Bishop's palace at Halling · Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.054% of the land within 5 km of Halling is National Park or National Landscape
The Kent Downs National Landscape reaches the edge of Halling. Footpaths add up to 44 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.6 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Halling add up to 3.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Halling grades A+ for the outdoors: #3 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors town is Halling?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Halling’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by parks close to every home.
Halling grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Halling, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Halling is 2nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,800 to 3,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Halling stands out most for path per km²: only 5 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rowlands Castle Hampshire | A+ | 26.1 | 100% | 5 | 48% |
| 2 | Halling Kent | A+ | 3.8 | 100% | 4.6 | 54% |
| 3 | Rudloe Wiltshire | A+ | 7.3 | 91% | 4 | 45% |
| 4 | Beaminster Dorset | A | 4.1 | 89% | 3.4 | 100% |
| 5 | Ebbsfleet Valley Kent | A | 9 | 77% | 8.3 | 0% |
| 6 | Downton Wiltshire | A | 4.3 | 100% | 2 | 59% |
| 7 | Langwith Derbyshire | A | 19.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 8 | Ellistown Leicestershire | A | 7.5 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Mortimer Berkshire | A | 2.4 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Stoke Mandeville Buckinghamshire | A− | 5.5 | 37% | 6.8 | 29% |
| 11 | Kingsclere Hampshire | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.5 | 50% |
| 12 | New Marske North Yorkshire | A− | 4.4 | 90% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Wargrave Berkshire | A− | 4 | 100% | 2 | 11% |
| 14 | Threemilestone Cornwall | A− | 3.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 1% |
| 15 | Knighton Powys | A− | 2.7 | 81% | 3.4 | 34% |
| 16 | East Saltdean East Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 0% | 4.9 | 44% |
| 17 | Seaton Sluice Northumberland | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 18 | Rhodes Greater Manchester | B+ | 16.6 | 78% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 19 | Milton-under-Wychwood and Shipton-under-Wychwood Oxfordshire | B+ | 4.1 | 87% | 1.3 | 100% |
| 20 | Welham Green Hertfordshire | B+ | 2.5 | 93% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Charfield Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.3 | 100% | 3 | 22% |
| 22 | Almondsbury Gloucestershire | B+ | 7.9 | 77% | 4 | 0% |
| 23 | South Hetton County Durham | B+ | 3.4 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Wing Buckinghamshire | B | 2.4 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 25 | Camelford Cornwall | B | 2 | 100% | 1.5 | 33% |
| 26 | Barlborough Derbyshire | B | 4.4 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 27 | Newport Essex | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Rockwell Green Somerset | B | 1 | 90% | 3.2 | 24% |
| 29 | Denholme West Yorkshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 30 | Scholes (near Cleckheaton) West Yorkshire | B | 4 | 89% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Aston Clwyd | B− | 4.4 | 37% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Henley-in-Arden Warwickshire | C+ | 4.6 | 58% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Over Cambridgeshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Capel St Mary Suffolk | C+ | 1.5 | 59% | 3 | 24% |
| 35 | Rolleston on Dove Staffordshire | C+ | 3.8 | 84% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Alderholt Dorset | C | 1.9 | 43% | 2.3 | 31% |
| 37 | Hendy and Fforest Dyfed | C | 2.1 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Collingham Nottinghamshire | C | 2.4 | 78% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll Gwynedd | C | 0.8 | 71% | 1.6 | 8% |
| 40 | Barrow upon Humber Lincolnshire | C | 1.5 | 88% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 41 | Trimdon County Durham | C | 1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 42 | East Goscote Leicestershire | C | 2.9 | 75% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Corbridge Northumberland | C | 2.2 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Fenstanton Cambridgeshire | C− | 0.8 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 45 | Maerdy Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Alrewas Staffordshire | C− | 1.5 | 66% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Great Leighs Essex | C− | 1.5 | 87% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Burnopfield County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Weedon Bec Northamptonshire | C− | 1.1 | 87% | 2 | 0% |
| 50 | St Mary's Bay Kent | D | 0 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Cleobury Mortimer Shropshire | D | 0.8 | 64% | 2 | 2% |
| 52 | Kelsall Cheshire | D | 1 | 57% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Gamlingay Cambridgeshire | D | 2.1 | 32% | 2 | 0% |
| 54 | Scotter Lincolnshire | D | 2.6 | 61% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Thurston Suffolk | D | 1.6 | 39% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Pevensey Bay East Sussex | D | 0.5 | 0% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Bampton Oxfordshire | D | 1.1 | 63% | 2 | 0% |
| 58 | Hunmanby North Yorkshire | D | 0.3 | 33% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Langstone Gwent | D− | 0.1 | 46% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Feltwell Norfolk | D− | 1.1 | 63% | 0.4 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Halling’s built-up area.
Everyone in Halling lives 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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 12 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 244 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Halling
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.
Kent Downs
54% of the land within 5 km of Halling is National Park or National Landscape, more than 92% of UK towns.
Halling is on the North Downs Way
44 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Halling and the kilometre around it, 4.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The North Downs Way, a national route, passes Halling. 4 regional routes pass through, including the Otford to Canterbury Cathedral, Medway Valley Walk, Augustine Camino and 1066 Harold's Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Halling: 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 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 66 | 58 | 46 | 51 | 52 | 52 | 47 | 58 | 58 | 82 | 83 | 78 |
March is the driest month (46 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 83 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 38 nights a year. The climate in Halling →
12 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
Halling is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
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 12
Plus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Halling grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. Cuxton has at least twice Halling’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Halling
Is Halling near a National Park?
It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Halling?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Otford to Canterbury Cathedral, North Downs Way (Eastern) and Medway Valley Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Halling?
Northfleet Beach, 8.7 mi from the edge of the town, then Egypt Bay Beach (9.7 mi). Halling itself is inland.
How many people in Halling live near a park?
100% 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 Halling?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Halling good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 89% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 80% (3.8 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 Halling’s overall grade.
Where Halling’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.