Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.056% of the land within 5 km of Charminster is National Park or National Landscape
The Dorset National Landscape begins 0.3 mi from the village’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Charminster add up to 0.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 17 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 2.0 for every square kilometre. Charminster grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Charminster?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Charminster’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Charminster grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Charminster, 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.
Charminster is 49th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,700 to 1,800 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Charminster falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 56 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wanborough Wiltshire | A+ | 6 | 100% | 2.7 | 45% |
| 2 | Trimley St Martin Suffolk | A+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.9 | 43% |
| 3 | Penwithick Cornwall | A | 15 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 4 | Wroxall Isle of Wight | A | 1.2 | 84% | 4.6 | 33% |
| 5 | Woodbury Devon | A | 3.3 | 100% | 0.9 | 26% |
| 6 | Eccles Kent | A | 3.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 30% |
| 7 | Malvern Wells Worcestershire | A | 10.8 | 37% | 5.3 | 57% |
| 8 | Elstree Hertfordshire | A | 22 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Flimby Cumbria | A | 1.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 2% |
| 10 | Grain Kent | A | 13 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Upchurch Kent | A | 4 | 76% | 2.3 | 7% |
| 12 | Hamstreet Kent | A− | 2.3 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Seascale Cumbria | A− | 2.1 | 81% | 2.2 | 27% |
| 14 | Ripley Surrey | A− | 15 | 64% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 15 | Ingleton North Yorkshire | B+ | 1.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 54% |
| 16 | Harthill South Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Appledore Devon | B+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 18 | Criccieth Gwynedd | B | 2.9 | 75% | 1.3 | 4% |
| 19 | Blewbury Oxfordshire | B | 3.1 | 54% | 2.7 | 79% |
| 20 | Denby Bottles Derbyshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Rackheath Norfolk | B | 2.6 | 100% | 1 | 14% |
| 22 | South Hiendley West Yorkshire | B | 13.4 | 87% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Great Bentley Essex | B− | 6.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 24 | Bryn Dyfed | B− | 2.9 | 67% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 25 | Flockton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Shaldon Devon | B− | 1.7 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Winkfield Row Berkshire | B− | 11 | 80% | 2.2 | 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 | North Leigh Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.3 | 56% | 2.4 | 26% |
| 34 | Sharnbrook Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Harvington Worcestershire | C+ | 2.6 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Minsterley Shropshire | C+ | 1.1 | 77% | 2.4 | 38% |
| 37 | Bury Cambridgeshire | C+ | 1.1 | 100% | 2.7 | 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 | Billington Lancashire | C− | 0.5 | 0% | 3.9 | 14% |
| 41 | Poyle Berkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 42 | Leeming North Yorkshire | C− | 5 | 76% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 43 | West Thorney West Sussex | C− | 0.4 | 0% | 0.9 | 55% |
| 44 | Embsay North Yorkshire | C− | 0.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 45 | Middle Barton Oxfordshire | C− | 1.9 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Higher Kinnerton Clwyd | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Sudbrooke Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 82% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Croft Leicestershire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Charminster Dorset | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 56% |
| 50 | Holt Wiltshire | D | 1.1 | 45% | 2.1 | 2% |
| 51 | Shrewton Wiltshire | D | 1.4 | 42% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Glinton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 79% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Frizington Cumbria | D | 1.4 | 52% | 0.9 | 15% |
| 54 | Aiskew North Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Houghton on the Hill Leicestershire | D | 1.8 | 60% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Point Clear Essex | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Monk Fryston and Hillam North Yorkshire | D | 2.7 | 40% | 0.7 | 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% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Charminster’s built-up area.
Few Charminster 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 1,700 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 173 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Charminster
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.
Dorset
Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
56% of the land within 5 km of Charminster is National Park or National Landscape, more than 93% of UK towns.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Charminster
17 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Charminster and the kilometre around it, 2.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Close to home, the Frome Valley Way has 8 km of local walk within 2 km of the village.
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 Charminster: 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 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 125 | 94 | 80 | 74 | 64 | 64 | 60 | 85 | 84 | 131 | 135 | 136 |
July is the driest month (60 mm) and the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 136 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 42 nights a year. The climate in Charminster →
10 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
Charminster is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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
Nature reserves 1
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charminster | D | 0.3 | 0% | 56% |
| Charlton Down 1.3 mi | A | 4.0 | 100% | 58% |
| Dorchester 1.8 mi | B | 1.6 | 78% | 53% |
| Puddletown 5.1 mi | D | 0.2 | 0% | 15% |
| Maiden Newton 5.7 mi | C− | 1.1 | 27% | 100% |
| Crossways 6.2 mi | C+ | 0.5 | 100% | 22% |
| Chickerell 8.0 mi | A | 1.5 | 88% | 27% |
Charlton Down, 1.3 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Charlton Down, Dorchester and Maiden Newton have at least twice Charminster’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Charminster
Is Charminster near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Dorset National Landscape, 0.3 mi south-west of the village’s edge. It covers 1,129 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Charminster?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Frome Valley Way.
What is the nearest beach to Charminster?
Ringstead Beach, 8.0 mi from the edge of the village, then Chesil Beach (8.8 mi). Charminster itself is inland.
How many people in Charminster live near a park?
0% 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 Charminster?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Charminster good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 30% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 2% (0.3 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 Charminster’s overall grade.
Where Charminster’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.