Lyndhurst’s biggest
Coles Mead Recreation Ground
Playing field
1.7 ha (4 acres)0.1 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Lyndhurst
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Lyndhurst · parks, paths & countryside
Lyndhurst is inside the New Forest National Park
Footpaths add up to 47 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 4.3 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Lyndhurst add up to 3.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Lyndhurst grades A for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
73%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
47 km
4.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
100%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: New Forest National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Lyndhurst?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the New Forest National ParkLyndhurst sits inside it: 567 km² of protected landscape.A village of footpaths4.3 km of path per km², more than 85% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Room to roam3.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 77% of UK towns.
Lyndhurst’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Lyndhurst grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Lyndhurst, 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 91% of UK towns6th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space3.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
78out of
100
100
A park within a walk73%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
35out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape100%of the land within 5 km
100out of
100
100
Footpaths4.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
85out 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.
Villages its size
Lyndhurst is 6th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,400 to 2,600 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
Lyndhurst4.3
Villages its size2.2
Hampshire towns3.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Lyndhurst3.6
Villages its size2.1
Hampshire towns2.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Lyndhurst73%
Villages its size86%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Lyndhurst stands out most for path per km²: only 6 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 38 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rawnsley Staffordshire | A+ | 17.7 | 100% | 3.7 | 36% |
| 2 | Shalford Surrey | A+ | 14.9 | 89% | 4.8 | 47% |
| 3 | Wolsingham County Durham | A+ | 2.7 | 100% | 3.9 | 55% |
| 4 | Eton Berkshire | A | 22.9 | 100% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 5 | Aldeburgh Suffolk | A | 2.3 | 88% | 2.3 | 41% |
| 6 | Lyndhurst Hampshire | A | 3.6 | 73% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 7 | Old Stratford Northamptonshire | A | 9.8 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 8 | Rowhedge Essex | A | 1.6 | 100% | 6.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Little Clacton Essex | A− | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Awsworth Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 11 | Colerne Wiltshire | A− | 3.1 | 86% | 2.4 | 84% |
| 12 | West Wick Somerset | A− | 1.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 16% |
| 13 | Higher Folds Greater Manchester | A− | 2.8 | 90% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Sway Hampshire | B+ | 2.9 | 38% | 4 | 74% |
| 15 | Kington Herefordshire | B+ | 3.9 | 89% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Williton Somerset | B+ | 1.1 | 88% | 2.1 | 31% |
| 17 | Cotford St Luke Somerset | B+ | 2.2 | 100% | 2.2 | 6% |
| 18 | Henlow Bedfordshire | B | 2.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Chattenden Kent | B | 1.4 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Farndon Nottinghamshire | B | 3.8 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Oakley Bedfordshire | B | 3.2 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 22 | Alresford Essex | B− | 1.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Watlington Oxfordshire | B− | 2.3 | 67% | 2.4 | 55% |
| 24 | Wootton (Vale of White Horse) Oxfordshire | B− | 3.4 | 84% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Redlynch and Woodfalls Wiltshire | B− | 2.1 | 34% | 3.1 | 59% |
| 26 | Kelvedon Hatch Essex | B− | 7.3 | 77% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Timsbury Somerset | B− | 2.7 | 68% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Llanrwst Clwyd | C+ | 2.2 | 75% | 1.6 | 45% |
| 29 | Crossways Dorset | C+ | 0.5 | 100% | 1.8 | 22% |
| 30 | Renishaw Derbyshire | C+ | 0.6 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Hendreforgan Mid Glamorgan | C+ | 2.7 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Shepley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.6 | 87% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Widdrington Station Northumberland | C+ | 1 | 88% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Grendon Warwickshire | C+ | 8.1 | 71% | 2 | 0% |
| 35 | Ruspidge Gloucestershire | C+ | 2 | 46% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Whittington Staffordshire | C | 7.5 | 77% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Great Houghton South Yorkshire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Pontycymer Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.2 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 39 | Tycroes Dyfed | C | 3.5 | 80% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Bugle Cornwall | C− | 1.8 | 92% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Eggborough North Yorkshire | C− | 1.5 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 42 | Hambleton Lancashire | C− | 2.3 | 14% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Willaston (Cheshire West and Chester) Cheshire | C− | 4.2 | 60% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Upper Heyford Oxfordshire | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Aberfan Mid Glamorgan | C− | 4.5 | 58% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Cornforth County Durham | C− | 1.9 | 66% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Cwm Gwent | C− | 2 | 12% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Maulden Bedfordshire | D | 0.9 | 55% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 49 | East Harling Norfolk | D | 1.7 | 85% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Lampeter Dyfed | D | 1.5 | 88% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Llanhilleth Gwent | D | 1.3 | 71% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Long Crendon Buckinghamshire | D | 1.4 | 86% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Mawsley Village Northamptonshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 2 | 0% |
| 54 | Leyburn North Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 22% | 2 | 16% |
| 55 | Broughton Lancashire | D | 1.7 | 45% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Long Itchington Warwickshire | D | 2.1 | 45% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Aston-on-Trent Derbyshire | D | 1.5 | 44% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Clophill Bedfordshire | D | 0.7 | 41% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Garden City Clwyd | D− | 1.5 | 58% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Shipdham Norfolk | D− | 1 | 59% | 0.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Lyndhurst’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 Lyndhurst
The biggest is Coles Mead Recreation Ground, 1.7 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Goose Green
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)
0.5 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Lyndhurst 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 (73%)Further (27%)
Lyndhurst73%
Villages its size86%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Lyndhurst
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
New Forest
Lyndhurst is inside it567 km²since 2006100% of the land within 5 km
Official siteNational Landscape
Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
10 mi north-west986 km²since 1983
Official site100% of the land within 5 km of Lyndhurst is National Park or National Landscape, more than 99% of UK towns. New Forest National Park covers 567 km² and has been a National Park since 2006.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Lyndhurst
47 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Lyndhurst and the kilometre around it, 4.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Lyndhurst; 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 Lyndhurst: 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 109 | 74 | 65 | 61 | 53 | 58 | 53 | 65 | 71 | 105 | 115 | 111 |
July is the driest month (53 mm) and the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 115 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Lyndhurst →
The coast
Beaches near Lyndhurst
0% of the area within 5 km of Lyndhurst is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Brockenhurst Beach2.6 mi from town
DirectionsSea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
2 viewpoints
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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Boltons Bench0.0 mi from town
DirectionsAcres Down South1.2 mi from town
DirectionsHills and peaks 8
Whitmoor Hill49 m (161 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsLyndhurst Hill99 m (325 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsThe Ridge40 m (131 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsJames's Hill93 m (305 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsFox Hill45 m (148 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsIrons Hill43 m (141 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsMatley Ridge44 m (144 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Minstead Manor Farm Camping0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPondhead Farm Camping0.7 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.
Cadnam and BartleyAshurstBrockenhurstTottonMarchwoodSwayLyndhurst
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndhurst | A | 3.6 | 73% | 100% |
| Cadnam and Bartley 2.9 mi | C− | 0.9 | 30% | 79% |
| Ashurst 3.1 mi | B− | 0.9 | 65% | 72% |
| Brockenhurst 3.8 mi | B | 1.8 | 63% | 98% |
| Totton 4.5 mi | A | 1.6 | 94% | 50% |
| Marchwood 5.6 mi | B+ | 2.0 | 87% | 38% |
| Sway 6.1 mi | B+ | 2.9 | 38% | 74% |
Lyndhurst grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Lyndhurst
What is the biggest park in Lyndhurst?
Coles Mead Recreation Ground, 1.7 ha (4 acres). Goose Green (0.3 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
How many people in Lyndhurst live near a park?
73% 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 Lyndhurst?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Lyndhurst good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 85% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 78% (3.6 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 Lyndhurst’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Lyndhurst’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.