The sea makes up 54% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Swanage add up to 6.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Swanage grades A+ for the outdoors: #1 of 30 in Dorset. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Swanage’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Swanage grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Swanage, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A+
Better than almost every UK town#1 of 30 in Dorset · 1st of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space6.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
92out of 100
A park within a walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
75out of 100
National Park or National Landscape47%of the land within 5 km
91out of 100
Footpaths4.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
84out of 100
The sea54%of the area within 5 km
99out of 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
Swanage is 1st of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,700 to 9,500 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
Swanage4.2
Towns its size3.3
Dorset towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Swanage6.9
Towns its size2.7
Dorset towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Swanage95%
Towns its size85%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Swanage stands out most for park space per resident: only 7 of the other 59 have more.
Almost everyone in Swanage lives 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).
Within 400 m (95%)Further (5%)
Swanage95%
Towns its size85%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 400 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 town, about one for every 912 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Swanage
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
Dorset
Swanage is inside it1,129 km²since 195947% of the land within 5 km
47% of the land within 5 km of Swanage is National Park or National Landscape, more than 90% of UK towns. New Forest National Park covers 567 km² and has been a National Park since 2006.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Swanage is on the South West Coast Path
81 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Swanage and the kilometre around it, 4.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocalOther waymarked
South West Coast Path (Section 52: Worth Matravers to South Haven Point)12.7 km
The Purbeck Ridgeway - Corfe Castle to the coast, Corfe Castle9.1 km
Purbeck Way5.5 km
Old Harry Rocks Walk, Purbeck Estate4.2 km
Godlingston Heath walk, Purbeck Estate4.0 km
Priest's Way3.9 km
Spyway Sea Saunter, Purbeck Coast3.7 km
South Purbeck Cliffs Walk, Purbeck Coast3.0 km
South West Coast Path (alternative route)0.9 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Swanage. Close to home, the The Purbeck Ridgeway - Corfe Castle to the coast, Corfe Castle has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Purbeck Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A historic park in the middle of Swanage
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Swanage’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade II
Durlston Country Park
110 ha. Part of Durlston Castle Historic Landscape, a registered historic park (Grade II). 0 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
Heritage walks
The Purbeck Ridgeway - Corfe Castle to the coast, Corfe Castle 9.1 km
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Swanage: 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
10.0
11.7
13.7
15.5
16.4
16.0
14.5
12.5
10.6
8.9
8.0
High (°C)
9
9
10
13
16
18
21
21
19
15
12
9
Rain (mm)
98
72
63
56
50
57
53
61
69
106
112
114
May is the driest month (50 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 114 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 16 nights a year. The climate in Swanage →
The coast
Swanage is a coastal town
54% of the area within 5 km of Swanage is sea. 8 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 4 with a name.
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.
Things to do
7 viewpoints and 10 playgrounds
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.
Swanage grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Swanage
What is the biggest park in Swanage?
Durlston Country Park, 110 ha (272 acres), with 16.6 km of path. Washpond Natural Greenspace (6.6 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Swanage near a National Park?
Yes. New Forest National Park begins 13 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 567 km² and has been a National Park since 2006. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Dorset National Landscape, at the edge of the town.
What are the best walks near Swanage?
9 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the South West Coast Path (Section 52: Worth Matravers to South Haven Point), The Purbeck Ridgeway - Corfe Castle to the coast, Corfe Castle and Purbeck Way. Durlston Country Park alone has 16.6 km of path.
How many people in Swanage live near a park?
95% 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 Swanage?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Swanage are historic?
Durlston Castle Historic Landscape (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Swanage good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 84% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 92% (6.9 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 Swanage’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0