Blaenavon’s biggest
Iron Bridge Picnic Area
Park or garden
0.4 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Blaenavon
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Blaenavon · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Blaenavon lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Brecon Beacons National Park begins 0.5 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Blaenavon add up to 1.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 28 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.3 for every square kilometre. Blaenavon grades A− for the outdoors: #13 of 38 in Gwent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
28 km
2.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
39%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Brecon Beacons National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Blaenavon?
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.Protected countryside39% of the land within 5 km is Brecon Beacons National Park.On a National TrailThe Cambrian Way passes through.
Blaenavon’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by protected countryside on the doorstep.
Outdoors grade
Blaenavon grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Blaenavon, 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 75% of UK towns#13 of 38 in Gwent · 12th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
40out 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 Landscape39%of the land within 5 km
88out of
100
100
Footpaths2.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
40out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
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.
Towns its size
Blaenavon is 12th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,400 to 5,900 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
Blaenavon2.3
Towns its size2.3
Gwent towns2.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Blaenavon1.8
Towns its size2.3
Gwent towns2.5
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Blaenavon100%
Towns its size81%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Blaenavon stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 35 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackfield and Langley Hampshire | A+ | 28.1 | 95% | 4.2 | 48% |
| 2 | Ventnor Isle of Wight | A+ | 4.5 | 61% | 3.7 | 25% |
| 3 | Deepcar South Yorkshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 6.4 | 21% |
| 4 | Amble Northumberland | A | 2 | 100% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 5 | Haworth West Yorkshire | A | 4.1 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 6 | Millom Cumbria | A | 2 | 82% | 3.2 | 13% |
| 7 | Carnforth Lancashire | A− | 1.2 | 89% | 3 | 39% |
| 8 | Nailsworth Gloucestershire | A− | 1.3 | 86% | 5.9 | 88% |
| 9 | Barnard Castle County Durham | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 10 | East Horsley Surrey | A− | 3.5 | 55% | 4.5 | 33% |
| 11 | Steyning West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 86% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 12 | Blaenavon Gwent | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 39% |
| 13 | Henfield West Sussex | A− | 3.8 | 51% | 4.4 | 17% |
| 14 | Merley Dorset | B+ | 3.9 | 64% | 4.1 | 6% |
| 15 | Carlton in Lindrick Nottinghamshire | B+ | 9 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Kingsbridge Devon | B+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.6 | 67% |
| 17 | Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.1 | 61% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 18 | Marchwood Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 87% | 1.3 | 38% |
| 19 | Cottam Lancashire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 20 | Creswell Derbyshire | B+ | 2.7 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Moor Park Hertfordshire | B+ | 4.5 | 46% | 4.5 | 1% |
| 22 | Willington County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 23 | Garstang Lancashire | B | 2.4 | 89% | 2.3 | 15% |
| 24 | Askern South Yorkshire | B | 8.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 25 | East Tilbury Essex | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2 | 0% |
| 26 | Shipston-on-Stour Warwickshire | B | 2.3 | 94% | 1.6 | 20% |
| 27 | Brixworth Northamptonshire | B | 3.8 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 28 | Hemsby Norfolk | B | 2.5 | 51% | 1.4 | 22% |
| 29 | Bidford-on-Avon Warwickshire | B | 3.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 30 | Llandrindod Wells Powys | B− | 4.5 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Cheddar Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 41% | 3 | 56% |
| 32 | Haddenham Buckinghamshire | B− | 3.1 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 33 | Hullbridge Essex | C+ | 5.7 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Aylesham Kent | C+ | 0.3 | 76% | 3.4 | 33% |
| 35 | Broseley Shropshire | C+ | 1.2 | 74% | 3.4 | 8% |
| 36 | Quorndon Leicestershire | C+ | 2.7 | 81% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Rainford Merseyside | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Crawley Down West Sussex | C+ | 1.2 | 80% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 39 | Pontyclun Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.4 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Ruthin Clwyd | C | 2.7 | 51% | 1.5 | 31% |
| 41 | Egremont Cumbria | C | 1.1 | 63% | 1.8 | 11% |
| 42 | Wadebridge Cornwall | C | 1.8 | 74% | 1.8 | 17% |
| 43 | Bracebridge Heath Lincolnshire | C | 1.1 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Four Marks Hampshire | C | 0.9 | 46% | 3 | 31% |
| 45 | Coningsby and Tattershall Lincolnshire | C | 2.7 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 46 | Durrington Wiltshire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Undy and Magor Gwent | C | 0.9 | 86% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Red Lodge Suffolk | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Ramsey Cambridgeshire | C | 2.5 | 72% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Welshpool Powys | C− | 2.6 | 82% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Pembury Kent | C− | 1.1 | 45% | 2 | 58% |
| 52 | Abertridwr and Senghenydd Gwent | C− | 1.8 | 87% | 1 | 0% |
| 53 | Takeley and Little Canfield Essex | D | 1 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Withernsea East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.9 | 60% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Brigg Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 65% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Treherbert Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.2 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Ruskington Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Bulkington Warwickshire | D | 0.9 | 76% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirton Lincolnshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Blaenavon’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 Blaenavon
The biggest is Iron Bridge Picnic Area, 0.4 ha (1 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Blaenavon’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%)
Blaenavon100%
Towns its size81%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 7 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 805 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Brecon Beacons National Park is 0.5 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
National Park
Brecon Beacons
0.5 mi north1,350 km²since 195539% of the land within 5 km
39% of the land within 5 km of Blaenavon is National Park or National Landscape, more than 87% of UK towns. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Blaenavon is on the Cambrian Way
28 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Blaenavon and the kilometre around it, 2.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
National
Cambrian Way5.3 km
The Cambrian Way, a national route, passes Blaenavon.
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 Blaenavon: May to 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) | 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) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 174 | 129 | 110 | 94 | 97 | 85 | 87 | 104 | 106 | 176 | 173 | 182 |
June is the driest month (85 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 182 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 59 nights a year. The climate in Blaenavon →
Things to do
7 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Blaenavon is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Fossil Beach20 mi from Blaenavon’s edge
DirectionsSugar Loaf Beach23 mi from Blaenavon’s edge
DirectionsLadye Bay24 mi from Blaenavon’s edge
DirectionsClevedon Beach24 mi from Blaenavon’s edge
DirectionsDunraven Bay31 mi from Blaenavon’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. Natural Resources Wales tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Coity Mountain, at 578 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Blaenavon.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 4
Coity Mountain578 m (1,896 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsBlaen Pig500 m (1,640 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsMynydd Farteg Fawr543 m (1,782 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsMynydd y Garn Fawr503 m (1,650 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 7
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite 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.
AbersychanGovilonBlainaAbertilleryLlanfoistGilwernBlaenavon
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaenavon | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 39% |
| Abersychan 3.0 mi | B− | 2.8 | 83% | 17% |
| Govilon 3.2 mi | A− | 2.1 | 80% | 69% |
| Blaina 3.2 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 53% | 13% |
| Abertillery 3.6 mi | C | 2.4 | 69% | 0% |
| Llanfoist 3.6 mi | A+ | 10.7 | 86% | 57% |
| Gilwern 3.7 mi | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 83% |
Llanfoist, 3.6 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Llanfoist has at least twice Blaenavon’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Blaenavon
What is the biggest park in Blaenavon?
Iron Bridge Picnic Area, 0.4 ha (1 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Blaenavon near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 0.5 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
What are the best walks near Blaenavon?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Cambrian Way.
What is the nearest beach to Blaenavon?
Fossil Beach, 20 mi from the edge of the town, then Sugar Loaf Beach (23 mi). Blaenavon itself is inland.
How many people in Blaenavon 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 Blaenavon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Blaenavon good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 40% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 40% (1.8 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 Blaenavon’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Blaenavon’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.