Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.033% of the land within 5 km of Wool is National Park or National Landscape
The Dorset National Landscape begins 0.2 mi from the town’s edge. 51% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Footpaths add up to 62 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.5 for every square kilometre. Wool grades C+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors town is Wool?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Wool’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Wool grades C+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Wool, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Wool is 34th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,900 to 5,200 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Wool falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 47 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pill Somerset | A+ | 5.2 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 2 | Whitehill Hampshire | A+ | 10.2 | 74% | 5.1 | 58% |
| 3 | Hungerford Berkshire | A+ | 9.1 | 85% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 4 | Burry Port Dyfed | A+ | 11.8 | 75% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 5 | Moreton-in-Marsh Gloucestershire | A | 5 | 100% | 1.8 | 55% |
| 6 | Rhymney Gwent | A | 2.9 | 97% | 3.8 | 6% |
| 7 | Meols Merseyside | A | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 8 | Holmfirth West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 88% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 9 | Fitzwilliam and Kinsley West Yorkshire | A− | 11.5 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 10 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 11 | Fordingbridge Hampshire | A− | 3.6 | 92% | 2 | 56% |
| 12 | Coleford Gloucestershire | A− | 2.8 | 66% | 4.3 | 48% |
| 13 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 14 | Needham Market Suffolk | A− | 7.2 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 15 | Overseal and Castle Gresley Derbyshire | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Huthwaite Nottinghamshire | B+ | 8.1 | 75% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Seaton Cumbria | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Cranbrook Devon | B+ | 6.4 | 87% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 19 | Hildenborough Kent | B+ | 6.5 | 40% | 2.8 | 46% |
| 20 | Long Ashton Somerset | B+ | 10.2 | 66% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Stone Cross East Sussex | B+ | 1.4 | 86% | 2.3 | 9% |
| 22 | Aspull Greater Manchester | B | 7.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Easingwold North Yorkshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 1.5 | 14% |
| 24 | Grimethorpe South Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | B | 2.6 | 94% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 26 | Sedgefield County Durham | B | 6.2 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Iver Heath Buckinghamshire | B | 28.9 | 53% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Headley Down and Headley Hampshire | B | 2.1 | 55% | 3.4 | 44% |
| 29 | Virginia Water Surrey | B | 14.5 | 72% | 3 | 0% |
| 30 | Abercarn Gwent | B− | 3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Whitburn Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.5 | 46% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Wotton-under-Edge Gloucestershire | C+ | 0.4 | 32% | 5.4 | 60% |
| 33 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 34 | Wool Dorset | C+ | 2.3 | 51% | 2.5 | 33% |
| 35 | Sacriston County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 72% | 4 | 0% |
| 36 | Steeton West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Moulton Northamptonshire | C+ | 3.3 | 88% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Barton-le-Clay Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 43% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 39 | Church Lancashire | C | 1.5 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Billinge Merseyside | C | 0.9 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 41 | Treharris Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.6 | 72% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 43 | Bungay Suffolk | C | 0.5 | 78% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 44 | Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe Lincolnshire | C | 1.8 | 67% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Odiham Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Jaywick Essex | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Shavington Cheshire | C− | 1.1 | 87% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 49 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Haslington Cheshire | D | 1.8 | 41% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Gresford Clwyd | D | 1.4 | 76% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 54 | Lepton West Yorkshire | D− | 0.9 | 36% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Wingate County Durham | D− | 1 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Harleston Norfolk | D− | 0.2 | 42% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Appley Bridge Greater Manchester | D− | 0.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Shotton Colliery County Durham | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Somerton Somerset | D− | 0.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Wool’s built-up area.
5 in 10 Wool 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).
About 2,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 19 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 265 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Wool
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.
Dorset
Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
33% of the land within 5 km of Wool is National Park or National Landscape, more than 84% of UK towns.
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Wool
62 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Wool and the kilometre around it, 2.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Close to home, the Frome Valley Way has 11 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 3 regional routes pass through, including the Purbeck Way, The Hardy Way and Jubilee Trail (Dorset).
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Wool: 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 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 108 | 75 | 65 | 63 | 52 | 55 | 53 | 69 | 69 | 108 | 120 | 116 |
May is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 120 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Wool →
19 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
Wool is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Clouds Hill, at 85 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Wool.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Hills and peaks 5
Nature reserves 4
Picnic sites 2
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 19
Plus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 4
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wool | C+ | 2.3 | 51% | 33% |
| Bere Regis 4.0 mi | A | 39.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Crossways 4.5 mi | C+ | 0.5 | 100% | 22% |
| Wareham 4.7 mi | A | 1.9 | 83% | 56% |
| Sandford 5.6 mi | B | 0.3 | 43% | 41% |
| Milborne St Andrew 6.2 mi | B | 3.3 | 71% | 33% |
| Puddletown 6.4 mi | D | 0.2 | 0% | 15% |
Wareham, 4.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 83% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Bere Regis has at least twice Wool’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Wool
Is Wool near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Dorset National Landscape, 0.2 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,129 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Wool?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Frome Valley Way, Purbeck Way and The Hardy Way.
What is the nearest beach to Wool?
Ringstead Beach, 5.3 mi from the edge of the town, then Shipstal Beach (8.4 mi). Wool itself is inland.
How many people in Wool live near a park?
51% 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 Wool?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Wool good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 46% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 53% (2.3 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 Wool’s overall grade.
Where Wool’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.