Hawkinge’s biggest
Village Green
Park or garden
1.0 ha (3 acres)
Centralin the middle of Hawkinge
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ron Hann · CC BY-SA 2.0A+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Hawkinge · parks, paths & countryside
Hawkinge is inside the Kent Downs National Landscape
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 100% of residents. The sea makes up 13% of the area within 5 km. Hawkinge grades A+ for the outdoors: #2 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
41 km
3.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
74%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Kent Downs National Landscape
The sea
13%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Hawkinge?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the Kent Downs National LandscapeHawkinge sits inside it: 879 km² of protected landscape.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.On a National TrailThe North Downs Way passes through.
Hawkinge’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by parks close to every home.
Outdoors grade
Hawkinge grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Hawkinge, 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 almost every UK town#2 of 87 in Kent · 2nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
62out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape74%of the land within 5 km
96out of
100
100
Footpaths3.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
65out of
100
100
The sea13%of the area within 5 km
87out 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
Hawkinge is 2nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,100 to 8,900 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
Hawkinge3.2
Towns its size2.8
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Hawkinge2.6
Towns its size2.2
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Hawkinge100%
Towns its size85%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Hawkinge stands out most for park space per resident: only 26 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upton Dorset | A+ | 9.1 | 84% | 4.7 | 18% |
| 2 | Hawkinge Kent | A+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.2 | 74% |
| 3 | Pool and Illogan Cornwall | A+ | 3.7 | 81% | 4 | 5% |
| 4 | Ecclesfield and Grenoside South Yorkshire | A+ | 5.1 | 94% | 5.2 | 2% |
| 5 | Stakeford Northumberland | A+ | 10 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 6 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 7 | Storrington West Sussex | A | 5.5 | 85% | 3.2 | 54% |
| 8 | Wallingford Oxfordshire | A | 3.1 | 85% | 3.7 | 61% |
| 9 | East Cowes Isle of Wight | A | 1.4 | 96% | 3 | 8% |
| 10 | Brecon Powys | A | 3.2 | 86% | 3.2 | 61% |
| 11 | Ledbury Herefordshire | A | 3.3 | 89% | 3.1 | 34% |
| 12 | Penistone South Yorkshire | A | 2.6 | 97% | 3.9 | 9% |
| 13 | Bearsted Kent | A | 5.5 | 76% | 3.5 | 39% |
| 14 | Stonehouse Gloucestershire | A | 1.8 | 94% | 4.6 | 36% |
| 15 | Maryport Cumbria | A− | 1.4 | 100% | 2.4 | 5% |
| 16 | Norton Canes Staffordshire | A− | 13.3 | 97% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 17 | Brightlingsea Essex | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Ryton Tyne and Wear | A− | 5.5 | 85% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 19 | Alfreton Derbyshire | B+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 20 | Longridge Lancashire | B+ | 1.9 | 89% | 3 | 32% |
| 21 | Coppull Lancashire | B+ | 4.6 | 85% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Hadleigh Suffolk | B+ | 2.6 | 87% | 2.7 | 10% |
| 23 | Higham Ferrers Northamptonshire | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 24 | Cinderford Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 4.7 | 4% |
| 25 | Pershore Worcestershire | B | 2.7 | 76% | 3.2 | 7% |
| 26 | Ashbourne Derbyshire | B | 1.9 | 92% | 2.7 | 14% |
| 27 | Cockermouth Cumbria | B | 2.6 | 81% | 2.2 | 42% |
| 28 | Ampthill Bedfordshire | B | 6.8 | 71% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 30 | Abergele Clwyd | B | 2.9 | 78% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Wendover Buckinghamshire | B | 1 | 58% | 5.6 | 60% |
| 32 | Hornsea East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 90% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Alnwick Northumberland | B− | 2.2 | 67% | 3.4 | 7% |
| 34 | Meltham West Yorkshire | B− | 1 | 63% | 5.3 | 27% |
| 35 | Stansted Mountfitchet Essex | B− | 0.8 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Hoo St Werburgh Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 92% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 37 | Fakenham Norfolk | C+ | 5.2 | 81% | 2 | 0% |
| 38 | Bewdley Worcestershire | C+ | 1.7 | 88% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Atherstone Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 40 | Ammanford Dyfed | C+ | 2.8 | 70% | 1.5 | 9% |
| 41 | Brinsworth South Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 76% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Faringdon Oxfordshire | C | 1.3 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Silsden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 67% | 3.5 | 1% |
| 44 | Rothwell Northamptonshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Burscough Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Sherburn in Elmet North Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Glastonbury Somerset | C− | 2 | 69% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Hilton Derbyshire | C− | 1.1 | 89% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Radlett Hertfordshire | C− | 2.1 | 60% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | East Leake Nottinghamshire | C− | 2.4 | 68% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Launceston Cornwall | C− | 2.1 | 66% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 53 | Penkridge Staffordshire | C− | 0.8 | 70% | 2.1 | 7% |
| 54 | Adlington Lancashire | C− | 1.3 | 64% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Swaffham Norfolk | D | 1 | 68% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Holbeach Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 91% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Ashford Common Surrey | D | 0.8 | 62% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Tarleton and Hesketh Bank Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 63% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Coxheath Kent | D | 1.2 | 48% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Clydach West Glamorgan | D | 1.7 | 68% | 0.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Hawkinge’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 Hawkinge
The biggest is Village Green, 1.0 ha (3 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
Everyone in Hawkinge 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).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Hawkinge100%
Towns its size85%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
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 405 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Hawkinge
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
Kent Downs
Hawkinge is inside it879 km²since 196873% of the land within 5 km
Official site74% of the land within 5 km of Hawkinge is National Park or National Landscape, more than 96% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Hawkinge is on the North Downs Way
41 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Hawkinge and the kilometre around it, 3.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
North Downs Way (Eastern)7.4 km
European walking route E9, Rye to Dover7.4 km
Saxon Shore Way7.4 km
Follow the kestrel to the Downs1.1 km
Corridors to the countryside0.7 km
The North Downs Way, a national route, passes Hawkinge. The regional route here is the Saxon Shore Way.
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 Hawkinge: 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 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 93 | 69 | 53 | 54 | 57 | 59 | 59 | 68 | 71 | 110 | 109 | 106 |
March is the driest month (53 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 110 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Hawkinge →
The coast
Hawkinge is near the sea
13% of the area within 5 km of Hawkinge is sea. 23 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 6 with a name.
The Warren1.9 mi from town
DirectionsSunny Sands2.0 mi from town
DirectionsSandgate Beach2.2 mi from town
DirectionsMermaid Beach2.2 mi from town
DirectionsSeabrook Beach3.1 mi from town
DirectionsSea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
2 viewpoints and 21 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 5
Round Hill0.5 mi from town
DirectionsCherry Garden Hill0.5 mi from town
DirectionsCastle Hill126 m (413 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsSugarloaf Hill0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 21
Grebe Closein town
DirectionsMillfield Play Areain town
DirectionsWinter Drive Play Areain town
DirectionsKidz Planet0.9 mi from town
DirectionsButtermere Close Play Area1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Kent Sheds0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPete's Field0.6 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.
FolkestoneCapel-le-FerneLymingeHytheDoverSibertswoldHawkinge
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkinge | A+ | 2.6 | 100% | 74% |
| Folkestone 2.0 mi | A+ | 2.3 | 95% | 45% |
| Capel-le-Ferne 2.4 mi | A+ | 21.8 | 88% | 52% |
| Lyminge 3.5 mi | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 90% |
| Hythe 4.6 mi | A+ | 3.7 | 76% | 31% |
| Dover 5.9 mi | A+ | 3.0 | 86% | 29% |
| Sibertswold 6.0 mi | B− | 1.9 | 79% | 38% |
Capel-le-Ferne, 2.4 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 88% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Capel-le-Ferne has at least twice Hawkinge’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Hawkinge
What is the biggest park in Hawkinge?
Village Green, 1.0 ha (3 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Hawkinge?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the North Downs Way (Eastern), European walking route E9, Rye to Dover and Saxon Shore Way.
How many people in Hawkinge 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 Hawkinge?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Hawkinge good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 65% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 62% (2.6 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 Hawkinge’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Hawkinge’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.