Bordon’s biggest
Broxhead Common
Park or garden
102 ha (253 acres)14.6 km of path
3 h 15 minto walk all 14.6 km of path
143 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi northfrom the centre
Peak
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: John P Reeves · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Bordon · parks, paths & countryside
Bordon has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 96 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 6.7 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Bordon add up to 8.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The South Downs National Park begins 0.5 mi from the town’s edge. Bordon grades A for the outdoors: #19 of 76 in Hampshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
8.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
54%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
96 km
6.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
49%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: South Downs National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Bordon?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths6.7 km of path per km², more than 98% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Room to roam8.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 94% of UK towns.Protected countryside49% of the land within 5 km is South Downs National Park.Parks can be a walk away46% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Bordon’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by plenty of park space. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Bordon grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Bordon, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A
Better than 92% of UK towns#19 of 76 in Hampshire · 4th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space8.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
95out of
100
100
A park within a walk54%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
16out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape49%of the land within 5 km
91out of
100
100
Footpaths6.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
99out 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
Bordon is 4th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,900 to 9,800 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
Bordon6.7
Towns its size3.3
Hampshire towns3.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Bordon8.6
Towns its size2.5
Hampshire towns2.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Bordon54%
Towns its size85%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Bordon stands out most for park space per resident: only 3 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 53 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 3 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 4 | Bordon Hampshire | A | 8.6 | 54% | 6.7 | 49% |
| 5 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Linthwaite and Slaithwaite West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 7 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 8 | Nuthall and Watnall Nottinghamshire | A | 6.3 | 97% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Southborough Kent | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 2.5 | 57% |
| 11 | Whiteley Hampshire | A− | 3 | 52% | 4.4 | 2% |
| 12 | Thurmaston Leicestershire | A− | 10.4 | 89% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 13 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 14 | Esher Surrey | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 17 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 19 | Aveley Essex | A− | 3.4 | 84% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 21 | Irthlingborough Northamptonshire | A− | 4.7 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Yarm North Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 23 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Sandiacre Derbyshire | B+ | 2.6 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 26 | Banstead Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 5.2 | 3% |
| 27 | Pontllanfraith Gwent | B | 3.7 | 93% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Shildon County Durham | B | 2.8 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 31 | North Wingfield and Holmewood Derbyshire | B | 2.7 | 84% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Queensbury West Yorkshire | B | 2.6 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Tiptree Essex | B | 2.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Immingham Lincolnshire | B | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Perton Staffordshire | B | 2.4 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 36 | Yaxley Cambridgeshire | B− | 2.6 | 90% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Pembroke Dock Dyfed | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 1.1 | 25% |
| 38 | Mildenhall Suffolk | B− | 2.1 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Knottingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 42 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 44 | Brandon County Durham | C+ | 2.2 | 72% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Crook County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 85% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Lydney Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.1 | 52% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Diss Norfolk | C | 1.5 | 80% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Milnrow Greater Manchester | C | 2.9 | 58% | 3 | 0% |
| 50 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Shepton Mallet Somerset | C | 1.2 | 70% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 52 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 53 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Broughton Astley Leicestershire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Pheasey West Midlands | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Bordon’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 Bordon
The biggest is Broxhead Common, 102 ha (253 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Hogmoor Inclosure
Park or garden
53 ha (130 acres)15.7 km of path
3 h 30 minto walk all 15.7 km of path
74 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-westfrom the centre
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Jubilee Park
Playing field
2.1 ha (5 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bordon
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
5 in 10 Bordon 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 (54%)Further (46%)
Bordon54%
Towns its size85%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 4,300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 22 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 425 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
South Downs and Surrey Hills both start about 3 miles from Bordon
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
49% of the land within 5 km of Bordon is National Park or National Landscape, more than 91% of UK towns. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Bordon
96 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Bordon and the kilometre around it, 6.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
The Shipwrights Way8.5 km
The regional route here is the The Shipwrights Way.
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 Bordon: 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 101 | 74 | 61 | 61 | 56 | 56 | 54 | 68 | 67 | 106 | 111 | 106 |
July is the driest month (54 mm) and the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 111 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 55 nights a year. The climate in Bordon →
Things to do
22 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
Bordon is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Penguin Beach3.9 mi from Bordon’s edge
DirectionsPrinsted Beach18 mi from Bordon’s edge
DirectionsBosham Foreshore20 mi from Bordon’s edge
DirectionsSword Sands22 mi from Bordon’s edge
DirectionsEastney Beach23 mi from Bordon’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Broxhead Common, at 105 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Bordon.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 7
Broxhead Common105 m (344 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsRound Hill90 m (295 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsFir Hill91 m (299 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsGold Hill85 m (279 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsFern Hill102 m (335 ft) · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPark Hill89 m (292 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsHorsebush Hill85 m (279 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 22
Natural play areain town
DirectionsSuttonfields Play Area0.3 mi from town
DirectionsHeadley Village Green Play Area0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park 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.
LindfordWhitehillHeadley Down and HeadleyLiphookLissHindheadBordon
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Lindford, 0.7 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Bordon
What is the biggest park in Bordon?
Broxhead Common, 102 ha (253 acres), with 14.6 km of path. Hogmoor Inclosure (53 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Bordon near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 0.5 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
What are the best walks near Bordon?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the The Shipwrights Way. Broxhead Common alone has 14.6 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Bordon?
Penguin Beach, 3.9 mi from the edge of the town, then Prinsted Beach (18 mi). Bordon itself is inland.
How many people in Bordon live near a park?
54% 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 Bordon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Bordon good for walking?
For paths, yes: 6.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 99% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 95% (8.6 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 Bordon’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Bordon’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.