Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Aveley add up to 3.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The sea makes up 11% of the area within 5 km. 41 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.9 for every square kilometre. Aveley grades A− for the outdoors: #15 of 81 in Essex. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Aveley’s strongest suit is the King Charles III England Coast Path, followed by its historic parks.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Aveley, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,900 to 9,900 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Aveley stands out most for park space per resident: only 16 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 37 of the others do better.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 3 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 4 | Bordon Hampshire | A | 8.6 | 54% | 6.7 | 49% |
| 5 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Linthwaite and Slaithwaite West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 7 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 8 | Beccles Suffolk | A | 4.5 | 87% | 3.2 | 20% |
| 9 | Nuthall and Watnall Nottinghamshire | A | 6.3 | 97% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 11 | Southborough Kent | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 2.5 | 57% |
| 12 | Whiteley Hampshire | A− | 3 | 52% | 4.4 | 2% |
| 13 | Thurmaston Leicestershire | A− | 10.4 | 89% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Esher Surrey | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 17 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 18 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 20 | Aveley Essex | A− | 3.4 | 84% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 22 | Irthlingborough Northamptonshire | A− | 4.7 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Yarm North Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 24 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 25 | Sandiacre Derbyshire | B+ | 2.6 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 26 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 27 | Pontllanfraith Gwent | B | 3.7 | 93% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Shildon County Durham | B | 2.8 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 31 | North Wingfield and Holmewood Derbyshire | B | 2.7 | 84% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Queensbury West Yorkshire | B | 2.6 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Tiptree Essex | B | 2.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Immingham Lincolnshire | B | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Perton Staffordshire | B | 2.4 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 36 | Yaxley Cambridgeshire | B− | 2.6 | 90% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Pembroke Dock Dyfed | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 1.1 | 25% |
| 38 | Mildenhall Suffolk | B− | 2.1 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Knottingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 42 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 44 | Brandon County Durham | C+ | 2.2 | 72% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Crook County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 85% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Lydney Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.1 | 52% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Diss Norfolk | C | 1.5 | 80% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Milnrow Greater Manchester | C | 2.9 | 58% | 3 | 0% |
| 50 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Shepton Mallet Somerset | C | 1.2 | 70% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 52 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 53 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Broughton Astley Leicestershire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Pheasey West Midlands | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Aveley’s built-up area.
The biggest is Belhus Woods Country Park, 231 ha (571 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The two biggest, Belhus Woods Country Park and Aveley Recreation Park, are 100% of the named green space and carry 30 km of path between them.
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 1,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 22 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 426 residents.
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.
41 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Aveley and the kilometre around it, 2.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Aveley. 3 regional routes pass through, including the London LOOP (Section 24), London LOOP (Section 1) and LOOP link to Purfleet station.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Aveley’s named parks.
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.
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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 51 | 42 | 33 | 38 | 44 | 47 | 42 | 51 | 45 | 62 | 61 | 54 |
March is the driest month (33 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 24 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 62 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 31 nights a year. The climate in Aveley →
11% of the area within 5 km of Aveley is sea. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
The King Charles III England 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.
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.
Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Plus 4 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Plus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aveley | A− | 3.4 | 84% | 0% |
| Purfleet-on-Thames 1.4 mi | C− | 0.9 | 64% | 0% |
| South Ockendon 1.6 mi | A− | 2.6 | 88% | 0% |
| Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock 2.1 mi | B+ | 2.2 | 97% | 0% |
| Grays 3.6 mi | C | 1.2 | 83% | 0% |
| Stone 4.1 mi | A+ | 3.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Swanscombe 4.1 mi | A+ | 3.3 | 90% | 0% |
Stone, 4.1 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Belhus Woods Country Park, 231 ha (571 acres), with 30.2 km of path. Aveley Recreation Park (2.5 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 7.3 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
7 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the London LOOP (Section 24), King Charles III England Coast Path: Grain to Woolwich and London LOOP (Section 1). Belhus Woods Country Park alone has 30.2 km of path.
84% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Belhus Park (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
About average for paths: 2.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 56% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 75% (3.4 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Aveley’s overall grade.
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.