Whitchurch’s biggest
The Meadow Millennium Green
Park or garden
3.4 ha (8 acres)1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Dr Neil Clifton · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Whitchurch · parks, paths & countryside
43% of the land within 5 km of Whitchurch is National Park or National Landscape
The North Wessex Downs National Landscape reaches the edge of Whitchurch. 39 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.3 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 75% of residents. Whitchurch grades B+ for the outdoors: #50 of 76 in Hampshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
75%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
39 km
3.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
43%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: North Wessex Downs National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Whitchurch grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Whitchurch, 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 71% of UK towns#50 of 76 in Hampshire · 16th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
55out of
100
100
A park within a walk75%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
38out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape43%of the land within 5 km
89out of
100
100
Footpaths3.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
67out 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
Whitchurch is 16th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,100 to 5,500 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
Whitchurch3.3
Towns its size2.7
Hampshire towns3.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Whitchurch2.3
Towns its size2.1
Hampshire towns2.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Whitchurch75%
Towns its size75%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Whitchurch stands out most for path per km²: only 14 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cookham Berkshire | A+ | 8.3 | 96% | 4.3 | 19% |
| 2 | Weston Dorset | A+ | 2.5 | 95% | 7.6 | 0% |
| 3 | Whitehill Hampshire | A+ | 10.2 | 74% | 5.1 | 58% |
| 4 | Hungerford Berkshire | A+ | 9.1 | 85% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 5 | St Ives Cornwall | A | 0.8 | 89% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 6 | Budleigh Salterton Devon | A− | 2.7 | 70% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 7 | Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire | A− | 5.6 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 8 | Hoylake Merseyside | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 9 | Brotton North Yorkshire | A− | 1.4 | 89% | 3 | 2% |
| 10 | Eynsham Oxfordshire | A− | 3 | 94% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 11 | Northam Devon | A− | 6.8 | 43% | 2 | 16% |
| 12 | Highbridge Somerset | B+ | 2.9 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 13 | Sonning Common Oxfordshire | B+ | 2.6 | 60% | 3.7 | 74% |
| 14 | Llantwit Major South Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Drighlington West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.1 | 92% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitchurch Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 3.3 | 43% |
| 17 | New Alresford Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 94% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 18 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | B+ | 8.8 | 65% | 5 | 0% |
| 19 | Shrivenham and Watchfield Oxfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 96% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 20 | Long Ashton Somerset | B+ | 10.2 | 66% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Dartmouth Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 71% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 22 | Newent Gloucestershire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Battle East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 64% | 4.3 | 84% |
| 24 | Fremington Devon | B+ | 1.4 | 88% | 2.1 | 10% |
| 25 | Benson Oxfordshire | B | 6 | 44% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 26 | Longstanton and Northstowe Cambridgeshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Rowlands Gill Tyne and Wear | B | 4.9 | 84% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Shinfield Berkshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Redbourn Hertfordshire | B | 2.4 | 70% | 3.2 | 11% |
| 30 | Iver Heath Buckinghamshire | B | 28.9 | 53% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Virginia Water Surrey | B | 14.5 | 72% | 3 | 0% |
| 32 | Llandrindod Wells Powys | B− | 4.5 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 33 | Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire | B− | 1.6 | 84% | 7.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Midhurst West Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 28% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 35 | Brynmawr Gwent | C+ | 1.2 | 68% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 36 | Sacriston County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 72% | 4 | 0% |
| 37 | Helsby Cheshire | C+ | 1.4 | 66% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Oakley Hampshire | C | 1.7 | 56% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 39 | Havercroft and Ryhill West Yorkshire | C | 1.6 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 40 | Bovingdon Hertfordshire | C | 1.4 | 55% | 2.3 | 26% |
| 41 | Shevington Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Waterbeach Cambridgeshire | C | 1.5 | 94% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Looe Cornwall | C− | 0.1 | 47% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 44 | Long Stratton Norfolk | C− | 1 | 89% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Bayston Hill Shropshire | C− | 1.8 | 70% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Ludgershall Wiltshire | C− | 0.7 | 72% | 1.9 | 32% |
| 47 | Llangefni Gwynedd | C− | 1.8 | 95% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Ingatestone Essex | C− | 3.2 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 49 | Measham Leicestershire | C− | 1.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Littlestone-on-Sea Kent | C− | 1.4 | 37% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Long Sutton Lincolnshire | D | 2.2 | 81% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Potton Bedfordshire | D | 1.3 | 77% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Blackrod Greater Manchester | D | 1 | 83% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 54 | Wigton Cumbria | D | 2.4 | 65% | 1 | 0% |
| 55 | Thornton West Yorkshire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Treherbert Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.2 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Eye Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Moorends South Yorkshire | D | 2.2 | 39% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Winslow Buckinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 59% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Ravenshead Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Whitchurch’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 Whitchurch
The biggest is The Meadow Millennium Green, 3.4 ha (8 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
8 in 10 Whitchurch 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 (75%)Further (25%)
Whitchurch75%
Towns its size75%
Hampshire towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 1,300 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 588 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Whitchurch
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 west1,731 km²since 197243% of the land within 5 km
Official site43% of the land within 5 km of Whitchurch is National Park or National Landscape, more than 89% 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 Whitchurch
39 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Whitchurch and the kilometre around it, 3.3 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 Trail9.7 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 Whitchurch: 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 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 80 | 62 | 55 | 58 | 54 | 54 | 57 | 65 | 63 | 91 | 97 | 88 |
May is the driest month (54 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 97 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Whitchurch →
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
Whitchurch is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Penguin Beach21 mi from Whitchurch’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. Knowle Clump, at 125 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Whitchurch.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Knowle Clump125 m (410 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsSide Hill126 m (413 ft) · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 9
The Rec playgroundin town
DirectionsWitan Court Play Areain town
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds 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.
OvertonPicket PieceAndoverCharltonOakleySouth WonstonWhitchurch
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitchurch | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 43% |
| Overton 3.3 mi | A | 3.7 | 92% | 45% |
| Picket Piece 4.5 mi | A− | 3.9 | 100% | 33% |
| Andover 6.2 mi | A | 2.7 | 91% | 21% |
| Charlton 7.0 mi | A+ | 5.6 | 87% | 19% |
| Oakley 7.1 mi | C | 1.7 | 56% | 21% |
| South Wonston 7.7 mi | C− | 1.6 | 42% | 7% |
Charlton, 7 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 87% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Charlton has at least twice Whitchurch’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Whitchurch
What is the biggest park in Whitchurch?
The Meadow Millennium Green, 3.4 ha (8 acres), with 1.2 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Whitchurch near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 8.7 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 Whitchurch?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Watership Down Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Whitchurch?
Penguin Beach, 21 mi from the edge of the town. Whitchurch itself is inland.
How many people in Whitchurch live near a park?
75% 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 Whitchurch?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Whitchurch good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 67% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 55% (2.3 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 Whitchurch’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Whitchurch’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.