Oakdale’s biggest
Pen-y-fan Pond Country Park
Park or garden
28 ha (68 acres)1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
39 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.3 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Oakdale · parks, paths & countryside
Oakdale has more park space per resident than nearly 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Oakdale add up to 5.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Brecon Beacons National Park begins 5.7 mi from the town’s edge. 33 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.1 for every square kilometre. Oakdale grades C+ for the outdoors: #26 of 38 in Gwent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
5.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
79%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
33 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
Brecon Beacons starts 5.7 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Oakdale?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam5.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 87% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe Brecon Beacons National Park starts 5.7 mi east.
Oakdale’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Brecon Beacons National Park close by.
Outdoors grade
Oakdale grades C+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Oakdale, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C+
Better than 41% of UK towns#26 of 38 in Gwent · 33rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space5.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
88out of
100
100
A park within a walk79%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
44out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Brecon Beacons begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
33out 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
Oakdale is 33rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,800 to 6,400 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
Oakdale2.1
Towns its size2.6
Gwent towns2.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Oakdale5.2
Towns its size2.1
Gwent towns2.5
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Oakdale79%
Towns its size81%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Oakdale stands out most for park space per resident: only 9 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 40 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netley Hampshire | A+ | 16.3 | 100% | 4.1 | 4% |
| 2 | Bagshot Surrey | A | 10.5 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 3 | Barrowford Lancashire | A | 4.2 | 82% | 5 | 22% |
| 4 | Leiston Suffolk | A | 1.7 | 95% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 5 | West Hallam Derbyshire | A | 4.8 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 6 | Boldon Colliery Tyne and Wear | A | 5.3 | 95% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 7 | Menston West Yorkshire | A | 2.4 | 90% | 4.1 | 18% |
| 8 | Shepperton Surrey | A | 8.7 | 89% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 9 | Barnton Cheshire | A− | 10 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Marston Moretaine Bedfordshire | A− | 17.4 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 11 | Ackworth Moor Top West Yorkshire | A− | 4.6 | 91% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 12 | Botley Hampshire | A− | 14.6 | 70% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 13 | Burghfield Common Berkshire | A− | 2.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 8% |
| 14 | Dodworth South Yorkshire | A− | 2.3 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 15 | Broadbridge Heath West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 95% | 4.3 | 3% |
| 16 | Crofton West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Axminster Devon | B | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 66% |
| 18 | Throckley Tyne and Wear | B | 3.1 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 19 | Wixams Bedfordshire | B | 5.3 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 20 | Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Northumberland | B | 2.2 | 77% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 21 | East Wittering West Sussex | B | 1.1 | 78% | 1.9 | 27% |
| 22 | Oundle Northamptonshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Bovey Tracey Devon | B− | 2.2 | 66% | 2.5 | 55% |
| 24 | Thirsk North Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Yapton West Sussex | B− | 1.8 | 63% | 2 | 15% |
| 26 | Upton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Great Torrington Devon | B− | 2.6 | 88% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Danbury Essex | B− | 3.9 | 34% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 29 | South Molton Devon | C+ | 2.2 | 96% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Annesley Woodhouse Nottinghamshire | C+ | 1.1 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Kirby Cross Essex | C+ | 2.4 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Waltham Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.2 | 84% | 1.3 | 19% |
| 33 | Oakdale Gwent | C+ | 5.2 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Lower Willingdon East Sussex | C+ | 0.8 | 57% | 4.2 | 33% |
| 35 | Bagillt Clwyd | C+ | 1.3 | 87% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Malton North Yorkshire | C+ | 2.3 | 43% | 2.4 | 24% |
| 37 | Strensall North Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Bowdon Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 39 | Cross Hands and Pen-y-groes Dyfed | C | 9.7 | 70% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 40 | Ilminster Somerset | C− | 2.3 | 61% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Ottery St Mary Devon | C− | 1.2 | 71% | 1.7 | 34% |
| 42 | Gildersome West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 81% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Studley Warwickshire | C− | 1.6 | 63% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Great Shelford and Stapleford Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.6 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Weaverham Cheshire | C− | 0.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 46 | Stainforth South Yorkshire | C− | 2.2 | 80% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Boston Spa West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 86% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Cottenham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 86% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Staplehurst Kent | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 50 | Arlesey Bedfordshire | D | 0.9 | 51% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Finningley South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Werrington Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 42% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Wem Shropshire | D | 1.2 | 77% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Aintree Merseyside | D | 1.3 | 43% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Selston Nottinghamshire | D | 0.9 | 61% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Earls Barton Northamptonshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Burwell Cambridgeshire | D− | 1.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Thurcroft South Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 59 | Abercynon Mid Glamorgan | D− | 1.1 | 55% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Tadcaster North Yorkshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 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 Oakdale’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 Oakdale
The biggest is Pen-y-fan Pond Country Park, 28 ha (68 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Oakdale Miners' Welfare Recreation Ground
Playing field
4.0 ha (10 acres)0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Oakdale
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Glan-yr-Afon Park Rugby Football Ground
Playing field · 300 m outside town
2.2 ha (6 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Oakdale 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 (79%)Further (21%)
Oakdale79%
Towns its size81%
Gwent towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 1,300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 27 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 227 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Brecon Beacons National Park is 5.7 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.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
National Park
Brecon Beacons
5.7 mi east1,350 km²since 1955
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Oakdale scores 0% on it even though the Brecon Beacons National Park is 5.7 mi away. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Oakdale
33 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Oakdale and the kilometre around it, 2.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Oakdale; 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 Oakdale: 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 | 16.6 | 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) | 166 | 121 | 102 | 85 | 89 | 84 | 87 | 106 | 105 | 163 | 159 | 175 |
June is the driest month (84 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 175 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Oakdale →
Things to do
27 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
Oakdale is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Bendricks19 mi from Oakdale’s edge
DirectionsPebble Beach20 mi from Oakdale’s edge
DirectionsLadye Bay20 mi from Oakdale’s edge
DirectionsSugar Loaf Beach20 mi from Oakdale’s edge
DirectionsClevedon Beach20 mi from Oakdale’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. Mynydd Pen-Y-Fan, at 407 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Oakdale.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Mynydd Pen-Y-Fan407 m (1,336 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsTwyn Cock-Y-North1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 27
Jelly Totz Play Centre0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 26 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
CRAI Scout Activity Centre0.3 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.
NewbridgeBlackwoodTrinantPontllanfraithSwffrydFleur-de-lis and PengamOakdale
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakdale | C+ | 5.2 | 79% | 0% |
| Newbridge 1.4 mi | C | 2.2 | 94% | 0% |
| Blackwood 1.4 mi | A− | 3.6 | 97% | 0% |
| Trinant 1.8 mi | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Pontllanfraith 1.8 mi | B | 3.7 | 93% | 0% |
| Swffryd 2.0 mi | D− | 1.4 | 17% | 0% |
| Fleur-de-lis and Pengam 2.2 mi | B | 6.0 | 54% | 0% |
Blackwood, 1.4 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 97% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Oakdale
What is the biggest park in Oakdale?
Pen-y-fan Pond Country Park, 28 ha (68 acres), with 1.9 km of path. Oakdale Miners' Welfare Recreation Ground (4.0 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Oakdale near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 5.7 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
What is the nearest beach to Oakdale?
The Bendricks, 19 mi from the edge of the town, then Pebble Beach (20 mi). Oakdale itself is inland.
How many people in Oakdale live near a park?
79% 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 Oakdale?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Oakdale good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 33% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 88% (5.2 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 Oakdale’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Oakdale’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.