Sherborne’s biggest
Quarr Local Nature Reserve
Park or garden
3.2 ha (8 acres)0.4 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Sherborne
Nature reserve
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0DOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Sherborne · parks, paths & countryside
76% of Sherborne’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Dorset National Landscape begins 4.9 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Sherborne add up to 1.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 32 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.1 for every square kilometre. Sherborne grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
76%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
32 km
2.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Dorset starts 4.9 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Sherborne?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Dorset National Landscape starts 4.9 mi south.Less park per person1.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Sherborne’s strongest suit is the Dorset National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Sherborne grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Sherborne, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
D
Better than 12% of UK towns#30 of 30 in Dorset
Public green space1.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
19out of
100
100
A park within a walk76%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
40out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Dorset begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
33out 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
How Sherborne compares with UK towns of 9,800 to 11,000
The 60 UK towns and cities of 9,800 to 11,000 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
Sherborne2.1
Towns its size3.0
Dorset towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Sherborne1.2
Towns its size2.1
Dorset towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Sherborne76%
Towns its size83%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
Sherborne falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 49 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caldicot Gwent | A+ | 4.2 | 92% | 3 | 2% |
| 2 | West End Hampshire | A | 9.1 | 100% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Brierfield Lancashire | A | 2.1 | 92% | 5.6 | 18% |
| 4 | South Merstham Surrey | A | 3.7 | 84% | 3.7 | 20% |
| 5 | Beccles Suffolk | A | 4.5 | 87% | 3.2 | 20% |
| 6 | Bradford-on-Avon Wiltshire | A | 2.8 | 88% | 3.7 | 21% |
| 7 | Godalming Surrey | A− | 4.6 | 73% | 3.1 | 66% |
| 8 | Soham Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 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 | Kings Hill Kent | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 12 | Romiley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.9 | 80% | 3.8 | 1% |
| 13 | Padiham Lancashire | A− | 1.5 | 95% | 4.5 | 18% |
| 14 | Bingham Nottinghamshire | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire | A− | 4 | 85% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitwick Leicestershire | A− | 4.2 | 84% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Chadwell St Mary Essex | A− | 3.2 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Egglescliffe County Durham | A− | 4.9 | 94% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Tidworth Wiltshire | B+ | 3.7 | 90% | 2.3 | 8% |
| 20 | Pelsall West Midlands | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Corfe Mullen Dorset | B+ | 3.1 | 72% | 3.5 | 13% |
| 22 | Woodbridge Suffolk | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 23 | Barnoldswick Lancashire | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 4 | 2% |
| 24 | Cranleigh Surrey | B | 2.5 | 20% | 4.3 | 38% |
| 25 | Corsham Wiltshire | B | 1.9 | 81% | 3 | 31% |
| 26 | Baldock Hertfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 27 | Ludlow Shropshire | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2.1 | 16% |
| 28 | Great Dunmow Essex | B | 2 | 92% | 4 | 0% |
| 29 | Caernarfon Gwynedd | B− | 1.7 | 83% | 1.4 | 14% |
| 30 | Horbury West Yorkshire | B− | 2.5 | 75% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Monmouth Gwent | B− | 1.5 | 69% | 3.1 | 45% |
| 32 | Oswaldtwistle Lancashire | B− | 1.1 | 94% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Radstock Somerset | B− | 1.1 | 93% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 34 | Filton Gloucestershire | B− | 3.3 | 40% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Whitchurch Shropshire | B− | 2.7 | 86% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Mold Clwyd | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 1.6 | 17% |
| 37 | Baglan West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Liskeard Cornwall | C+ | 0.8 | 89% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 39 | Raunds Northamptonshire | C+ | 4.7 | 74% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Abertillery Gwent | C | 2.4 | 69% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Selsey West Sussex | C | 1.6 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Earl Shilton Leicestershire | C | 1.5 | 98% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Barnham West Sussex | C | 1.3 | 70% | 2.3 | 32% |
| 44 | Kippax West Yorkshire | C | 1.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Catshill Worcestershire | C | 1.4 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 46 | Prudhoe Northumberland | C− | 1.7 | 37% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 47 | Epping Essex | C− | 1.2 | 70% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Hexham Northumberland | C− | 1.5 | 64% | 2 | 9% |
| 49 | Polegate East Sussex | C− | 0.8 | 64% | 2.2 | 24% |
| 50 | Lutterworth Leicestershire | C− | 1.7 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 51 | West Moors Dorset | C− | 0.9 | 33% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 52 | New Ollerton and Ollerton Nottinghamshire | C− | 0.8 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Dinnington South Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 81% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Haxby North Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 59% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Newtown Powys | D | 2.3 | 65% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Sherborne Dorset | D | 1.2 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Longton Lancashire | D | 1.7 | 60% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Burton Latimer Northamptonshire | D | 0.9 | 62% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Pocklington East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Ponteland Northumberland | D− | 1.1 | 36% | 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 Sherborne’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 Sherborne
The biggest is Quarr Local Nature Reserve, 3.2 ha (8 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 4 named parks by size: 6 ha (14 acres) and 1 km of path
Parks & gardens 4.4 haPlaying fields 1.3 ha
The two biggest, Quarr Local Nature Reserve and Pageant Gardens, are 72% of the named green space. 3 of the 4 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Pageant Gardens
Park or garden
0.9 ha (2 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Sherborne
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Sherborne Football Club
Playing field · 290 m outside town
1.3 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Paddock Garden
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Sherborne
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Sherborne’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 (76%)Further (24%)
Sherborne76%
Towns its size83%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 2,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 11 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 942 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Dorset National Landscape is 4.9 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
10 mi north-east986 km²since 1983
Official siteProtected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Sherborne scores 0% on it even though the Dorset National Landscape is 4.9 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Sherborne
32 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Sherborne and the kilometre around it, 2.1 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
Macmillan Way8.6 km
Monarch's Way1.7 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the Macmillan Way and Monarch'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 Sherborne: 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 | 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 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 89 | 65 | 56 | 58 | 58 | 50 | 53 | 68 | 64 | 95 | 102 | 100 |
June is the driest month (50 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 102 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Sherborne →
Things to do
11 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
Sherborne is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Hive Beach19 mi from Sherborne’s edge
DirectionsEast Beach19 mi from Sherborne’s edge
DirectionsSeatown Beach19 mi from Sherborne’s edge
DirectionsChesil Beach22 mi from Sherborne’s edge
DirectionsRingstead Beach22 mi from Sherborne’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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
The Quarr3.3 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 11
Plus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Milborne PortBarwick and StofordYeovilTemplecombeHenstridgeStalbridgeSherborne
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherborne | D | 1.2 | 76% | 0% |
| Milborne Port 2.8 mi | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Barwick and Stoford 4.7 mi | B | 6.4 | 71% | 5% |
| Yeovil 5.1 mi | B+ | 2.0 | 90% | 2% |
| Templecombe 5.7 mi | C+ | 2.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Henstridge 5.8 mi | D | 1.8 | 47% | 0% |
| Stalbridge 6.4 mi | B− | 3.3 | 100% | 0% |
Yeovil, 5.1 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 90% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Barwick and Stoford and Stalbridge have at least twice Sherborne’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Sherborne
What is the biggest park in Sherborne?
Quarr Local Nature Reserve, 3.2 ha (8 acres). Pageant Gardens (0.9 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Sherborne near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Dorset National Landscape, 4.9 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 1,129 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Sherborne?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Macmillan Way and Monarch's Way.
What is the nearest beach to Sherborne?
Hive Beach, 19 mi from the edge of the town, then East Beach (19 mi). Sherborne itself is inland.
How many people in Sherborne live near a park?
76% 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 Sherborne?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Sherborne good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 33% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 19% (1.2 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 Sherborne’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Sherborne’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.