Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Y Bala is inside Snowdonia National Park
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 100% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Y Bala add up to 4.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Y Bala grades A for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Y Bala?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Y Bala’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Y Bala grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Y Bala, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
100
100
100
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.
Y Bala is 12th 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, Y Bala stands out most for park space per resident: only 12 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 43 of the others do better.
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 | Fowey Cornwall | A | 3.2 | 91% | 2.1 | 32% |
| 7 | Bournmoor County Durham | A | 11 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 8 | Upper Rissington Gloucestershire | A | 6.2 | 100% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 9 | Churchill Somerset | A | 2.8 | 84% | 3.9 | 39% |
| 10 | Wrington Somerset | A | 3.2 | 100% | 2.6 | 20% |
| 11 | Machen Gwent | A | 3.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Y Bala Gwynedd | A | 4 | 100% | 1.4 | 67% |
| 13 | Great Haywood Staffordshire | A− | 7.1 | 27% | 4.1 | 29% |
| 14 | Little Haywood Staffordshire | A− | 1.3 | 100% | 3.3 | 34% |
| 15 | Stowupland Suffolk | A− | 5.3 | 83% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Kirkby Lonsdale Cumbria | B+ | 9.2 | 74% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 17 | Yealmpton Devon | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 1.8 | 50% |
| 18 | Pontesbury Shropshire | B+ | 3.1 | 63% | 3.8 | 28% |
| 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 | Trelewis Mid Glamorgan | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Rothbury Northumberland | B− | 1 | 76% | 3.8 | 21% |
| 29 | Barmouth Gwynedd | B− | 0.5 | 60% | 2 | 53% |
| 30 | Northleach Gloucestershire | B− | 1.5 | 68% | 2.6 | 100% |
| 31 | Audley Staffordshire | C+ | 3.4 | 83% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Axbridge Somerset | C+ | 1.3 | 72% | 2.8 | 51% |
| 33 | Landkey Devon | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Langtoft Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 35 | Whitchurch Somerset | C+ | 2.3 | 47% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 36 | Wychbold Worcestershire | C | 2.1 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Clenchwarton Norfolk | C | 2.2 | 87% | 0.3 | 3% |
| 38 | West Haddon Northamptonshire | C | 2.3 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Goodwick Dyfed | C | 0.2 | 47% | 1.9 | 25% |
| 40 | Hightown Merseyside | C | 1.7 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Longrock Cornwall | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.2 | 26% |
| 42 | Cadnam and Bartley Hampshire | C− | 0.9 | 30% | 2.4 | 79% |
| 43 | Barrow Suffolk | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Pool-in-Wharfedale West Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 44% | 1.6 | 7% |
| 45 | Ashwell Hertfordshire | C− | 3 | 52% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Stoke Golding Leicestershire | C− | 1.4 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Hibaldstow Lincolnshire | C− | 1.7 | 89% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Bishop Burton and Cherry Burton East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.5 | 78% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Briston Norfolk | D | 2.7 | 69% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Broughton Northamptonshire | D | 2.7 | 70% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Baschurch Shropshire | D | 2.3 | 72% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Cookley Worcestershire | D | 2.3 | 52% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Morda Shropshire | D | 0.7 | 84% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 54 | Curry Rivel Somerset | D | 1.9 | 33% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Greylees Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 79% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Shawbury Shropshire | D− | 2.2 | 30% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Tollerton Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.6 | 19% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Rossett Clwyd | D− | 0.3 | 55% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Wilberfoss East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 69% | 0.3 | 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 Y Bala’s built-up area.
Everyone in Y Bala 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).
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 399 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Y Bala
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.
Snowdonia
Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley
67% of the land within 5 km of Y Bala is National Park or National Landscape, more than 95% of UK towns. Snowdonia National Park covers 2,140 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths in and around Y Bala
12 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Y Bala and the kilometre around it, 1.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Y Bala; 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.
The best walking months in Y Bala: June 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 153 | 155 | 120 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 87 | 102 | 112 | 160 | 172 | 209 |
June is the driest month (85 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 209 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 57 nights a year. The climate in Y Bala →
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
Y Bala 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. Tomen Y Bala, at 179 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Y Bala.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Hills and peaks 7
Waterfalls 4
Plus 4 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 2
Playgrounds 5
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Slipways 1
Questions about the outdoors in Y Bala
What is the nearest beach to Y Bala?
Traeth Harlech, 22 mi from the edge of the village, then Llandanwg Beach (22 mi). Y Bala itself is inland.
How many people in Y Bala 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 Y Bala?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Y Bala good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 14% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 82% (4.0 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 Y Bala’s overall grade.
Where Y Bala’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.