Weston’s biggest
Easton Gardens
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Weston
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Church of St George, Reforne · Photo: 1] · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Weston · parks, paths & countryside
Weston is on the coast, on the South West Coast Path
The sea makes up 89% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 89 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 7.6 for every square kilometre. The Dorset National Landscape begins 4.8 mi from the town’s edge. Weston grades A+ for the outdoors: #3 of 30 in Dorset. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
95%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
89 km
7.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Dorset starts 4.8 mi out, past the 5 km
The sea
89%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Weston?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast89% of the area within 5 km is sea; 10 beaches mapped.A town of footpaths7.6 km of path per km², more than 99% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Dorset National Landscape starts 4.8 mi north-west.On a National TrailThe South West Coast Path passes through.
Weston’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Weston grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Weston, 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 96% of UK towns#3 of 30 in Dorset · 2nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
59out of
100
100
A park within a walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
75out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Dorset begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths7.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
99out of
100
100
The sea89%of the area within 5 km
100out 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
Weston is 2nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,000 to 5,400 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
Weston7.6
Towns its size2.8
Dorset towns3.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Weston2.5
Towns its size2.4
Dorset towns1.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Weston95%
Towns its size74%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Weston stands out most for path per km²: only 1 of the other 59 has more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cookham Berkshire | A+ | 8.3 | 96% | 4.3 | 19% |
| 2 | Weston Dorset | A+ | 2.5 | 95% | 7.6 | 0% |
| 3 | Whitehill Hampshire | A+ | 10.2 | 74% | 5.1 | 58% |
| 4 | Hungerford Berkshire | A+ | 9.1 | 85% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 5 | Budleigh Salterton Devon | A− | 2.7 | 70% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 6 | Needham Market Suffolk | A− | 7.2 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 7 | Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire | A− | 5.6 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 8 | Overseal and Castle Gresley Derbyshire | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Hoylake Merseyside | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Eynsham Oxfordshire | A− | 3 | 94% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 11 | Northam Devon | A− | 6.8 | 43% | 2 | 16% |
| 12 | Highbridge Somerset | B+ | 2.9 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 13 | Huthwaite Nottinghamshire | B+ | 8.1 | 75% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 14 | Sonning Common Oxfordshire | B+ | 2.6 | 60% | 3.7 | 74% |
| 15 | Llantwit Major South Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Seaton Cumbria | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 17 | Drighlington West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.1 | 92% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 18 | Whitchurch Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 3.3 | 43% |
| 19 | New Alresford Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 94% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 20 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | B+ | 8.8 | 65% | 5 | 0% |
| 21 | Shrivenham and Watchfield Oxfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 96% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 22 | Long Ashton Somerset | B+ | 10.2 | 66% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Dartmouth Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 71% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 24 | Newent Gloucestershire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Battle East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 64% | 4.3 | 84% |
| 26 | Fremington Devon | B+ | 1.4 | 88% | 2.1 | 10% |
| 27 | Grimethorpe South Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Benson Oxfordshire | B | 6 | 44% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 29 | Longstanton and Northstowe Cambridgeshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Rowlands Gill Tyne and Wear | B | 4.9 | 84% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Redbourn Hertfordshire | B | 2.4 | 70% | 3.2 | 11% |
| 32 | Iver Heath Buckinghamshire | B | 28.9 | 53% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Virginia Water Surrey | B | 14.5 | 72% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire | B− | 1.6 | 84% | 7.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Abercarn Gwent | B− | 3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Whitburn Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.5 | 46% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Midhurst West Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 28% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 38 | Brynmawr Gwent | C+ | 1.2 | 68% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 39 | Sacriston County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 72% | 4 | 0% |
| 40 | Helsby Cheshire | C+ | 1.4 | 66% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Oakley Hampshire | C | 1.7 | 56% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 42 | Havercroft and Ryhill West Yorkshire | C | 1.6 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Bovingdon Hertfordshire | C | 1.4 | 55% | 2.3 | 26% |
| 44 | Shevington Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Odiham Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Looe Cornwall | C− | 0.1 | 47% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 47 | Long Stratton Norfolk | C− | 1 | 89% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Jaywick Essex | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Bayston Hill Shropshire | C− | 1.8 | 70% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Llangefni Gwynedd | C− | 1.8 | 95% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Measham Leicestershire | C− | 1.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Littlestone-on-Sea Kent | C− | 1.4 | 37% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Potton Bedfordshire | D | 1.3 | 77% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Blackrod Greater Manchester | D | 1 | 83% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Moorends South Yorkshire | D | 2.2 | 39% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Winslow Buckinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 59% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Harleston Norfolk | D− | 0.2 | 42% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 58 | Appley Bridge Greater Manchester | D− | 0.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Ravenshead Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Somerton Somerset | D− | 0.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Weston’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 Weston
The biggest is Easton Gardens, 0.3 ha (1 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Weston Green
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Weston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Weston 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).
Within 400 m (95%)Further (5%)
Weston95%
Towns its size74%
Dorset towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 9 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 579 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Dorset National Landscape is 4.8 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Weston scores 0% on it even though the Dorset National Landscape is 4.8 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Weston is on the South West Coast Path
89 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Weston and the kilometre around it, 7.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
National
South West Coast Path (Section 49: Isle of Portland Circuit)15.9 km
King Charles III England Coast Path: Portland to Lulworth5.6 km
The South West Coast Path, a national route, passes Weston.
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 Weston: 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) | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 101 | 51 | 51 | 45 | 45 | 41 | 45 | 44 | 50 | 75 | 85 | 88 |
June is the driest month (41 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 101 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 7 nights a year. The climate in Weston →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Weston
89% of the area within 5 km of Weston is sea. 10 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 3 with a name.
Church Ope Cove0.0 mi from town
DirectionsLittle Beach0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPortland Beach1.3 mi from town
DirectionsThe South West Coast Path passes the town.
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
5 viewpoints and 9 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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 5
Plus 5 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Tout Quarry Reserve & Sculpture Park18 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsBroadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve7.3 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 9
Plus 9 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.
SouthwellGroveFortuneswellWeymouthChickerellDorchesterWeston
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | A+ | 2.5 | 95% | 0% |
| Southwell 0.9 mi | A | 0.7 | 100% | 0% |
| Grove 1.0 mi | A+ | 6.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Fortuneswell 1.3 mi | A | 1.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Weymouth 5.3 mi | A | 2.6 | 55% | 35% |
| Chickerell 6.0 mi | A | 1.5 | 88% | 27% |
| Dorchester 11.5 mi | B | 1.6 | 78% | 53% |
Grove, 1 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Grove has at least twice Weston’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Weston
What is the biggest park in Weston?
Easton Gardens, 0.3 ha (1 acres). Weston Green (0.3 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Weston near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Dorset National Landscape, 4.8 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,129 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Weston?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the South West Coast Path (Section 49: Isle of Portland Circuit) and King Charles III England Coast Path: Portland to Lulworth.
How many people in Weston 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 Weston?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Weston good for walking?
For paths, yes: 7.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 99% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 59% (2.5 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 Weston’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Weston’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.