Photo: Mark.murphy · CC BY-SA 3.0Wembury is inside the South Devon National Landscape
The sea makes up 40% of the area within 5 km. 53% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Wembury grades A− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Wembury?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Wembury’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by the sea. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Wembury grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Wembury, 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.
Wembury is 7th 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.
Against villages its size, Wembury stands out most for path per km²: only 25 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 46 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llanberis Gwynedd | A+ | 33.7 | 100% | 3.9 | 49% |
| 2 | St Just Cornwall | A+ | 1.8 | 100% | 4.2 | 50% |
| 3 | Southwick Wiltshire | A+ | 22.2 | 100% | 5.2 | 1% |
| 4 | Market Lavington Wiltshire | A+ | 9.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 1% |
| 5 | Mistley Essex | A | 4.3 | 86% | 1.9 | 41% |
| 6 | Colwall Stone Herefordshire | A | 4.5 | 67% | 5.5 | 64% |
| 7 | Wembury Devon | A− | 2.4 | 53% | 2.7 | 41% |
| 8 | Tow Law County Durham | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 1.3 | 21% |
| 9 | Horam East Sussex | B+ | 3.9 | 91% | 1.4 | 46% |
| 10 | Painswick Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.3 | 81% | 4.3 | 83% |
| 11 | Waddesdon Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 12 | Tongwynlais South Glamorgan | B+ | 8.6 | 65% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 13 | Marks Tey Essex | B+ | 5.5 | 92% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 14 | Findon West Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 74% | 3.7 | 70% |
| 15 | Bishop's Castle Shropshire | B+ | 2 | 100% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 16 | Weston Turville Buckinghamshire | B | 2.9 | 64% | 3.1 | 30% |
| 17 | Fernhurst West Sussex | B | 3.1 | 37% | 3 | 92% |
| 18 | Hathersage Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 58% | 4.5 | 100% |
| 19 | Westham East Sussex | B | 3.8 | 18% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 20 | Ironville Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Northop Hall Clwyd | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Rhayader Powys | B | 5.5 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 23 | Hemingfield South Yorkshire | B | 3.3 | 80% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 24 | Hughenden Valley Buckinghamshire | B− | 2.1 | 32% | 3.4 | 76% |
| 25 | Chilcompton Somerset | B− | 6.5 | 40% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 26 | Yelverton Devon | B− | 3.6 | 72% | 1.1 | 85% |
| 27 | Holbrook Derbyshire | B− | 4.2 | 55% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Warton (Lancaster) Lancashire | B− | 0.3 | 32% | 3.5 | 43% |
| 29 | Meldreth Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.7 | 82% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 30 | Inkberrow Worcestershire | B− | 5.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Ingrave and Herongate Essex | B− | 5 | 51% | 4 | 0% |
| 32 | Newcastle Emlyn Dyfed | B− | 5.9 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Warden Kent | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 34 | High Halstow Kent | B− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Barnburgh and Harlington South Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Great Yeldham Essex | C+ | 3.1 | 86% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Lowdham Nottinghamshire | C+ | 3.7 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Pontlottyn Gwent | C+ | 1.8 | 70% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 39 | Withnoe Cornwall | C+ | 1.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 3% |
| 40 | Ryton-on-Dunsmore Warwickshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Walkington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 2.3 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 42 | Dunkeswell Devon | C | 1.4 | 83% | 0.7 | 87% |
| 43 | Lympstone Devon | C | 1 | 66% | 1.3 | 16% |
| 44 | Scotby Cumbria | C− | 3 | 75% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Drakes Broughton Worcestershire | C− | 1 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Woolpit Suffolk | C− | 4.3 | 54% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Branton South Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 71% | 3 | 0% |
| 48 | Bradninch Devon | D | 2.3 | 73% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Thornton-le-Dale North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 58% | 1.1 | 29% |
| 50 | Rickinghall and Botesdale Suffolk | D | 1.7 | 61% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Harston Cambridgeshire | D | 1.6 | 45% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Stainton North Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 0% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Barnetby le Wold Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 59% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Wragby Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Mickle Trafford Cheshire | D− | 0.5 | 70% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Audlem Cheshire | D− | 0.6 | 50% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Great Barton Suffolk | D− | 1.6 | 19% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Pentre Maelor Clwyd | D− | 1.4 | 8% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Bardsey West Yorkshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Wainfleet All Saints Lincolnshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 0.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Wembury’s built-up area.
5 in 10 Wembury 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 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Wembury
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 Wembury 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.
Wembury is on the South West Coast Path
24 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Wembury and the kilometre around it, 2.7 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 South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Wembury. 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 Wembury: 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 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 126 | 94 | 84 | 73 | 62 | 68 | 72 | 90 | 73 | 117 | 131 | 132 |
May is the driest month (62 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 132 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 15 nights a year. The climate in Wembury →
Wembury is a coastal town
40% of the area within 5 km of Wembury is sea. 10 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 6 with a name.
The 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.
2 viewpoints and 2 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 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
Plymouth, 5.1 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 87% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Wembury
Is Wembury near a National Park?
Yes. Dartmoor National Park begins 6.8 mi north-east 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 Wembury?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Erme-Plym Trail, South West Coast Path (Section 36: Plymouth to Wembury Point) and South West Coast Path (section 37 Newton Ferrers to Bigbury on Sea).
How many people in Wembury live near a park?
53% 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 Wembury?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Wembury good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 52% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 56% (2.4 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 Wembury’s overall grade.
Where Wembury’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.