Overton’s biggest
Berrydown Sports Ground
Playing field · 140 m outside town
3.9 ha (10 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Overton · parks, paths & countryside
45% of the land within 5 km of Overton is National Park or National Landscape
The North Wessex Downs National Landscape reaches the edge of Overton. Parks and playing fields in Overton add up to 3.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 92% of residents. Overton grades A for the outdoors: #28 of 76 in Hampshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
92%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
30 km
2.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
45%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: North Wessex Downs National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Overton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside45% of the land within 5 km is North Wessex Downs National Landscape.Room to roam3.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 78% of UK towns.
Overton’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Overton grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Overton, 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 86% of UK towns#28 of 76 in Hampshire · 7th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
79out of
100
100
A park within a walk92%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
71out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape45%of the land within 5 km
90out of
100
100
Footpaths2.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
44out 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
Overton is 7th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,200 to 4,500 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
Overton2.5
Towns its size2.5
Hampshire towns3.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Overton3.7
Towns its size1.7
Hampshire towns2.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Overton92%
Towns its size88%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Overton stands out most for park space per resident: only 11 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keswick Cumbria | A+ | 9.1 | 100% | 4.1 | 100% |
| 2 | West Malling Kent | A+ | 8.7 | 100% | 3.4 | 21% |
| 3 | Telscombe Cliffs East Sussex | A+ | 3 | 58% | 5.1 | 42% |
| 4 | Great Denham Bedfordshire | A | 14.7 | 100% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 5 | Aberbargoed Gwent | A | 22.8 | 95% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 6 | Denaby Main South Yorkshire | A | 10.4 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 7 | Overton Hampshire | A | 3.7 | 92% | 2.5 | 45% |
| 8 | Kimberley Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Whittle-le-Woods Lancashire | A− | 7.7 | 91% | 4 | 0% |
| 10 | Loftus North Yorkshire | A− | 1.9 | 90% | 2 | 31% |
| 11 | Exminster Devon | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Arborfield Garrison Berkshire | A− | 10.4 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Stokenchurch Buckinghamshire | A− | 2.3 | 90% | 2.6 | 86% |
| 14 | Fairford Gloucestershire | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 1.8 | 17% |
| 15 | Horsford Norfolk | B+ | 6.5 | 97% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Ratby Leicestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Girton Cambridgeshire | B+ | 2.8 | 92% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Elmswell Suffolk | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 19 | Clayton West and Scissett West Yorkshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Winchcombe Gloucestershire | B | 2.2 | 60% | 3 | 81% |
| 21 | Earby Lancashire | B− | 1.4 | 93% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Woodford Halse Northamptonshire | B− | 3.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 23 | Wilton Wiltshire | B− | 1.4 | 94% | 1.6 | 45% |
| 24 | Tibshelf Derbyshire | B− | 1.4 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Ferndale Mid Glamorgan | B− | 3.6 | 88% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 26 | Woburn Sands Buckinghamshire | C+ | 1.1 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 27 | Milford on Sea Hampshire | C+ | 1.2 | 50% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 28 | Kessingland Suffolk | C+ | 0.9 | 70% | 1.9 | 19% |
| 29 | Backwell Somerset | C+ | 2.3 | 57% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Sandwich Kent | C+ | 2.1 | 51% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Sible Hedingham Essex | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Halfway Houses Kent | C | 1.8 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Queen's Hills Norfolk | C | 0.4 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Hope Clwyd | C | 8.5 | 64% | 2 | 0% |
| 35 | Kilburn and Horsley Woodhouse Derbyshire | C | 1.6 | 75% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Skelmanthorpe West Yorkshire | C | 1 | 88% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Brundall Norfolk | C | 1.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 20% |
| 38 | Meopham Kent | C | 1.3 | 53% | 2.5 | 35% |
| 39 | Uppingham Rutland | C | 2.2 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Long Lawford Warwickshire | C | 1.2 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Branston Lincolnshire | C | 2.1 | 86% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Llangennech Dyfed | C | 1.6 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 43 | Nelson Gwent | C | 2.1 | 88% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Cuffley Hertfordshire | C− | 13.6 | 19% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Ellesmere Shropshire | C− | 12.5 | 54% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Chudleigh Devon | C− | 0.3 | 83% | 1.4 | 15% |
| 47 | Saxilby Lincolnshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Epworth Lincolnshire | C− | 1.6 | 75% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Doddington and Wimblington Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.5 | 73% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Great Ayton North Yorkshire | C− | 0.2 | 48% | 2.2 | 31% |
| 51 | West Kingsdown Kent | D | 0.8 | 28% | 1.6 | 52% |
| 52 | North Weald Bassett Essex | D | 1.4 | 67% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Linton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.1 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Shepperton Green Surrey | D | 1.4 | 73% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Banks Lancashire | D | 0.3 | 33% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Blidworth Nottinghamshire | D | 0.5 | 23% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Kegworth Leicestershire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Wheatley Oxfordshire | D− | 0.2 | 34% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Warboys Cambridgeshire | D− | 0.4 | 67% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Pinchbeck Lincolnshire | D− | 1 | 49% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Overton’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 Overton
The biggest is Berrydown Sports Ground, 3.9 ha (10 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Edward Kersley Playing Field
Playing field
0.9 ha (2 acres)
Centralin the middle of Overton
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Overton 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 (92%)Further (8%)
Overton92%
Towns its size88%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 9 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 483 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Overton
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 Landscape
North Wessex Downs
At the edge north1,731 km²since 197245% of the land within 5 km
Official site45% of the land within 5 km of Overton is National Park or National Landscape, more than 90% 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 Overton
30 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Overton and the kilometre around it, 2.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Watership Down Trail3.7 km
The regional route here is the Watership Down Trail.
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 Overton: 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 | 15.5 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 62 | 54 | 59 | 52 | 53 | 53 | 63 | 60 | 89 | 96 | 86 |
May is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 96 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 49 nights a year. The climate in Overton →
Things to do
9 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
Overton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Penguin Beach18 mi from Overton’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. White Hill, at 160 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Overton.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 3
White Hill160 m (525 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsHyde Hill114 m (374 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsFrost Hill155 m (509 ft) · 1.1 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.
WhitchurchOakleyKingsclereBasingstokePicket PieceSouth WonstonOverton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overton | A | 3.7 | 92% | 45% |
| Whitchurch 3.3 mi | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 43% |
| Oakley 3.9 mi | C | 1.7 | 56% | 21% |
| Kingsclere 5.8 mi | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 50% |
| Basingstoke 7.2 mi | A | 2.5 | 94% | 6% |
| Picket Piece 7.8 mi | A− | 3.9 | 100% | 33% |
| South Wonston 9.0 mi | C− | 1.6 | 42% | 7% |
Basingstoke, 7.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 94% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Overton
What is the biggest park in Overton?
Berrydown Sports Ground, 3.9 ha (10 acres), just outside the built-up area. Edward Kersley Playing Field (0.9 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Overton near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 9.6 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 North Wessex Downs National Landscape, at the edge of the town.
What are the best walks near Overton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Watership Down Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Overton?
Penguin Beach, 18 mi from the edge of the town. Overton itself is inland.
How many people in Overton live near a park?
92% 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 Overton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Overton good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 44% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 79% (3.7 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 Overton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Overton’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.