Herne Bay’s biggest
Reculver Country Park
Park or garden
27 ha (66 acres)6.2 km of path
1 h 25 minto walk all 6.2 km of path
37 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.6 mi eastfrom the centre
ViewpointOyster Bay Trail
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Herne Bay · parks, paths & countryside
Herne Bay is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 45% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 71 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.9 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Herne Bay add up to 2.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Herne Bay grades B+ for the outdoors: #36 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
83%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
71 km
2.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Kent Downs National Landscape
The sea
45%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Herne Bay?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast45% of the area within 5 km is sea; 6 beaches mapped.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.
Herne Bay’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the King Charles III England Coast Path.
Outdoors grade
Herne Bay grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Herne Bay, 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 71% of UK towns#36 of 87 in Kent · 27th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
55out of
100
100
A park within a walk83%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
53out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
56out of
100
100
The sea45%of the area within 5 km
98out 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
Herne Bay is 27th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 23,000 to 26,900 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
Herne Bay2.9
Towns its size3.6
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Herne Bay2.3
Towns its size2.5
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Herne Bay83%
Towns its size82%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Herne Bay falls furthest behind on path per km², where 44 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire | A+ | 5.7 | 96% | 3.7 | 1% |
| 2 | Stroud Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.6 | 79% | 5.8 | 70% |
| 3 | Falmouth Cornwall | A | 1.3 | 96% | 3.5 | 41% |
| 4 | Sevenoaks Kent | A | 8.1 | 76% | 3.8 | 70% |
| 5 | Stalybridge Greater Manchester | A | 5 | 82% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 6 | Newport Isle of Wight | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 7 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | A | 4.3 | 72% | 5.4 | 20% |
| 8 | Huntingdon Cambridgeshire | A | 5.7 | 99% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Thornaby-on-Tees North Yorkshire | A | 5.4 | 92% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Larkfield Kent | A− | 5.6 | 75% | 3.4 | 27% |
| 11 | Rickmansworth Hertfordshire | A− | 2.9 | 81% | 4.4 | 11% |
| 12 | Droylsden Greater Manchester | A− | 5.2 | 95% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 13 | Reigate Surrey | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 14 | Felixstowe Suffolk | A− | 2 | 88% | 1.9 | 28% |
| 15 | Heanor Derbyshire | A− | 4.2 | 92% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Gorleston-on-Sea Norfolk | A− | 1.4 | 81% | 3.2 | 17% |
| 17 | Hedge End Hampshire | A− | 5.5 | 87% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Little Hulton Greater Manchester | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 19 | East Grinstead West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 87% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 20 | Wilmslow Cheshire | A− | 4.4 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | Newton-le-Willows Merseyside | A− | 5.2 | 99% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Ryde Isle of Wight | A− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.6 | 19% |
| 23 | Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 74% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 24 | Ingleby Barwick North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 87% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Maldon Essex | B+ | 2.8 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Chesham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 64% |
| 27 | Herne Bay Kent | B+ | 2.3 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Portishead Somerset | B+ | 2 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Haverhill Suffolk | B+ | 2.4 | 91% | 5 | 0% |
| 30 | Longbenton Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.3 | 80% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 31 | Thatcham Berkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 87% | 3.1 | 27% |
| 32 | Fleetwood Lancashire | B+ | 2.7 | 92% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Cheadle Hulme Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock Essex | B+ | 2.2 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Bradley Stoke Gloucestershire | B+ | 2 | 93% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Oadby Leicestershire | B+ | 3.7 | 92% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Seaford East Sussex | B+ | 0.8 | 73% | 2.8 | 52% |
| 38 | Orrell Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.1 | 77% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Newton Aycliffe County Durham | B | 2.1 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Rugeley Staffordshire | B | 1.2 | 94% | 2.7 | 37% |
| 41 | Broadstairs Kent | B | 1.7 | 76% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Sudbury Suffolk | B | 3.8 | 77% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Truro Cornwall | B | 1.6 | 84% | 2.9 | 21% |
| 44 | Rawtenstall Lancashire | B | 1.9 | 83% | 6.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Droitwich Spa Worcestershire | B | 2.5 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Thetford Norfolk | B− | 2.9 | 65% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 47 | St Austell Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 71% | 2.5 | 7% |
| 48 | Ashton-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 93% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Bishop Auckland County Durham | B− | 2.7 | 85% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Chester-le-Street County Durham | C+ | 1.7 | 75% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Hindley Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.5 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Coseley West Midlands | C+ | 1.4 | 84% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Newquay Cornwall | C+ | 1.6 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Market Harborough Leicestershire | C+ | 1.9 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Ascot Berkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 56% | 3 | 0% |
| 56 | Potters Bar Hertfordshire | C | 1.6 | 71% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Golborne Greater Manchester | C | 3 | 66% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Wickersley and Bramley South Yorkshire | C | 1.7 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Retford Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Wisbech Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Herne Bay’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 Herne Bay
The biggest is Reculver Country Park, 27 ha (66 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 63 ha (157 acres) and 14 km of path
Parks & gardens 63 ha
The two biggest, Reculver Country Park and The Downs, are 83% of the named green space and carry 10 km of path between them. 3 of the 7 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
The Downs
Park or garden
26 ha (64 acres)3.5 km of path
45 minto walk all 3.5 km of path
36 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Herne Bay
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Memorial Park
Park or garden
7.3 ha (18 acres)2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Herne Bay
Pier ChineStation ChineAvenue of Remembrance
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hampton Coastal Park
Park or garden
3.0 ha (7 acres)1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.3 mi westfrom the centre
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Waltrop Gardens
Park or garden
0.3 ha (1 acres)0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Herne Bay
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Tower Gardens
Park or garden
0.2 ha (0 acres)0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Herne Bay
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Lane End Garden
Park or garden
0.2 ha (0 acres)
0.6 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Herne Bay 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 (83%)Further (17%)
Herne Bay83%
Towns its size82%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
About 4,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 30 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 829 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 7.2 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
Herne Bay is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
71 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Herne Bay 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.
NationalRegionalLocal
Wantsum Walk15.5 km
Saxon Shore Way14.9 km
King Charles III England Coast Path: Ramsgate to Whitstable11.5 km
Chestfield Walk0.6 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Herne Bay. Close to home, the Wantsum Walk has 16 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 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 Herne Bay: 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 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 50 | 41 | 35 | 35 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 51 | 47 | 67 | 66 | 61 |
March is the driest month (35 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 67 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 17 nights a year. The climate in Herne Bay →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Herne Bay
45% of the area within 5 km of Herne Bay is sea. 6 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Herne Bay BeachIn town
DirectionsThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes the town.
Sea: 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
30 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 1
Bishopstone Glen0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 30
Hampton Pleasure Groundsin town
DirectionsThe Hippodromein town
DirectionsWhite Willows Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlough Lane Park0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 26 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
Hampton Bay Parkin town
DirectionsHighstead Farm0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 campsite 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.
HerneHersdenWhitstableSturryBleanRough CommonHerne Bay
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herne Bay | B+ | 2.3 | 83% | 0% |
| Herne 0.8 mi | C+ | 1.2 | 54% | 0% |
| Hersden 4.0 mi | D | 2.0 | 63% | 0% |
| Whitstable 4.2 mi | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 0% |
| Sturry 4.6 mi | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 1% |
| Blean 5.6 mi | A− | 5.9 | 80% | 0% |
| Rough Common 6.3 mi | A+ | 11.0 | 100% | 1% |
Rough Common, 6.3 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Blean and Rough Common have at least twice Herne Bay’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Herne Bay
What is the biggest park in Herne Bay?
Reculver Country Park, 27 ha (66 acres), with 6.2 km of path. The Downs (26 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Herne Bay near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 7.2 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Herne Bay?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Wantsum Walk, Saxon Shore Way and King Charles III England Coast Path: Ramsgate to Whitstable. Reculver Country Park alone has 6.2 km of path.
How many people in Herne Bay live near a park?
83% 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 Herne Bay?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Herne Bay 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 55% (2.3 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 Herne Bay’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Herne Bay’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.