Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.078% of Ponthir’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Brecon Beacons National Park begins 4.9 mi from the village’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Ponthir add up to 2.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 17 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.8 for every square kilometre. Ponthir grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Ponthir grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ponthir, 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.
Ponthir is 42nd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,200 to 1,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Ponthir stands out most for park space per resident: only 14 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 38 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huncoat Lancashire | A+ | 10.1 | 100% | 4.9 | 1% |
| 2 | Clanfield Hampshire | A+ | 6.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 78% |
| 3 | Kirton Suffolk | A+ | 2.5 | 100% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 4 | Aldington Kent | A+ | 4.6 | 100% | 3.8 | 11% |
| 5 | Otterbourne Hampshire | A | 2.9 | 100% | 3.2 | 25% |
| 6 | Thurgoland South Yorkshire | A | 2.5 | 100% | 4.1 | 1% |
| 7 | Box Hill Surrey | A | 35.9 | 12% | 6 | 39% |
| 8 | Chew Magna Somerset | A | 2.4 | 100% | 3 | 15% |
| 9 | Millhouse Green South Yorkshire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 3.6 | 18% |
| 10 | Harlech Gwynedd | A− | 1.9 | 36% | 3.5 | 67% |
| 11 | Bonds Lancashire | A− | 1.7 | 100% | 3.5 | 16% |
| 12 | Bradpole Dorset | A− | 0.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 95% |
| 13 | South Heath Buckinghamshire | A− | 20.4 | 0% | 3 | 85% |
| 14 | Westfield East Sussex | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 83% |
| 15 | Tregarth Gwynedd | B+ | 1.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 23% |
| 16 | New Brancepeth County Durham | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Bierton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 5.8 | 70% | 7.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Farningham Kent | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 33% |
| 19 | Billy Row County Durham | B | 2.3 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 20 | Horton Kirby Kent | B | 5.9 | 78% | 1.7 | 21% |
| 21 | Bunbury Cheshire | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Talgarth Powys | B | 5.7 | 71% | 1.5 | 52% |
| 23 | Kilgetty Dyfed | B | 1 | 100% | 0.9 | 18% |
| 24 | Minster Lovell Oxfordshire | B | 3.6 | 79% | 1.5 | 37% |
| 25 | Sutton Benger Wiltshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Beer Devon | B | 1.6 | 50% | 2.2 | 43% |
| 27 | Eckington Worcestershire | B | 4.1 | 72% | 1.9 | 23% |
| 28 | Potten End Hertfordshire | B− | 2.4 | 73% | 2.2 | 44% |
| 29 | Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Oxfordshire | B− | 2.5 | 72% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 30 | Wyton Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.9 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Gilmorton Leicestershire | B− | 3.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Marlpit Hill Kent | B− | 2.5 | 0% | 2.9 | 35% |
| 33 | Sutton Common Suffolk | C+ | 0.8 | 51% | 3.9 | 85% |
| 34 | Gaerwen Gwynedd | C+ | 1.5 | 100% | 0.4 | 7% |
| 35 | Weobley Herefordshire | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 36 | Ashill Norfolk | C+ | 3.7 | 82% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Westhampnett West Sussex | C | 0.2 | 79% | 2.6 | 33% |
| 38 | Ampleforth North Yorkshire | C | 2.3 | 27% | 1.7 | 95% |
| 39 | Bradfield Essex | C | 1.4 | 27% | 1.5 | 35% |
| 40 | Stoke Hampshire | C | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 32% |
| 41 | Silkstone Common South Yorkshire | C | 1.5 | 63% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Ponthir Gwent | C | 2.9 | 78% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Coedhirwaun West Glamorgan | C | 2 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Foxton Cambridgeshire | C | 2.3 | 84% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 45 | Hanwood Shropshire | C− | 1.9 | 19% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 46 | Aldbrough East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 26% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Trewoon Cornwall | D | 0.9 | 71% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 48 | Blyth Nottinghamshire | D | 2.5 | 76% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Burton on the Wolds Leicestershire | D | 2.5 | 31% | 2 | 0% |
| 50 | Yardley Gobion Northamptonshire | D | 1.2 | 47% | 3 | 0% |
| 51 | East Markham Nottinghamshire | D | 2.2 | 46% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Southery Norfolk | D | 2 | 61% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Dishforth North Yorkshire | D | 2.3 | 68% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Fleet Hargate Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 76% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Hadham Cross Hertfordshire | D | 0 | 0% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Elvington North Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Felton Northumberland | D− | 1.7 | 50% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Sutton on Trent Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.5 | 39% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Walsham le Willows Suffolk | D− | 0.4 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 60 | Helpston Cambridgeshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ponthir’s built-up area.
How close Ponthir’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).
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 17 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 74 residents.
The Brecon Beacons National Park is 4.9 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Ponthir scores 0% on it even though the Brecon Beacons National Park is 4.9 mi away. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Ponthir
17 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ponthir and the kilometre around it, 1.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
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 Ponthir: 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) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 123 | 88 | 79 | 72 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 88 | 72 | 122 | 120 | 131 |
July is the driest month (69 mm) and the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 131 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Ponthir →
17 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
Ponthir 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. Iron Age Hill Fort, at 120 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Ponthir.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 17
Plus 16 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.
Newport, 2.8 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 85% 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 Ponthir
Is Ponthir near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 4.9 mi north of the village’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
What are the best walks near Ponthir?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Lodge Hill Circular Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Ponthir?
Sugar Loaf Beach, 12 mi from the edge of the village, then Ladye Bay (13 mi). Ponthir itself is inland.
How many people in Ponthir live near a park?
78% 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 Ponthir?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Ponthir good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 25% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 67% (2.9 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 Ponthir’s overall grade.
Where Ponthir’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.