Fleet has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 194 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 5.5 for every square kilometre. The Surrey Hills National Landscape and the South Downs National Park both begin about 4 miles from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Fleet add up to 3.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Fleet grades B+ for the outdoors: #53 of 76 in Hampshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Fleet’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by two protected landscapes close by.
Outdoors grade
Fleet grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Fleet, 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 69% of UK towns#53 of 76 in Hampshire · 26th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
74out of 100
A park within a walk79%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
45out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Surrey Hills begins just past 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths5.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
96out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of 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
Fleet is 26th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 33,800 to 42,200 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
Fleet5.5
Towns its size3.8
Hampshire towns3.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Fleet3.3
Towns its size2.6
Hampshire towns2.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Fleet79%
Towns its size84%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Fleet stands out most for path per km²: only 7 of the other 59 have more.
The biggest is Edenbrook Country Park, 33 ha (81 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 11 named parks by size: 98 ha (242 acres) and 18 km of path
Parks & gardens 79 haPlaying fields 19 ha
The two biggest, Edenbrook Country Park and Hartland Country Park, are 62% of the named green space and carry 11 km of path between them. 5 of the 11 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
8 in 10 Fleet 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%)
Fleet79%
Towns its size84%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 8,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 78 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 485 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Surrey Hills and South Downs both start about 4 miles from Fleet
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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Fleet scores 0% on it even though the Surrey Hills National Landscape is 3.6 mi away. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
5 waymarked walks pass through or near Fleet
194 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Fleet and the kilometre around it, 5.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
Basingstoke Canal13.0 km
Fleet Pond Yellow Route2.3 km
Fleet Pond Red Route1.0 km
Three Castles Path0.8 km
Cove Brook Greenway, Farnborough0.3 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the Basingstoke Canal and Three Castles Path.
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 Fleet: 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
16.1
14.6
12.5
10.6
8.8
7.9
High (°C)
8
8
11
14
17
20
23
22
19
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
79
58
50
54
48
48
49
60
60
80
88
85
June is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 88 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 52 nights a year. The climate in Fleet →
Things to do
8 viewpoints, 78 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.
Weybourne, 3.4 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Elvetham Heath and Weybourne have at least twice Fleet’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Fleet
What is the biggest park in Fleet?
Edenbrook Country Park, 33 ha (81 acres), with 6.5 km of path. Hartland Country Park (28 ha) is second. 11 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Fleet near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 3.8 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 3.6 mi away.
What are the best walks near Fleet?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Basingstoke Canal, Fleet Pond Yellow Route and Fleet Pond Red Route. Edenbrook Country Park alone has 6.5 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Fleet?
Penguin Beach, 4.6 mi from the edge of the town, then Amity Beach (15 mi). Fleet itself is inland.
How many people in Fleet 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 Fleet?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Fleet good for walking?
For paths, yes: 5.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 96% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 74% (3.3 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 Fleet’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: Stuart Shepherd · CC BY-SA 2.0