Monmouth’s biggest
Rockfield Park
Playing field
2.5 ha (6 acres)0.2 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Monmouth · parks, paths & countryside
45% of the land within 5 km of Monmouth is National Park or National Landscape
The Wye Valley National Landscape reaches the edge of Monmouth. 69% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Monmouth add up to 1.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Monmouth grades B− for the outdoors: #23 of 38 in Gwent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
69%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
62 km
3.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
45%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Wye Valley National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Monmouth?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside45% of the land within 5 km is Wye Valley National Landscape.On a National TrailThe Offa's Dyke Path passes through.Historic parks4 registered historic parks and gardens, including Chapel House, Monmouth.Less park per person1.5 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Monmouth’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by the Offa's Dyke Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Monmouth grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Monmouth, 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 50% of UK towns#23 of 38 in Gwent · 32nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
30out of
100
100
A park within a walk69%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
29out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape45%of the land within 5 km
90out of
100
100
Footpaths3.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
62out 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
Monmouth is 32nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 9,700 to 11,000 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
Monmouth3.1
Towns its size3.0
Gwent towns2.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Monmouth1.5
Towns its size2.1
Gwent towns2.5
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Monmouth69%
Towns its size83%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
Monmouth falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 42 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caldicot Gwent | A+ | 4.2 | 92% | 3 | 2% |
| 2 | West End Hampshire | A | 9.1 | 100% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Brierfield Lancashire | A | 2.1 | 92% | 5.6 | 18% |
| 4 | South Merstham Surrey | A | 3.7 | 84% | 3.7 | 20% |
| 5 | Beccles Suffolk | A | 4.5 | 87% | 3.2 | 20% |
| 6 | Bradford-on-Avon Wiltshire | A | 2.8 | 88% | 3.7 | 21% |
| 7 | Godalming Surrey | A− | 4.6 | 73% | 3.1 | 66% |
| 8 | Soham Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 9 | Platt Bridge and Abram Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Royston South Yorkshire | A− | 7.9 | 97% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Kings Hill Kent | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 12 | Romiley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.9 | 80% | 3.8 | 1% |
| 13 | Padiham Lancashire | A− | 1.5 | 95% | 4.5 | 18% |
| 14 | Bingham Nottinghamshire | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire | A− | 4 | 85% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitwick Leicestershire | A− | 4.2 | 84% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Chadwell St Mary Essex | A− | 3.2 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Egglescliffe County Durham | A− | 4.9 | 94% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Tidworth Wiltshire | B+ | 3.7 | 90% | 2.3 | 8% |
| 20 | Pelsall West Midlands | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Corfe Mullen Dorset | B+ | 3.1 | 72% | 3.5 | 13% |
| 22 | Woodbridge Suffolk | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 23 | Barnoldswick Lancashire | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 4 | 2% |
| 24 | Cranleigh Surrey | B | 2.5 | 20% | 4.3 | 38% |
| 25 | Corsham Wiltshire | B | 1.9 | 81% | 3 | 31% |
| 26 | Baldock Hertfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 27 | Ludlow Shropshire | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2.1 | 16% |
| 28 | Great Dunmow Essex | B | 2 | 92% | 4 | 0% |
| 29 | Immingham Lincolnshire | B | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 30 | Caernarfon Gwynedd | B− | 1.7 | 83% | 1.4 | 14% |
| 31 | Horbury West Yorkshire | B− | 2.5 | 75% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Monmouth Gwent | B− | 1.5 | 69% | 3.1 | 45% |
| 33 | Oswaldtwistle Lancashire | B− | 1.1 | 94% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 34 | Radstock Somerset | B− | 1.1 | 93% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 35 | Filton Gloucestershire | B− | 3.3 | 40% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Whitchurch Shropshire | B− | 2.7 | 86% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 37 | Mold Clwyd | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 1.6 | 17% |
| 38 | Baglan West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Liskeard Cornwall | C+ | 0.8 | 89% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 40 | Raunds Northamptonshire | C+ | 4.7 | 74% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Abertillery Gwent | C | 2.4 | 69% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Selsey West Sussex | C | 1.6 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Earl Shilton Leicestershire | C | 1.5 | 98% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Barnham West Sussex | C | 1.3 | 70% | 2.3 | 32% |
| 45 | Kippax West Yorkshire | C | 1.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Catshill Worcestershire | C | 1.4 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 47 | Prudhoe Northumberland | C− | 1.7 | 37% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Epping Essex | C− | 1.2 | 70% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Hexham Northumberland | C− | 1.5 | 64% | 2 | 9% |
| 50 | Polegate East Sussex | C− | 0.8 | 64% | 2.2 | 24% |
| 51 | Lutterworth Leicestershire | C− | 1.7 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 52 | West Moors Dorset | C− | 0.9 | 33% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | New Ollerton and Ollerton Nottinghamshire | C− | 0.8 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Haxby North Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 59% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Newtown Powys | D | 2.3 | 65% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Sherborne Dorset | D | 1.2 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Longton Lancashire | D | 1.7 | 60% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Burton Latimer Northamptonshire | D | 0.9 | 62% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Pocklington East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Ponteland Northumberland | D− | 1.1 | 36% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Monmouth’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 Monmouth
The biggest is Rockfield Park, 2.5 ha (6 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Monmouth residents live 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 (69%)Further (31%)
Monmouth69%
Towns its size83%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 3,200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 16 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 646 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Monmouth
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 Landscape
Wye Valley
At the edge north-east655 km²since 197145% of the land within 5 km
Official siteNational Park
Brecon Beacons
9.6 mi west1,350 km²since 1955
45% of the land within 5 km of Monmouth is National Park or National Landscape, more than 90% of UK towns. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Monmouth is on the Offa's Dyke Path
62 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Monmouth and the kilometre around it, 3.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegional
Offa's Dyke Path11.1 km
Wye Valley Walk9.8 km
Monnow Valley Walk5.0 km
The Offa's Dyke Path, a national route, passes Monmouth. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Wye Valley Walk and Monnow Valley Walk.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
4 registered historic parks in Monmouth
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Monmouth’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIChapel House0.3 ha
Registered · Grade IIChippenham1.7 ha
Registered · Grade IIMonmouth, St. John's0.2 ha
Registered · Grade IINelson Garden0.2 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 Monmouth: 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) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 93 | 72 | 65 | 63 | 66 | 62 | 57 | 76 | 67 | 103 | 101 | 103 |
July is the driest month (57 mm) and the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 103 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. The climate in Monmouth →
Things to do
16 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
Monmouth is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Fossil Beach12 mi from Monmouth’s edge
DirectionsSugar Loaf Beach22 mi from Monmouth’s edge
DirectionsLadye Bay25 mi from Monmouth’s edge
DirectionsClevedon Beach26 mi from Monmouth’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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Kymin Tower0.4 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 16
Plus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 4
Monnow Bridge Caravan Sitein town
DirectionsBroadstone Park Camping and Fishery0.8 mi from town
DirectionsGlen Trothy C. & C. Park0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 campsite more.
Slipways 5
Plus 5 slipways 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.
Berry HillColefordBroadwell and CoalwayWelsh BicknorRaglanBreamMonmouth
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monmouth | B− | 1.5 | 69% | 45% |
| Berry Hill 4.1 mi | A | 2.9 | 79% | 55% |
| Coleford 4.3 mi | A− | 2.8 | 66% | 48% |
| Broadwell and Coalway 5.1 mi | A | 2.8 | 72% | 38% |
| Welsh Bicknor 6.1 mi | B | 2.7 | 31% | 45% |
| Raglan 6.7 mi | C− | 3.9 | 0% | 1% |
| Bream 7.4 mi | A− | 2.2 | 82% | 10% |
Berry Hill, 4.1 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 79% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Raglan has at least twice Monmouth’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Monmouth
What is the biggest park in Monmouth?
Rockfield Park, 2.5 ha (6 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Monmouth near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 9.6 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Wye Valley National Landscape, at the edge of the town.
What are the best walks near Monmouth?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Offa's Dyke Path, Wye Valley Walk and Monnow Valley Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Monmouth?
Fossil Beach, 12 mi from the edge of the town, then Sugar Loaf Beach (22 mi). Monmouth itself is inland.
How many people in Monmouth live near a park?
69% 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 Monmouth?
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 Monmouth are historic?
Chapel House (Grade II), Chippenham (Grade II), Monmouth, St. John's (Grade II) and Nelson Garden (Grade II) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Monmouth good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 62% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 30% (1.5 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 Monmouth’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Monmouth’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.