Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Nigel Cox · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Lower Nazeing add up to 23.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 58% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 60 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.2 for every square kilometre. Lower Nazeing grades B− for the outdoors: #38 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.
Lower Nazeing’s strongest suit is plenty of park space. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Lower Nazeing, 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 3,500 to 3,800 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Lower Nazeing stands out most for park space per resident: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 47 of the others do better.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trimley St Mary Suffolk | A+ | 2.3 | 100% | 3.8 | 34% |
| 2 | Tutshill and Sedbury Gloucestershire | A+ | 2.5 | 87% | 4.5 | 32% |
| 3 | Marsden West Yorkshire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 6.5 | 33% |
| 4 | Leonard Stanley and King's Stanley Gloucestershire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 51% |
| 5 | Lingfield Surrey | A | 3.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 16% |
| 6 | Bishopston West Glamorgan | A | 3 | 47% | 3.1 | 41% |
| 7 | Kingsbury Warwickshire | A− | 17.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 8 | Shenley Hertfordshire | A− | 6.1 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 9 | Taff's Well Mid Glamorgan | A− | 2.3 | 100% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Grassmoor Derbyshire | A− | 6.8 | 85% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Church Stretton Shropshire | A− | 2.2 | 68% | 4.7 | 92% |
| 12 | Keresley Newlands Warwickshire | B+ | 4.4 | 89% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 13 | Harriseahead, Mow Cop and Newchapel Staffordshire | B+ | 4.2 | 86% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 14 | Watchet Somerset | B+ | 1.3 | 86% | 2 | 18% |
| 15 | Chartham Kent | B | 2.3 | 67% | 3.3 | 44% |
| 16 | Lyme Regis Dorset | B | 1.4 | 60% | 2.5 | 56% |
| 17 | Roade Northamptonshire | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Mayland Essex | B | 2.6 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 19 | Martham Norfolk | B | 1.7 | 74% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 20 | Llanfairfechan Clwyd | B | 1 | 48% | 2.9 | 38% |
| 21 | Sturminster Newton Dorset | B | 1.4 | 85% | 3.6 | 5% |
| 22 | Belton Norfolk | B− | 1.5 | 77% | 1.5 | 48% |
| 23 | Whitwell Derbyshire | B− | 1.7 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 24 | Theydon Bois Essex | B− | 2.4 | 70% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Lower Nazeing Essex | B− | 23.8 | 58% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Worlingham Suffolk | B− | 1.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 24% |
| 27 | Pulborough West Sussex | B− | 1.4 | 77% | 2.7 | 50% |
| 28 | Bembridge Isle of Wight | B− | 1.5 | 50% | 2.3 | 7% |
| 29 | Penllergaer West Glamorgan | B− | 21 | 83% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Langport Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Oakworth West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.3 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Fradley Staffordshire | C+ | 2.7 | 82% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 33 | Tutbury Staffordshire | C+ | 2.5 | 90% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Great Lumley County Durham | C+ | 1.4 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Woodstock Oxfordshire | C+ | 1 | 80% | 3 | 11% |
| 36 | Boreham Essex | C+ | 1.1 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Hatfield Peverel Essex | C | 2 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Bransgore Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 71% | 1.2 | 49% |
| 39 | Cowbridge South Glamorgan | C | 1.2 | 86% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Haltwhistle Northumberland | C | 1.5 | 59% | 2.3 | 31% |
| 41 | Glemsford Suffolk | C− | 1.1 | 84% | 3 | 0% |
| 42 | Bramhope West Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 0% | 2.7 | 2% |
| 43 | Hawkhurst Kent | C− | 1.1 | 60% | 1.4 | 100% |
| 44 | Tylorstown and Pontygwaith Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.3 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Fulbourn Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.7 | 74% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Pwllheli Gwynedd | C− | 0.1 | 23% | 1.3 | 2% |
| 47 | West Parley Dorset | C− | 1.6 | 20% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Bloxham Oxfordshire | C− | 2.6 | 71% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Snaith East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.2 | 89% | 2 | 0% |
| 50 | Windlesham Surrey | D | 2 | 57% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Hoveton and Wroxham Norfolk | D | 1.4 | 65% | 0.8 | 18% |
| 52 | Langford Bedfordshire | D | 1.4 | 63% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Spilsby Lincolnshire | D | 0 | 0% | 2.2 | 23% |
| 54 | St Columb Major Cornwall | D | 1 | 89% | 1 | 0% |
| 55 | Metheringham Lincolnshire | D | 0.8 | 44% | 3 | 0% |
| 56 | Willaston (Cheshire East) Cheshire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Bilton East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.3 | 66% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Upwell and Outwell Norfolk | D− | 1.8 | 43% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Wollaston Northamptonshire | D− | 1.2 | 11% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 60 | Copmanthorpe North Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 38% | 1.4 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Lower Nazeing’s built-up area.
The biggest is Lee Valley Country Park, 992 ha (2,452 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
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; 8 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 454 residents.
60 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Lower Nazeing and the kilometre around it, 3.2 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 London to Walsingham - stage 02 has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 6 regional routes pass through, including the Three Forests Way, Greenwich Meridian Trail, Lea Valley Walk and New River Path.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
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 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 60 | 45 | 37 | 43 | 46 | 51 | 50 | 57 | 48 | 66 | 65 | 58 |
March is the driest month (37 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 66 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Lower Nazeing →
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.
Lower Nazeing 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.
Plus 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Nazeing | B− | 23.8 | 58% | 0% |
| Hoddesdon 1.7 mi | A− | 6.5 | 82% | 0% |
| Roydon 2.5 mi | A | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Cheshunt 3.2 mi | B+ | 4.8 | 79% | 0% |
| Stanstead Abbotts 3.5 mi | B+ | 2.5 | 92% | 0% |
| Waltham Abbey 3.5 mi | A | 11.9 | 92% | 0% |
| Waltham Cross 3.8 mi | A | 10.6 | 100% | 0% |
Waltham Cross, 3.8 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.
Lee Valley Country Park, 992 ha (2,452 acres), with 66.4 km of path. Lee Valley Country Park (992 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Lower Nazeing.
8 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Stort Valley Way, London to Walsingham - stage 02 and Three Forests Way. Lee Valley Country Park alone has 66.4 km of path.
Stort Beach, 3.6 mi from the edge of the town, then Dock Beach (15 mi). Lower Nazeing itself is inland.
58% 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.
For paths, yes: 3.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 64% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 99% (23.8 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 Lower Nazeing’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.