Basildon has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
506 km of footpaths run through the city and the kilometre around it, 7.1 for every square kilometre. 95% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Basildon add up to 3.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Basildon grades A− for the outdoors: #10 of 81 in Essex. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Basildon’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by parks close to every home.
Outdoors grade
Basildon grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Basildon, 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 83% of UK towns#10 of 81 in Essex · 20th of 60 UK cities its size
Public green space3.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
69out of 100
A park within a walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
75out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths7.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
99out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 1% sea, under the 5% that counts
42out 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.
Cities its size
Basildon is 20th of 60 UK cities its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 81,600 to 156,900 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
Basildon7.1
Cities its size4.1
Essex towns2.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Basildon3.0
Cities its size2.4
Essex towns2.4
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Basildon95%
Cities its size86%
Essex towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against cities its size, Basildon stands out most for path per km²: only 4 of the other 59 have more.
The biggest is Langdon Hills Country Park, 171 ha (423 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 16 named parks by size: 547 ha (1,351 acres) and 84 km of path
Parks & gardens 483 haPlaying fields 63 ha
The two biggest, Langdon Hills Country Park and Langdon Hills Country Park, are 63% of the named green space and carry 56 km of path between them. 3 of the 16 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Almost everyone in Basildon 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%)
Basildon95%
Cities its size86%
Essex towns84%
All UK towns83%
About 6,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 92 playgrounds are mapped in and around the city, about one for every 1,260 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 8.7 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
506 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Basildon and the kilometre around it, 7.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the city.
National
King Charles III England Coast Path: Tilbury to Southend-on-Sea9.4 km
Thames Estuary Path7.5 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Basildon.
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 Basildon: May to September
The city’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
8.7
7.8
High (°C)
8
8
11
14
17
21
23
23
20
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
52
41
35
39
45
47
50
49
47
64
60
56
March is the driest month (35 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 64 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 34 nights a year. The climate in Basildon →
Things to do
4 viewpoints, 92 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the city in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK city its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Basildon grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. Crays Hill and North Benfleet have at least twice Basildon’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Basildon
What is the biggest park in Basildon?
Langdon Hills Country Park, 171 ha (423 acres), with 27.9 km of path. Langdon Hills Country Park (171 ha) is second. 16 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the city or within 400 m of it.
Is Basildon near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 8.7 mi south of the city’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Basildon?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the city, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Tilbury to Southend-on-Sea and Thames Estuary Path. Langdon Hills Country Park alone has 27.9 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Basildon?
Thorney Bay Beach, 4.3 mi from the edge of the city, then Bell Wharf Beach (5.6 mi). Basildon itself is inland.
How many people in Basildon 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 Basildon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Basildon good for walking?
For paths, yes: 7.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 99% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 69% (3.0 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 Basildon’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: Mike Pennington · CC BY-SA 2.0