Ware’s biggest
Presdales Recreation Ground
Playing field
6.6 ha (16 acres)0.2 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Christine Matthews · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Ware · parks, paths & countryside
Ware has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 88 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.9 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Ware add up to 2.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 81% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Ware grades B− for the outdoors: #33 of 50 in Hertfordshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.0 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
81%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
88 km
4.9 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 Ware?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths4.9 km of path per km², more than 92% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Historic parks2 registered historic parks and gardens, including Poles Park.
Ware’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by its historic parks.
Outdoors grade
Ware grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ware, 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 53% of UK towns#33 of 50 in Hertfordshire · 37th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
46out of
100
100
A park within a walk81%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
48out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths4.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
92out 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
Ware is 37th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 18,200 to 21,100 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
Ware4.9
Towns its size3.4
Hertfordshire towns3.9
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ware2.0
Towns its size2.2
Hertfordshire towns2.5
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ware81%
Towns its size86%
Hertfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Ware stands out most for path per km²: only 6 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camborne Cornwall | A+ | 2.2 | 93% | 4 | 8% |
| 2 | Littlehampton West Sussex | A+ | 2.1 | 99% | 3.1 | 18% |
| 3 | Litherland Merseyside | A | 7.3 | 94% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Buxton Derbyshire | A | 3.5 | 86% | 3.8 | 61% |
| 5 | Faversham Kent | A | 2 | 88% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 6 | Houghton Regis Bedfordshire | A | 3.5 | 81% | 8 | 20% |
| 7 | Colne Lancashire | A | 3.2 | 86% | 5.3 | 8% |
| 8 | Waltham Abbey Essex | A | 11.9 | 92% | 6.7 | 0% |
| 9 | Farnham Surrey | A | 5.1 | 73% | 4.3 | 35% |
| 10 | Hazlemere Buckinghamshire | A | 2.5 | 81% | 4.7 | 68% |
| 11 | Forest Town Nottinghamshire | A | 6.4 | 94% | 5.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Northwich Cheshire | A | 8.8 | 92% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 13 | Leek Staffordshire | A | 4.2 | 83% | 3.6 | 19% |
| 14 | Stratton St Margaret Wiltshire | A | 3.3 | 82% | 5.1 | 5% |
| 15 | Keynsham Somerset | A | 2.1 | 95% | 4.6 | 11% |
| 16 | Harwich Essex | A− | 1.7 | 95% | 2.1 | 20% |
| 17 | Peterlee County Durham | A− | 2.3 | 85% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Ebbw Vale Gwent | A− | 2 | 92% | 3.3 | 29% |
| 19 | Rothwell West Yorkshire | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 20 | Mansfield Woodhouse Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Devizes Wiltshire | A− | 1.8 | 91% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 22 | Walkden Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 92% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Belper Derbyshire | B+ | 2.4 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 24 | Eastwood Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 93% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 25 | Hythe and Dibden Purlieu Hampshire | B+ | 0.8 | 49% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 26 | Sandhurst Berkshire | B+ | 5.1 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Hazel Grove Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.9 | 62% | 4.2 | 3% |
| 28 | Mirfield West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 90% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Ripley Derbyshire | B | 2.4 | 91% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Irlam Greater Manchester | B | 3.1 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Cradley Heath West Midlands | B | 3.3 | 76% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Penwortham Lancashire | B | 2.9 | 91% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Ely Cambridgeshire | B | 2.7 | 88% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Stanley County Durham | B | 1.7 | 88% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 35 | Stourport-on-Severn Worcestershire | B | 3.1 | 79% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Romsey Hampshire | B− | 1.2 | 82% | 4.5 | 2% |
| 37 | Ware Hertfordshire | B− | 2 | 81% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Calne Wiltshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 2.4 | 33% |
| 39 | Wednesbury West Midlands | B− | 2.7 | 93% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 40 | Dereham Norfolk | B− | 1.8 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Failsworth Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.8 | 77% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Clevedon Somerset | C+ | 1.1 | 69% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Rawmarsh South Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 84% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Maesteg Mid Glamorgan | C+ | 2 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Melksham Wiltshire | C+ | 2.2 | 87% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Bideford Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 83% | 1 | 11% |
| 47 | Newmarket Suffolk | C+ | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Knowle and Dorridge West Midlands | C+ | 2.7 | 82% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Adwick le Street South Yorkshire | C+ | 2.8 | 89% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Spennymoor County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Thornton Lancashire | C | 2.1 | 71% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Nantwich Cheshire | C | 2.2 | 86% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Horwich Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 67% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Maghull Merseyside | C− | 1.6 | 86% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 55 | Skegness Lincolnshire | C− | 0.9 | 58% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Willerby and Anlaby East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.6 | 46% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Selby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.6 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Goole East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 81% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Stamford Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 64% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Tiverton Devon | D | 1.5 | 59% | 2.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ware’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 Ware
The biggest is Presdales Recreation Ground, 6.6 ha (16 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
King George's Field
Playing field
2.3 ha (6 acres)0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Ware
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Buryfield Recreation Ground
Playing field
1.1 ha (3 acres)0.2 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Ware
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Ware 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 (81%)Further (19%)
Ware81%
Towns its size86%
Hertfordshire towns82%
All UK towns83%
About 3,800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 21 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 935 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
6 waymarked walks pass through or near Ware
88 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ware and the kilometre around it, 4.9 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 Way14.2 km
Beyond Hartham Common9.0 km
Lea Valley Walk6.8 km
New River Path5.4 km
Harcamlow Way4.4 km
Greenwich Meridian Trail4.4 km
Close to home, the Beyond Hartham Common has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 5 regional routes pass through, including the Hertfordshire Way, Lea Valley Walk, New River Path and Harcamlow Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
2 registered historic parks in Ware
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Ware’s named parks.
Registered · Grade II*Gardens to Former Amwell House Including Scott's Grotto and Gazebo0.1 ha
Registered · Grade IIPoles Park0.8 ha
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ware: 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 | 16.7 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 61 | 46 | 40 | 43 | 46 | 51 | 47 | 59 | 49 | 70 | 64 | 61 |
March is the driest month (40 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 70 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Ware →
Things to do
21 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
Ware is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Stort Beach5.3 mi from Ware’s edge
DirectionsDock Beach20 mi from Ware’s edge
DirectionsKelson Beach21 mi from Ware’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows24 mi from Ware’s edge
DirectionsHog Hole24 mi from Ware’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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Brokengall Hill0.4 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 21
Funzese Parkin town
DirectionsKing George's Field Playgroundin town
DirectionsYearling Close Play Area0.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Plus 2 slipways 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.
Great AmwellHertford HeathHertfordStanstead AbbottsHoddesdonRoydonWare
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ware | B− | 2.0 | 81% | 0% |
| Great Amwell 1.2 mi | B− | 5.7 | 0% | 0% |
| Hertford Heath 2.2 mi | B+ | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Hertford 2.3 mi | C | 0.9 | 65% | 0% |
| Stanstead Abbotts 2.4 mi | B+ | 2.5 | 92% | 0% |
| Hoddesdon 4.1 mi | A− | 6.5 | 82% | 0% |
| Roydon 4.4 mi | A | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
Roydon, 4.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Great Amwell and Hoddesdon have at least twice Ware’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Ware
What is the biggest park in Ware?
Presdales Recreation Ground, 6.6 ha (16 acres). King George's Field (2.3 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Ware near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Chilterns National Landscape, 14 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 838 km² and was designated in 1990.
What are the best walks near Ware?
6 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Hertfordshire Way, Beyond Hartham Common and Lea Valley Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Ware?
Stort Beach, 5.3 mi from the edge of the town, then Dock Beach (20 mi). Ware itself is inland.
How many people in Ware live near a park?
81% 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 Ware?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Ware are historic?
Poles Park (Grade II) and Gardens to Former Amwell House Including Scott's Grotto and Gazebo (Grade II*) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Ware good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 92% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 46% (2.0 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 Ware’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Ware’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.