Gilwern’s biggest
Lower Common
Park or garden
0.7 ha (2 acres)
0.6 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: David Purchase · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Gilwern · parks, paths & countryside
Gilwern is inside the Brecon Beacons National Park
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 100% of residents. Footpaths add up to 23 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 2.0 for every square kilometre. Gilwern grades A− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
23 km
2.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
83%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Brecon Beacons National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Gilwern?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the Brecon Beacons National ParkGilwern sits inside it: 1,350 km² of protected landscape.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.
Gilwern’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by parks close to every home.
Outdoors grade
Gilwern grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Gilwern, 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 77% of UK towns11th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space1.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
42out 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 Landscape83%of the land within 5 km
97out of
100
100
Footpaths2.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
32out 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.
Villages its size
Gilwern is 11th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,100 to 2,300 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
Gilwern2.0
Villages its size2.0
Gwent towns2.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Gilwern1.9
Villages its size2.2
Gwent towns2.5
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Gilwern100%
Villages its size79%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Gilwern 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 36 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mullion Cornwall | A+ | 3.7 | 100% | 2.5 | 64% |
| 2 | Broughton Buckinghamshire | A+ | 8 | 100% | 6.5 | 0% |
| 3 | Brockham Surrey | A+ | 7.4 | 94% | 4.4 | 38% |
| 4 | Bestwood Village Nottinghamshire | A | 43.8 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 5 | Deepcut Surrey | A | 8.4 | 100% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Berry Hill Gloucestershire | A | 2.9 | 79% | 4.7 | 55% |
| 7 | Severn Beach Gloucestershire | A− | 5.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Smalley Derbyshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 9 | Streethay Staffordshire | A− | 10.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Merlin's Bridge Dyfed | A− | 3.3 | 100% | 2 | 11% |
| 11 | Gilwern Gwent | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 2 | 83% |
| 12 | Newstead Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 13 | Woodcote Oxfordshire | B+ | 1.6 | 84% | 3.5 | 99% |
| 14 | Hanslope Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Chiddingfold Surrey | B+ | 2.2 | 87% | 2.5 | 68% |
| 16 | Wells-next-the-Sea Norfolk | B+ | 2 | 70% | 1.9 | 65% |
| 17 | Charing Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 85% | 2.1 | 56% |
| 18 | Brimscombe and Thrupp Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 12% | 5.9 | 89% |
| 19 | Sharlston West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.9 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 20 | Gamston (Rushcliffe) Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.7 | 86% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Holbrook Suffolk | B+ | 1.1 | 74% | 2.7 | 52% |
| 22 | Banwell Somerset | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 38% |
| 23 | Steventon Oxfordshire | B+ | 2 | 100% | 2 | 17% |
| 24 | Longtown Cumbria | B | 4.3 | 100% | 0.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Wheelock Cheshire | B | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 26 | Trowell Nottinghamshire | B | 7.7 | 56% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Evercreech Somerset | B | 3.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 28 | Rayne Essex | B− | 4.3 | 64% | 4 | 0% |
| 29 | Resolven West Glamorgan | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Lechlade-on-Thames Gloucestershire | B− | 6.7 | 66% | 1.5 | 6% |
| 31 | Swanton Morley Norfolk | C+ | 3.5 | 94% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 32 | Burgh le Marsh Lincolnshire | C+ | 3.2 | 74% | 1.3 | 7% |
| 33 | Hook Norton Oxfordshire | C+ | 2 | 70% | 2 | 28% |
| 34 | Luddenden Foot West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.2 | 68% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Machynlleth Powys | C+ | 2.6 | 45% | 2 | 29% |
| 36 | Huncote Leicestershire | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 37 | East Bergholt Suffolk | C | 1.9 | 26% | 2.4 | 46% |
| 38 | Trimsaran Dyfed | C | 2.4 | 31% | 1 | 2% |
| 39 | Mitcheldean Gloucestershire | C | 1.5 | 80% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 40 | Barwick in Elmet West Yorkshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Llanidloes Powys | C | 2.4 | 89% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 42 | Eye Suffolk | C | 2 | 66% | 3 | 0% |
| 43 | Aspatria Cumbria | C− | 3.1 | 60% | 0.8 | 1% |
| 44 | Great Blakenham Suffolk | C− | 3.6 | 70% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Meriden West Midlands | C− | 1.8 | 70% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Lanner Cornwall | C− | 1.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Hatfield Woodhouse South Yorkshire | C− | 0.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Long Bennington Lincolnshire | C− | 1.6 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 49 | Duxford Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Wickham Hampshire | D | 0.8 | 26% | 2 | 13% |
| 51 | Morton Lincolnshire | D | 0.2 | 28% | 3 | 0% |
| 52 | Leconfield East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.6 | 51% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Mattishall Norfolk | D− | 1.4 | 58% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Misterton Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 47% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Billinghay Lincolnshire | D− | 1.8 | 41% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Bozeat Northamptonshire | D− | 1.3 | 13% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Shenstone Staffordshire | D− | 1 | 55% | 1 | 0% |
| 58 | Cilfrew West Glamorgan | D− | 0.8 | 44% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Aslockton Nottinghamshire | D− | 1 | 11% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Ipplepen Devon | D− | 0.8 | 42% | 1.1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Gilwern’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 Gilwern
The biggest is Lower Common, 0.7 ha (2 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
Everyone in Gilwern 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 (100%)Further (0%)
Gilwern100%
Villages its size79%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 437 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Gilwern
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
Gilwern is inside it1,350 km²since 195583% of the land within 5 km
83% of the land within 5 km of Gilwern is National Park or National Landscape, more than 97% of UK towns. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Gilwern
23 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Gilwern and the kilometre around it, 2.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Gilwern; its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Gilwern: 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 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 142 | 76 | 66 | 64 | 53 | 57 | 48 | 66 | 69 | 107 | 108 | 106 |
July is the driest month (48 mm) and the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 142 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Gilwern →
Things to do
5 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
Gilwern is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Fossil Beach23 mi from Gilwern’s edge
DirectionsSugar Loaf Beach26 mi from Gilwern’s edge
DirectionsTraeth yr Afon34 mi from Gilwern’s edge
DirectionsHardy’s Bay34 mi from Gilwern’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. Cefn Lewis, at 313 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Gilwern.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 3
Cefn Lewis313 m (1,027 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsGilwern Hill441 m (1,447 ft) · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsTwyn Langwilyn330 m (1,083 ft) · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Pyscodlyn Camping and Caravan Site0.6 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
GovilonLlanfoistCrickhowellAbergavennyBlaenavonBrynmawrGilwern
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilwern | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 83% |
| Govilon 1.3 mi | A− | 2.1 | 80% | 69% |
| Llanfoist 2.8 mi | A+ | 10.7 | 86% | 57% |
| Crickhowell 3.1 mi | A+ | 4.3 | 100% | 100% |
| Abergavenny 3.2 mi | A | 3.2 | 83% | 60% |
| Blaenavon 3.7 mi | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 39% |
| Brynmawr 4.1 mi | C+ | 1.2 | 68% | 45% |
Llanfoist, 2.8 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Llanfoist and Crickhowell have at least twice Gilwern’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Gilwern
What is the biggest park in Gilwern?
Lower Common, 0.7 ha (2 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
What is the nearest beach to Gilwern?
Fossil Beach, 23 mi from the edge of the village, then Sugar Loaf Beach (26 mi). Gilwern itself is inland.
How many people in Gilwern 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 Gilwern?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Gilwern good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 32% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 42% (1.9 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 Gilwern’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Gilwern’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.