Gillingham’s biggest
Gillingham Town Football Club
Playing field
2.1 ha (5 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jonathan Hutchins · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Gillingham · parks, paths & countryside
91% of Gillingham’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape begins 2.5 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Gillingham add up to 1.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 46 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.6 for every square kilometre. Gillingham grades B for the outdoors: #22 of 30 in Dorset. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
91%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
46 km
2.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
3%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Gillingham grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Gillingham, 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 57% of UK towns#22 of 30 in Dorset · 27th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
42out of
100
100
A park within a walk91%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
68out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape3%of the land within 5 km
66out of
100
100
Footpaths2.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
49out 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
Gillingham is 27th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 10,400 to 11,600 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
Gillingham2.6
Towns its size3.1
Dorset towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Gillingham1.9
Towns its size1.9
Dorset towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Gillingham91%
Towns its size84%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
Gillingham falls furthest behind on path per km², where 39 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weybourne Surrey | A+ | 7.1 | 86% | 6.1 | 14% |
| 2 | West End Hampshire | A | 9.1 | 100% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Brierfield Lancashire | A | 2.1 | 92% | 5.6 | 18% |
| 4 | Penryn Cornwall | A | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 31% |
| 5 | Emsworth Hampshire | A | 2.3 | 56% | 3.7 | 51% |
| 6 | Great Harwood Lancashire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.3 | 4% |
| 7 | Soham Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 8 | Conisbrough South Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 99% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Platt Bridge and Abram Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Royston South Yorkshire | A− | 7.9 | 97% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Romiley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.9 | 80% | 3.8 | 1% |
| 12 | Southwater West Sussex | A− | 3.4 | 82% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 13 | Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire | A− | 4 | 85% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Chadwell St Mary Essex | A− | 3.2 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 15 | Whitwick Leicestershire | A− | 4.2 | 84% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Kearsley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Uppermill Greater Manchester | A− | 2.4 | 70% | 4.8 | 27% |
| 18 | Tidworth Wiltshire | B+ | 3.7 | 90% | 2.3 | 8% |
| 19 | Pelsall West Midlands | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire | B+ | 1.9 | 76% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 21 | Barnoldswick Lancashire | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 4 | 2% |
| 22 | South Elmsall West Yorkshire | B+ | 9 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 23 | Oxted Surrey | B | 2.1 | 84% | 2.8 | 28% |
| 24 | Corsham Wiltshire | B | 1.9 | 81% | 3 | 31% |
| 25 | Baldock Hertfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Warmsworth South Yorkshire | B | 2.7 | 79% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Gillingham Dorset | B | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 28 | Shirebrook Derbyshire | B | 1.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Sandbach Cheshire | B− | 2.5 | 87% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Helston Cornwall | B− | 1.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 21% |
| 31 | Mossley Greater Manchester | B− | 0.9 | 74% | 4.5 | 14% |
| 32 | Oswaldtwistle Lancashire | B− | 1.1 | 94% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Lymm Cheshire | B− | 3.6 | 89% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Leatherhead Surrey | B− | 1 | 72% | 3.9 | 24% |
| 35 | Filton Gloucestershire | B− | 3.3 | 40% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Cambourne Cambridgeshire | B− | 0.7 | 91% | 7.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Baglan West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Liskeard Cornwall | C+ | 0.8 | 89% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 39 | Bolsover Derbyshire | C+ | 1.9 | 85% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Selsey West Sussex | C | 1.6 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Earl Shilton Leicestershire | C | 1.5 | 98% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Sandy Bedfordshire | C | 0.9 | 76% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Brimington Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 72% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Ulverston Cumbria | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.8 | 8% |
| 45 | Towcester Northamptonshire | C | 1.3 | 77% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Epping Essex | C− | 1.2 | 70% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Attleborough Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Hexham Northumberland | C− | 1.5 | 64% | 2 | 9% |
| 49 | Cleveleys Lancashire | C− | 0.8 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Downham Market Norfolk | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Chatteris Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.4 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Lutterworth Leicestershire | C− | 1.7 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Cheadle Staffordshire | C− | 1.7 | 90% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Dinnington South Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 81% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 55 | New Ollerton and Ollerton Nottinghamshire | C− | 0.8 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Leominster Herefordshire | C− | 1.1 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Newtown Powys | D | 2.3 | 65% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Longton Lancashire | D | 1.7 | 60% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Tonyrefail Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.7 | 48% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Watton Norfolk | D− | 0.5 | 28% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Gillingham’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 Gillingham
The biggest is Gillingham Town Football Club, 2.1 ha (5 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Gillingham’s homes are to 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 (91%)Further (9%)
Gillingham91%
Towns its size84%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 15 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 734 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape is 2.5 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
National Landscape
Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
2.5 mi north-west986 km²since 19833% of the land within 5 km
Official site3% of the land within 5 km of Gillingham is National Park or National Landscape, more than 66% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Gillingham
46 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Gillingham and the kilometre around it, 2.6 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
Stour Valley Way6.5 km
The regional route here is the Stour Valley 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 Gillingham: May to July and 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 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 62 | 59 | 57 | 56 | 53 | 60 | 71 | 59 | 93 | 95 | 90 |
June is the driest month (53 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 95 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Gillingham →
Things to do
15 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
Gillingham is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Lake North Beach23 mi from Gillingham’s edge
DirectionsShipstal Beach25 mi from Gillingham’s edge
DirectionsBranksome Chine Beach27 mi from Gillingham’s edge
DirectionsBranksome Dene Chine Beach27 mi from Gillingham’s edge
DirectionsAlum Chine Beach27 mi from Gillingham’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
Nature reserves 1
Frog Hollow0.1 ha · in town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Leela Fields Caravan & Camping Park0.1 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.
MotcombeMereShaftesburyMarnhullWincantonTemplecombeGillingham
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillingham | B | 1.9 | 91% | 3% |
| Motcombe 2.8 mi | B | 9.5 | 74% | 25% |
| Mere 3.6 mi | C− | 1.6 | 34% | 54% |
| Shaftesbury 4.6 mi | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 44% |
| Marnhull 5.0 mi | C− | 1.8 | 41% | 0% |
| Wincanton 5.9 mi | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 7% |
| Templecombe 6.6 mi | C+ | 2.0 | 100% | 0% |
Shaftesbury, 4.6 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 92% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Motcombe has at least twice Gillingham’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Gillingham
What is the biggest park in Gillingham?
Gillingham Town Football Club, 2.1 ha (5 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Gillingham near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape, 2.5 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 986 km² and was designated in 1983.
What are the best walks near Gillingham?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Stour Valley Way.
What is the nearest beach to Gillingham?
Lake North Beach, 23 mi from the edge of the town, then Shipstal Beach (25 mi). Gillingham itself is inland.
How many people in Gillingham live near a park?
91% 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 Gillingham?
May to July and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Gillingham good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 49% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 42% (1.9 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 Gillingham’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Gillingham’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.