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High Street, SwanageSwanage, #1 on this list · Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dorset rankings · Outdoors

Best towns for the outdoors in Dorset

Swanage ranks first on outdoors among Dorset’s 30 towns of 2,500+; 14 of the 30 grade A− or better against UK towns.

The Outdoors Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): green space per resident, parks within 400 m, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths and the coast. The rank across England and Wales sits beside each letter. How grades work

#1

Swanage

9,115 people
A+

Better than almost every UK town·#1 of 2,156 in England and Wales

#2

Upton

8,401 people
A+

Better than almost every UK town·#11 of 2,156 in England and Wales

#3

Weston

5,208 people
A+

Better than 96% of UK towns·#71 of 2,156 in England and Wales

All 30 towns, ranked

Outdoors grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England and Wales links to the national list.

Every town in Dorset →

30 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns
1Swanage9,115 peopleA+#1 of 2,156 nationallybetter than almost every UK town
2Upton8,401 peopleA+#11 of 2,156 nationallybetter than almost every UK town
3Weston5,208 peopleA+#71 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 96% of UK towns
4Beaminster2,995 peopleA#96 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 95% of UK towns
5Poole141,009 peopleA#130 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 93% of UK towns
6Wareham5,876 peopleA#163 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 92% of UK towns
7Chickerell3,973 peopleA#234 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 89% of UK towns
8Weymouth55,540 peopleA#237 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 89% of UK towns
9Ashley Heath7,151 peopleA#296 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 87% of UK towns
10Fortuneswell4,554 peopleA#322 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 86% of UK towns
11Bournemouth196,453 peopleA−#432 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 82% of UK towns
12Christchurch48,973 peopleA−#436 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns
13Bridport12,294 peopleA−#452 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns
14Shaftesbury9,163 peopleA−#501 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 79% of UK towns
15Merley5,489 peopleB+#599 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 75% of UK towns
16Bearwood4,134 peopleB+#622 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 74% of UK towns
17Verwood13,706 peopleB+#675 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 72% of UK towns
18Blandford Forum11,805 peopleB+#689 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 71% of UK towns
19Corfe Mullen10,036 peopleB+#720 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 70% of UK towns
20Lyme Regis3,741 peopleB#857 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 64% of UK towns
21Wimborne Minster16,629 peopleB#994 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 59% of UK towns
22Gillingham11,009 peopleB#1,027 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 57% of UK towns
T23Dorchester21,358 peopleB#1,057 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 56% of UK towns
T23Sturminster Newton3,565 peopleB#1,057 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 56% of UK towns
25Alderholt2,868 peopleC#1,572 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 32% of UK towns
26Ferndown13,267 peopleC#1,728 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 25% of UK towns
27Lytchett Matravers3,455 peopleC−#1,848 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 19% of UK towns
28West Moors10,432 peopleC−#1,865 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 18% of UK towns
29West Parley3,665 peopleC−#1,906 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 16% of UK towns
30Sherborne10,359 peopleD#1,981 of 2,156 nationallybetter than 12% of UK towns
Not ranked

Not on this list

2 military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked: most residents serve in the forces or are students.

  • Pimperne 2,770 people. Garrison town.
  • Wool 5,044 people. Garrison town.
Quick answers

Questions people ask

Which town in Dorset is best for the outdoors?

Swanage ranks first on outdoors among 30 towns, with an A+: better than almost every UK town. Upton and Weston follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Outdoors Grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): green space per resident, parks within 400 m, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths and the coast. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Dorset’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Dorset is on the county page.

Go deeper

More Dorset lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Dorset rankings →
Best places to live30 towns · #1 West ParleyBest small towns16 towns · #1 West ParleyMost affordable towns30 towns · #1 FortuneswellSafest towns30 towns · #1 MerleyTowns with the best schools30 towns · #1 BournemouthHealthiest towns30 towns · #1 Ashley HeathBest towns for jobs & income30 towns · #1 MerleyMost walkable towns30 towns · #1 DorchesterTowns with the lowest flood risk30 towns · #1 Alderholt and 8 moreMost historic towns30 towns · #1 BridportTowns with the most civic life30 towns · #1 Lytchett MatraversTowns with the highest household incomes32 towns · #1 PimperneDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest council tax32 towns · #1 Bearwood and 2 moreDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters32 towns · #1 SwanageDescribed, no lettersTowns with the warmest summers32 towns · #1 BearwoodDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers32 towns · #1 SwanageDescribed, no lettersTowns with the fewest frosts32 towns · #1 Fortuneswell and WestonDescribed, no lettersDriest towns32 towns · #1 FortuneswellDescribed, no lettersWettest towns32 towns · #1 BeaminsterDescribed, no letters
County by county

Best towns for the outdoors, county by county

BedfordshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireClwydCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDerbyshireDevonDorsetDyfedEast Riding of YorkshireEast SussexEssexGloucestershireGreater ManchesterGwentHampshireHertfordshireKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMerseysideMid GlamorganNorfolkNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetSouth YorkshireStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyTyne and WearWarwickshireWest GlamorganWest MidlandsWest SussexWest YorkshireWiltshireWorcestershire

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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.