Highnam’s biggest
The Park
Park or garden
16 ha (40 acres)
23 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Highnam
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Highnam · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Highnam lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Highnam add up to 12.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Cotswolds National Landscape begins 4.8 mi from the village’s edge. 15 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 2.1 for every square kilometre. Highnam grades B+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
12.0 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
15 km
2.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Cotswolds starts 4.8 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Highnam?
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.Room to roam12.0 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 97% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe Cotswolds National Landscape starts 4.8 mi south-east.Historic parksHighnam Court is a registered historic park (Grade II*).
Highnam’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Highnam grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Highnam, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B+
Better than 71% of UK towns14th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space12.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
97out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Cotswolds begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
32out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 1.1% sea, under the 5% that counts
42out of
100
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.
Villages its size
Highnam is 14th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,800 to 2,000 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
Highnam2.1
Villages its size2.3
Gloucestershire towns3.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Highnam12.0
Villages its size2.4
Gloucestershire towns2.4
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Highnam100%
Villages its size81%
Gloucestershire towns84%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Highnam stands out most for park space per resident: only 3 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westbourne West Sussex | A+ | 9.6 | 100% | 4.1 | 57% |
| 2 | Badshot Lea Surrey | A+ | 25.9 | 100% | 5.2 | 25% |
| 3 | Kirkby Stephen Cumbria | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 3.7 | 65% |
| 4 | Colyton Devon | A+ | 3.5 | 100% | 2.2 | 79% |
| 5 | Brading Isle of Wight | A+ | 2.9 | 84% | 4.2 | 21% |
| 6 | Chilworth Surrey | A+ | 10.8 | 80% | 6.1 | 59% |
| 7 | Scholes (near Hade Edge) West Yorkshire | A+ | 3.8 | 100% | 4.7 | 16% |
| 8 | Ravenstone Leicestershire | A− | 5.3 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Ickleford Hertfordshire | A− | 3.7 | 82% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 10 | South Nutfield Surrey | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 11 | Lower Broadheath Worcestershire | A− | 6 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 12 | Goosnargh Lancashire | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.5 | 6% |
| 13 | Lyminge Kent | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.1 | 90% |
| 14 | Highnam Gloucestershire | B+ | 12 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 15 | Polesworth Warwickshire | B+ | 13.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 16 | Wingates Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | B+ | 2.8 | 83% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 18 | Southgate West Glamorgan | B+ | 1.1 | 21% | 3.7 | 56% |
| 19 | Chinley Derbyshire | B+ | 1.2 | 78% | 4.4 | 53% |
| 20 | Partridge Green West Sussex | B | 2.1 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 21 | Shurdington Gloucestershire | B | 2.7 | 47% | 3.3 | 42% |
| 22 | Wrotham Kent | B | 1.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 49% |
| 23 | Beare Green Surrey | B | 1.6 | 70% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 24 | Campsall South Yorkshire | B | 14.8 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Stanwick Northamptonshire | B− | 7.9 | 82% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Dilton Marsh Wiltshire | B− | 2.1 | 67% | 3.5 | 4% |
| 27 | Hutton Cranswick East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 5 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Wrea Green Lancashire | B− | 3.5 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Whitland Dyfed | B− | 4.4 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Wooler Northumberland | B− | 3.3 | 81% | 0.8 | 26% |
| 31 | Stow-on-the-Wold Gloucestershire | B− | 3.4 | 64% | 1.2 | 88% |
| 32 | Oxenhope West Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 80% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Leeswood Clwyd | C+ | 4 | 83% | 0.7 | 2% |
| 34 | Wickham Bishops Essex | C+ | 3.4 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Hockley Heath West Midlands | C+ | 2.6 | 86% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Northiam East Sussex | C+ | 2.2 | 76% | 0.8 | 100% |
| 37 | Stratton Cornwall | C+ | 0.8 | 23% | 3 | 8% |
| 38 | High Spen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 3.3 | 74% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Hatton Warwickshire | C | 1.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 40 | Ramsden Heath Essex | C | 2.3 | 82% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Presteigne Powys | C | 3.2 | 61% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Sleights North Yorkshire | C | 0.9 | 30% | 1.5 | 80% |
| 43 | Rode Heath Cheshire | C | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Newton Poppleford Devon | C | 1.4 | 44% | 2.3 | 60% |
| 45 | Barrow Suffolk | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Chivenor and Wrafton Devon | C− | 0.6 | 0% | 1.7 | 17% |
| 47 | Black Notley Essex | C− | 1.6 | 36% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Littlethorpe Leicestershire | C− | 0.4 | 57% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Stocksfield Northumberland | C− | 2.2 | 40% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 50 | Brompton-on-Swale North Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 71% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Manby Lincolnshire | D | 1.4 | 68% | 0.8 | 2% |
| 52 | Cropwell Bishop Nottinghamshire | D | 0.7 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Hutton Rudby North Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 35% | 1.1 | 13% |
| 54 | Little Plumstead Norfolk | D | 0.6 | 64% | 1 | 16% |
| 55 | Wheldrake North Yorkshire | D− | 1.4 | 72% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Colnbrook Berkshire | D− | 0.6 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Weeting Norfolk | D− | 1.2 | 68% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Great Gonerby Lincolnshire | D− | 0.7 | 56% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Shippon Oxfordshire | D− | 0.4 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 60 | Goostrey Cheshire | D− | 0.3 | 42% | 1.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Highnam’s built-up area.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Natural England / NRW
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Highnam
The biggest is The Park, 16 ha (40 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Highnam’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 (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Highnam100%
Villages its size81%
Gloucestershire towns84%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cotswolds National Landscape is 4.8 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Highnam scores 0% on it even though the Cotswolds National Landscape is 4.8 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
9 waymarked walks pass through or near Highnam
15 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Highnam and the kilometre around it, 2.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Regional
Wysis Way6.8 km
Three Choirs Way (Gloucester to Hereford)6.2 km
Three Choirs Way (Gloucester to Kilcot)6.1 km
Gloucestershire Way4.7 km
Geopark Way4.2 km
Three Choirs Way (Worcester to Gloucester)2.9 km
Three Choirs Way (Hollybush to Gloucester)2.9 km
Severn Way (3) Worcester to Bristol2.5 km
Glevum Way0.5 km
9 regional routes pass through, including the Wysis Way, Three Choirs Way (Gloucester to Hereford), Three Choirs Way (Gloucester to Kilcot) and Gloucestershire Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A registered historic park in Highnam
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Highnam’s named parks.
Registered · Grade II*Highnam Court1.4 ha
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Highnam: May to September
The village’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 | 16.7 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 48 | 44 | 46 | 53 | 53 | 55 | 66 | 53 | 72 | 73 | 70 |
March is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 73 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Highnam →
Things to do
2 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Highnam is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Fossil Beach22 mi from Highnam’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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. Lassington Hill, at 60 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Highnam.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Lassington Hill60 m (197 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsRodway Hill66 m (217 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
Moor EndLongfordGloucesterQuedgeley and HardwickeHuntleyChurchdownHighnam
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highnam | B+ | 12.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Moor End 1.8 mi | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Longford 2.8 mi | A | 11.9 | 100% | 0% |
| Gloucester 3.5 mi | A | 2.7 | 93% | 22% |
| Quedgeley and Hardwicke 4.1 mi | A | 2.1 | 99% | 21% |
| Huntley 4.7 mi | B | 2.9 | 100% | 0% |
| Churchdown 4.7 mi | A− | 2.2 | 92% | 11% |
Gloucester, 3.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 93% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Highnam
What is the biggest park in Highnam?
The Park, 16 ha (40 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Highnam near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cotswolds National Landscape, 4.8 mi south-east of the village’s edge. It covers 2,041 km² and was designated in 1966.
What are the best walks near Highnam?
9 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Wysis Way, Three Choirs Way (Gloucester to Hereford) and Three Choirs Way (Gloucester to Kilcot).
What is the nearest beach to Highnam?
Fossil Beach, 22 mi from the edge of the village. Highnam itself is inland.
How many people in Highnam live near a park?
100% 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 Highnam?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Highnam are historic?
Highnam Court (Grade II*) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Highnam good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 32% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 97% (12.0 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 Highnam’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Highnam’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.