Cuffley’s biggest
Northaw Great Wood
Park or garden
123 ha (303 acres)14.2 km of path
3 h 10 minto walk all 14.2 km of path
172 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi north-westfrom the centre
Nature reserve
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Peter Walker · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Cuffley · parks, paths & countryside
Cuffley has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Cuffley add up to 13.6 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 19% of residents. 28 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.9 for every square kilometre. Cuffley grades C− for the outdoors: #43 of 50 in Hertfordshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
13.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
19%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
28 km
1.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Chilterns National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Cuffley?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam13.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 97% of UK towns.Parks can be a walk away81% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Cuffley’s strongest suit is plenty of park space. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Cuffley grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Cuffley, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C−
Better than 24% of UK towns#43 of 50 in Hertfordshire · 44th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space13.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
98out of
100
100
A park within a walk19%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
4out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
26out 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
Cuffley is 44th 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
Cuffley1.9
Towns its size2.5
Hertfordshire towns3.9
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Cuffley13.6
Towns its size1.7
Hertfordshire towns2.5
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Cuffley19%
Towns its size88%
Hertfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Cuffley stands out most for park space per resident: only 2 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 59 of the others do better.
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 Cuffley’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 Cuffley
The biggest is Northaw Great Wood, 123 ha (303 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
King George V Playing Fields
Playing field
5.4 ha (13 acres)
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
2 in 10 Cuffley 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 (19%)Further (81%)
Cuffley19%
Towns its size88%
Hertfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
About 3,500 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
The Chilterns National Landscape is 14 mi away
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
Footpaths & waymarked walks
9 waymarked walks pass through or near Cuffley
28 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Cuffley and the kilometre around it, 1.9 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
Hertfordshire Way16.3 km
Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 212.9 km
Yellow Trail4.4 km
Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 13.7 km
Blue Trail2.3 km
Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 32.0 km
Red Trail1.2 km
Broxbourne Woods NNR Trail0.8 km
Parkfield, Oakmere & Beyond 4 mile walk0.7 km
5 regional routes pass through, including the Hertfordshire Way, Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 2, Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 1 and Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 3.
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 Cuffley: 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 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 46 | 37 | 43 | 49 | 53 | 49 | 55 | 49 | 68 | 68 | 61 |
March is the driest month (37 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 68 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Cuffley →
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
Cuffley is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Stort Beach10 mi from Cuffley’s edge
DirectionsDock Beach15 mi from Cuffley’s edge
DirectionsKelson Beach15 mi from Cuffley’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows16 mi from Cuffley’s edge
DirectionsHog Hole17 mi from Cuffley’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.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Northaw Great Wood Country Park122 ha · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Tolmersin town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Goff's OakCheshuntPotters BarBrookmans ParkWaltham CrossWelham GreenCuffley
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuffley | C− | 13.6 | 19% | 0% |
| Goff's Oak 1.1 mi | C− | 2.4 | 41% | 0% |
| Cheshunt 3.0 mi | B+ | 4.8 | 79% | 0% |
| Potters Bar 3.2 mi | C | 1.6 | 71% | 0% |
| Brookmans Park 3.2 mi | C− | 2.5 | 43% | 0% |
| Waltham Cross 4.1 mi | A | 10.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Welham Green 4.5 mi | B+ | 2.5 | 93% | 0% |
Waltham Cross, 4.1 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Cuffley
What is the biggest park in Cuffley?
Northaw Great Wood, 123 ha (303 acres), with 14.2 km of path. King George V Playing Fields (5.4 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Cuffley near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Chilterns National Landscape, 14 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Cuffley?
9 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Hertfordshire Way, Hertfordshire Chain Walk - Walk 2 and Yellow Trail. Northaw Great Wood alone has 14.2 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Cuffley?
Stort Beach, 10 mi from the edge of the town, then Dock Beach (15 mi). Cuffley itself is inland.
How many people in Cuffley live near a park?
19% 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 Cuffley?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Cuffley good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 26% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 98% (13.6 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 Cuffley’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Cuffley’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.