Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0Almost everyone in Machen lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Footpaths add up to 42 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 4.4 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Machen add up to 3.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Machen grades A for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Machen?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Machen’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by dense footpaths.
Machen grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Machen, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Machen is 10th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,900 to 2,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Machen stands out most for path per km²: only 2 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capel-le-Ferne Kent | A+ | 21.8 | 88% | 4 | 52% |
| 2 | Meliden Clwyd | A+ | 4.2 | 100% | 4.2 | 21% |
| 3 | Vigo Village Kent | A+ | 33.3 | 100% | 2.9 | 44% |
| 4 | Llanfoist Gwent | A+ | 10.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 57% |
| 5 | Ditchingham Norfolk | A+ | 17.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 6 | Bournmoor County Durham | A | 11 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 7 | Upper Rissington Gloucestershire | A | 6.2 | 100% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 8 | Churchill Somerset | A | 2.8 | 84% | 3.9 | 39% |
| 9 | Wrington Somerset | A | 3.2 | 100% | 2.6 | 20% |
| 10 | Machen Gwent | A | 3.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Y Bala Gwynedd | A | 4 | 100% | 1.4 | 67% |
| 12 | South Nutfield Surrey | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 13 | Little Haywood Staffordshire | A− | 1.3 | 100% | 3.3 | 34% |
| 14 | Stowupland Suffolk | A− | 5.3 | 83% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 15 | Kirkby Lonsdale Cumbria | B+ | 9.2 | 74% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 16 | Yealmpton Devon | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 1.8 | 50% |
| 17 | Pontesbury Shropshire | B+ | 3.1 | 63% | 3.8 | 28% |
| 18 | Polesworth Warwickshire | B+ | 13.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 19 | Valley Gwynedd | B+ | 5 | 33% | 1.2 | 37% |
| 20 | Martlesham Suffolk | B | 2.1 | 69% | 3.8 | 24% |
| 21 | Sandford Dorset | B | 0.3 | 43% | 4.7 | 41% |
| 22 | Wrotham Kent | B | 1.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 49% |
| 23 | Welsh Bicknor Gloucestershire | B | 2.7 | 31% | 3.3 | 45% |
| 24 | Wheaton Aston Staffordshire | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 25 | Dilton Marsh Wiltshire | B− | 2.1 | 67% | 3.5 | 4% |
| 26 | Hutton Cranswick East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 5 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Barmouth Gwynedd | B− | 0.5 | 60% | 2 | 53% |
| 28 | Northleach Gloucestershire | B− | 1.5 | 68% | 2.6 | 100% |
| 29 | Audley Staffordshire | C+ | 3.4 | 83% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Axbridge Somerset | C+ | 1.3 | 72% | 2.8 | 51% |
| 31 | Landkey Devon | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Langtoft Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 33 | Whitchurch Somerset | C+ | 2.3 | 47% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Wychbold Worcestershire | C | 2.1 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Hatton Warwickshire | C | 1.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 36 | West Haddon Northamptonshire | C | 2.3 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Goodwick Dyfed | C | 0.2 | 47% | 1.9 | 25% |
| 38 | Hightown Merseyside | C | 1.7 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Longrock Cornwall | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.2 | 26% |
| 40 | Barrow Suffolk | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Chivenor and Wrafton Devon | C− | 0.6 | 0% | 1.7 | 17% |
| 42 | Pool-in-Wharfedale West Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 44% | 1.6 | 7% |
| 43 | Ashwell Hertfordshire | C− | 3 | 52% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Stoke Golding Leicestershire | C− | 1.4 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Bishop Burton and Cherry Burton East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.5 | 78% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Briston Norfolk | D | 2.7 | 69% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Broughton Northamptonshire | D | 2.7 | 70% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Baschurch Shropshire | D | 2.3 | 72% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Cookley Worcestershire | D | 2.3 | 52% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Hutton Rudby North Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 35% | 1.1 | 13% |
| 51 | Morda Shropshire | D | 0.7 | 84% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Curry Rivel Somerset | D | 1.9 | 33% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Greylees Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 79% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Shawbury Shropshire | D− | 2.2 | 30% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Wheldrake North Yorkshire | D− | 1.4 | 72% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Tollerton Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.6 | 19% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Rossett Clwyd | D− | 0.3 | 55% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Wilberfoss East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 69% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Goostrey Cheshire | D− | 0.3 | 42% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Bottisham Cambridgeshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Machen’s built-up area.
How close Machen’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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 7 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 284 residents.
The Brecon Beacons National Park 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.
Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Machen is on the Cambrian Way
42 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Machen and the kilometre around it, 4.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
The Cambrian Way, a national route, passes Machen. Close to home, the Rhymney River Circular has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. The regional route here is the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Machen: 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 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 170 | 120 | 102 | 88 | 91 | 88 | 87 | 110 | 105 | 160 | 160 | 174 |
July is the driest month (87 mm) and the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 174 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 51 nights a year. The climate in Machen →
7 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
Machen is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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. Mynydd Machen, at 362 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Machen.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 4
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 7
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machen | A | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Trethomas 1.3 mi | B− | 6.9 | 48% | 0% |
| Risca 1.8 mi | A− | 6.9 | 94% | 0% |
| Cwmfelinfach 2.3 mi | A− | 24.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Bedwas 2.6 mi | A | 4.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Rogerstone 3.2 mi | B− | 3.1 | 60% | 0% |
| Abercarn 3.6 mi | B− | 3.0 | 100% | 0% |
Bedwas, 2.6 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Cwmfelinfach has at least twice Machen’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Machen
Is Machen near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 8.7 mi north-east of the village’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
What are the best walks near Machen?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk, Cambrian Way and Rhymney River Circular.
What is the nearest beach to Machen?
The Bendricks, 14 mi from the edge of the village, then Ladye Bay (15 mi). Machen itself is inland.
How many people in Machen 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 Machen?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Machen good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 87% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 76% (3.5 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 Machen’s overall grade.
Where Machen’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.