Cranbrook’s biggest
Town Meadow
Park or garden
0.0 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Cranbrook
Directionsto the park
Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Cranbrook · parks, paths & countryside
Cranbrook is inside the High Weald National Landscape
Parks and playing fields in Cranbrook add up to 5.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 32 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.9 for every square kilometre. Cranbrook grades A for the outdoors: #22 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
5.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
82%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
32 km
2.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
65%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: High Weald National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Cranbrook?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the High Weald National LandscapeCranbrook sits inside it: 1,462 km² of protected landscape.Room to roam5.8 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 89% of UK towns.
Cranbrook’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Cranbrook grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Cranbrook, 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 90% of UK towns#22 of 87 in Kent · 3rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space5.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
90out of
100
100
A park within a walk82%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
51out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape65%of the land within 5 km
95out of
100
100
Footpaths2.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
56out 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
Cranbrook is 3rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 3,800 to 4,100 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
Cranbrook2.9
Towns its size2.7
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Cranbrook5.8
Towns its size1.9
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Cranbrook82%
Towns its size83%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Cranbrook stands out most for park space per resident: only 7 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darley Dale Derbyshire | A+ | 3.8 | 100% | 3.4 | 51% |
| 2 | Batheaston Somerset | A | 3 | 84% | 4.6 | 71% |
| 3 | Cranbrook Kent | A | 5.8 | 82% | 2.9 | 65% |
| 4 | Chickerell Dorset | A | 1.5 | 88% | 3 | 27% |
| 5 | Bisley Surrey | A | 8 | 92% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Walter's Ash and Naphill Buckinghamshire | A | 3.7 | 50% | 5.3 | 79% |
| 7 | Holt Norfolk | A | 8.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 40% |
| 8 | Old Sarum Wiltshire | A | 4.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 9 | Disley Cheshire | A− | 1.2 | 100% | 4.6 | 22% |
| 10 | Bowerhill Wiltshire | A− | 7.4 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 11 | Welwyn Hertfordshire | A− | 2.6 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 12 | Esh Winning County Durham | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 13 | Carbis Bay Cornwall | B+ | 0.5 | 88% | 2.8 | 20% |
| 14 | Long Melford Suffolk | B+ | 6.9 | 87% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Cheddleton Staffordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Chirk Clwyd | B+ | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 15% |
| 17 | Greasbrough South Yorkshire | B | 2.9 | 80% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Queenborough Kent | B | 1.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 19 | Tangmere West Sussex | B | 2.1 | 100% | 1.2 | 36% |
| 20 | Stoke Poges Buckinghamshire | B | 7.7 | 76% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 21 | Mytholmroyd West Yorkshire | B | 1.8 | 88% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 22 | Pirbright Surrey | B | 2 | 84% | 5.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Grange-over-Sands Cumbria | B | 1.5 | 46% | 2.6 | 40% |
| 24 | Calverley West Yorkshire | B | 1.5 | 92% | 6 | 0% |
| 25 | Little Paxton Cambridgeshire | B− | 2.8 | 87% | 3 | 0% |
| 26 | Tumble Dyfed | B− | 19.5 | 93% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Glanaman Dyfed | B− | 3.3 | 83% | 0.8 | 29% |
| 28 | South Cerney Gloucestershire | B− | 2.5 | 77% | 2.4 | 7% |
| 29 | Lower Stondon Bedfordshire | B− | 2.7 | 73% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 30 | New Romney Kent | C+ | 2.5 | 79% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 31 | Ystradgynlais Powys | C+ | 2.5 | 78% | 1.2 | 36% |
| 32 | Chipping Ongar Essex | C+ | 2.5 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 33 | Bar Hill Cambridgeshire | C+ | 1.4 | 93% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Heacham Norfolk | C+ | 1.5 | 53% | 1.1 | 29% |
| 35 | Forest Row East Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 51% | 3.4 | 94% |
| 36 | Shirland and Stonebroom Derbyshire | C | 3.7 | 43% | 3 | 0% |
| 37 | Kirkburton West Yorkshire | C | 1.4 | 86% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 38 | Silver End Essex | C | 2 | 88% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Langley Park County Durham | C | 0.8 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 40 | Cubbington Warwickshire | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 41 | Tenbury Wells Worcestershire | C | 2.3 | 51% | 2.1 | 3% |
| 42 | Oaklands Hertfordshire | C | 2 | 7% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Wynyard County Durham | C | 10.7 | 64% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Great Glen Leicestershire | C | 1.4 | 91% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Whiston South Yorkshire | C− | 1 | 75% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Lydd Kent | C− | 1.7 | 66% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 47 | Brookmans Park Hertfordshire | C− | 2.5 | 43% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Kingston Bagpuize Oxfordshire | C− | 0.8 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Swanland East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Sutton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.9 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Glyn-neath West Glamorgan | D | 1.3 | 57% | 1.1 | 22% |
| 52 | Crowle Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 91% | 1 | 0% |
| 53 | Puckeridge and Standon Hertfordshire | D | 0.9 | 59% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Doddinghurst Essex | D | 1.6 | 60% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Sutton Bridge Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 79% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | North Ferriby East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 33% | 1 | 0% |
| 57 | Gnosall Staffordshire | D | 1.2 | 42% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Willingham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 73% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Cricklade Wiltshire | D | 0.3 | 9% | 3 | 0% |
| 60 | Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road Cornwall | D− | 0.7 | 27% | 1.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Cranbrook’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 Cranbrook
The biggest is Town Meadow, 0.0 ha (0 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
8 in 10 Cranbrook 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 (82%)Further (18%)
Cranbrook82%
Towns its size83%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
About 700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 3 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,321 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Cranbrook
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
High Weald
Cranbrook is inside it1,462 km²since 198365% of the land within 5 km
Official site65% of the land within 5 km of Cranbrook is National Park or National Landscape, more than 95% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Cranbrook
32 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Cranbrook and the kilometre around it, 2.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
High Weald Landscape Trail7.5 km
The regional route here is the High Weald Landscape 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 Cranbrook: 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 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 65 | 50 | 53 | 55 | 50 | 50 | 63 | 59 | 96 | 94 | 95 |
March is the driest month (50 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 October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Cranbrook →
Things to do
3 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
Cranbrook is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach10 mi from Cranbrook’s edge
DirectionsCamber Sands15 mi from Cranbrook’s edge
DirectionsFairlight Glen Naturist Beach16 mi from Cranbrook’s edge
DirectionsRock-a-Nore Beach16 mi from Cranbrook’s edge
DirectionsGreatstone beach20 mi from Cranbrook’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
Playgrounds 3
Plus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Glassenbury Camping0.8 mi from town
DirectionsStar Field camping and glamping0.9 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.
BenendenGoudhurstHawkhurstBiddendenStaplehurstHorsmondenCranbrook
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook | A | 5.8 | 82% | 65% |
| Benenden 2.7 mi | C | 2.0 | 57% | 83% |
| Goudhurst 3.5 mi | B | 1.5 | 100% | 65% |
| Hawkhurst 3.7 mi | C− | 1.1 | 60% | 100% |
| Biddenden 4.7 mi | A− | 4.2 | 100% | 20% |
| Staplehurst 4.9 mi | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1% |
| Horsmonden 5.3 mi | C− | 0.5 | 79% | 50% |
Cranbrook grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Cranbrook
What is the biggest park in Cranbrook?
Town Meadow, 0.0 ha (0 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Cranbrook?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the High Weald Landscape Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Cranbrook?
The Beach, 10 mi from the edge of the town, then Camber Sands (15 mi). Cranbrook itself is inland.
How many people in Cranbrook live near a park?
82% 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 Cranbrook?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Cranbrook good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 56% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 90% (5.8 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 Cranbrook’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Cranbrook’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.