Tranent’s biggest
Polson Public Park
Park or garden
4.9 ha (12 acres)1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Tranent · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Tranent lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Footpaths add up to 69 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.8 for every square kilometre. The sea makes up 23% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Tranent add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Tranent has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
1.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
69 km
4.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
The sea
23%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Tranent?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.On a long-distance trailThe John Muir Way passes through.
Tranent’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by the John Muir Way.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Tranent’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Tranent
The biggest is Polson Public Park, 4.9 ha (12 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Foresters Park
Playing field
2.5 ha (6 acres)0.4 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Tranent
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Tranent’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 (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Tranent100%
East Lothian towns92%
Towns in England and Wales83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 66 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 185 residents.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Tranent is on the John Muir Way
69 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Tranent and the kilometre around it, 4.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalLocal
Core Paths41.9 km
John Muir Way (Prestonpans to North Berwick)1.8 km
Pencaitland Railway Walk1.4 km
John Muir Way (Edinburgh to Prestonpans)1.3 km
The John Muir Way, a national route, passes Tranent. Close to home, the Core Paths has 42 km of local walk within 2 km of the town.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Tranent: June, July and 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) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.6 | 17.0 | 15.1 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 7.0 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 57 | 50 | 49 | 41 | 50 | 64 | 66 | 75 | 55 | 78 | 65 | 63 |
April is the driest month (41 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 78 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 36 nights a year. The climate in Tranent →
The coast
Tranent is near the sea
23% of the area within 5 km of Tranent is sea. 12 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 3 with a name.
Seton Sands1.8 mi from town
DirectionsLongniddry Bents2.8 mi from town
DirectionsMusselburgh Sands2.8 mi from town
DirectionsSea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by SEPA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
66 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
1745 Battlefield Viewpoint0.2 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 66
Plus 66 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.
PrestonpansCockenzieOrmistonWallyfordLongniddryMusselburghTranent
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tranent | – | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Prestonpans 1.5 mi | – | 1.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Cockenzie 1.9 mi | – | 1.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Ormiston 2.1 mi | – | 2.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Wallyford 2.4 mi | – | 2.0 | 70% | 0% |
| Longniddry 3.0 mi | – | 1.1 | 79% | 0% |
| Musselburgh 3.9 mi | – | 2.8 | 92% | 0% |
None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Tranent
What is the biggest park in Tranent?
Polson Public Park, 4.9 ha (12 acres), with 1.2 km of path. Foresters Park (2.5 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Tranent near a National Park?
No National Park or National Scenic Area is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Tranent.
What are the best walks near Tranent?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Core Paths, John Muir Way (Prestonpans to North Berwick) and Pencaitland Railway Walk.
How many people in Tranent live near a park?
100% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Tranent?
June, July and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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 Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Tranent’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Tranent’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 Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, 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: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
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.