavistock 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 (83%)Further (17%)
Tavistock83%
Towns its size79%
Devon towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 2,200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 18 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 704 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Tavistock
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
Tamar Valley
At the edge south196 km²since 199529% of the land within 5 km
Official site72% of the land within 5 km of Tavistock is National Park or National Landscape, more than 96% 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 Tavistock
34 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Tavistock and the kilometre around it, 1.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
West Devon Way10.1 km
Dartmoor Way8.1 km
Abbot's Way3.8 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the West Devon Way, Dartmoor Way and Abbot's 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 Tavistock: 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 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 163 | 136 | 111 | 93 | 85 | 95 | 108 | 116 | 113 | 170 | 180 | 188 |
May is the driest month (85 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 188 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 28 nights a year. The climate in Tavistock →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 18 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
Tavistock is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Bovisand Beach14 mi from Tavistock’s edge
DirectionsSharrow Beach14 mi from Tavistock’s edge
DirectionsWembury Beach15 mi from Tavistock’s edge
DirectionsDownderry Beach15 mi from Tavistock’s edge
DirectionsSeaton Beach16 mi from Tavistock’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.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Rowdon0.0 mi from town
DirectionsHarford Bridge Holiday Park1.0 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.
HorrabridgeGunnislake and St Ann's ChapelYelvertonBere AlstonPrincetownKelly BrayTavistock
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavistock | A− | 5.9 | 83% | 72% |
| Horrabridge 3.2 mi | B | 1.4 | 83% | 92% |
| Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel 3.8 mi | B− | 2.5 | 64% | 66% |
| Yelverton 4.3 mi | B− | 3.6 | 72% | 85% |
| Bere Alston 4.8 mi | C+ | 1.4 | 64% | 93% |
| Princetown 6.5 mi | B+ | 1.4 | 100% | 100% |
| Kelly Bray 7.7 mi | B− | 1.2 | 100% | 22% |
Tavistock grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Tavistock
What is the biggest park in Tavistock?
Whitchurch Down, 163 ha (403 acres), with 10.5 km of path. The Meadows Pleasure Ground (6.5 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Tavistock near a National Park?
Dartmoor National Park reaches the edge of Tavistock. It covers 956 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Tavistock?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the West Devon Way, Dartmoor Way and Abbot's Way. Whitchurch Down alone has 10.5 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Tavistock?
Bovisand Beach, 14 mi from the edge of the town, then Sharrow Beach (14 mi). Tavistock itself is inland.
How many people in Tavistock live near a park?
83% 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 Tavistock?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Tavistock good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 20% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 90% (5.9 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 Tavistock’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Tavistock’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.