Caol’s biggest
Black Parks
Park or garden · 130 m outside town
9.3 ha (23 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Steven Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Caol · parks, paths & countryside
Caol is on the coast
The sea makes up 8% of the area within 5 km. The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area begins 0.6 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Caol add up to 3.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Caol has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
3.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
71%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
49 km
3.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
19%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area
The sea
8%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Caol?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast8% of the area within 5 km is sea; 15 beaches mapped.Countryside close byThe Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area starts 0.6 mi south-east.On a long-distance trailThe Cape Wrath Trail passes through.
Caol’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area close by.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Caol’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Caol
The biggest is Black Parks, 9.3 ha (23 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Caol 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 (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (71%)Further (29%)
Caol71%
Highland towns82%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 17 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 188 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area is 0.6 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
National Scenic Area
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe
0.6 mi south-east905 km²since 198019% of the land within 5 km
National Scenic Area
Loch Shiel
11 mi west130 km²since 1980
National Scenic Area
Knoydart
17 mi north-west395 km²since 1980
19% of the land within 5 km of Caol is National Park or National Scenic Area.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Caol is on the Cape Wrath Trail
49 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Caol and the kilometre around it, 3.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Invergarry → Morvich)10.1 km
Great Glen Way10.1 km
East Highland Way6.2 km
West Highland Way (Kinlochleven to Fort William)3.0 km
Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Glenfinnan → Morvich)2.8 km
West Highland Way (High Route to Fort William)2.3 km
Crofters Woods Walk2.2 km
The Cape Wrath Trail, a national route, passes Caol. The regional route here is the East Highland Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Caol: June 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) | 7.4 | 9.4 | 11.6 | 14.2 | 16.4 | 17.8 | 17.2 | 15.2 | 12.7 | 10.2 | 8.0 | 6.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 259 | 182 | 159 | 108 | 101 | 97 | 107 | 126 | 154 | 212 | 179 | 227 |
June is the driest month (97 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 259 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 60 nights a year. The climate in Caol →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Caol
8% of the area within 5 km of Caol is sea. 15 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by SEPA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
7 viewpoints and 17 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 4
Tom Giubhais0.2 mi from town
DirectionsTom Dubh0.3 mi from town
DirectionsTom Allt Fine0.6 mi from town
DirectionsMeall Bhanbhaidh0.9 mi from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Eas nan Long1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Old Fort William0.4 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 17
Assault Course0.4 mi from town
DirectionsClaggan Play Area0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPinegrove Playground0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 14 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.
Fort WilliamCaol
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caol | – | 3.5 | 71% | 19% |
| Fort William 1.5 mi | – | 3.1 | 74% | 20% |
Questions about the outdoors in Caol
What is the biggest park in Caol?
Black Parks, 9.3 ha (23 acres), with 1.6 km of path, just outside the locality. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Caol near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area, 0.6 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 905 km² and was designated in 1980.
What are the best walks near Caol?
7 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Cape Wrath Trail (Fort William → Invergarry → Morvich), Great Glen Way and East Highland Way.
How many people in Caol live near a park?
71% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Caol?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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 Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Caol’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Caol’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 Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, 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: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
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.