Margate’s biggest
Dane Park
Park or garden
9.3 ha (23 acres)2.0 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi eastfrom the centre
Playground 1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Margate · parks, paths & countryside
Margate is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 51% of the area within 5 km. 88% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Margate add up to 1.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Margate grades B for the outdoors: #50 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
88%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
115 km
2.1 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
51%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Margate?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast51% of the area within 5 km is sea; 18 beaches mapped.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.Less park per person1.8 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Margate’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the King Charles III England Coast Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Margate grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Margate, 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 56% of UK towns#50 of 87 in Kent · 43rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
38out of
100
100
A park within a walk88%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
62out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
34out of
100
100
The sea51%of the area within 5 km
99out 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
Margate is 43rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 52,000 to 77,000 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
Margate2.1
Towns its size3.5
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Margate1.8
Towns its size2.4
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Margate88%
Towns its size86%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Margate falls furthest behind on path per km², where 55 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rochester Kent | A+ | 2.4 | 92% | 4.6 | 23% |
| 2 | Lancaster Lancashire | A+ | 2.4 | 96% | 3.5 | 22% |
| 3 | Dartford Kent | A | 3.9 | 72% | 5.1 | 1% |
| 4 | Runcorn Cheshire | A | 4.9 | 87% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 5 | Cannock Staffordshire | A | 5.5 | 88% | 3.5 | 26% |
| 6 | Scarborough North Yorkshire | A | 2.4 | 86% | 3.1 | 17% |
| 7 | Gravesend Kent | A | 1.4 | 84% | 6.4 | 14% |
| 8 | Chatham Kent | A | 1.6 | 78% | 6.4 | 26% |
| 9 | Barry South Glamorgan | A | 2.9 | 94% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Weymouth Dorset | A | 2.6 | 55% | 3.5 | 35% |
| 11 | Sittingbourne Kent | A | 1.9 | 93% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 12 | Barnsley South Yorkshire | A | 4.3 | 95% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Banbury Oxfordshire | A | 2.6 | 96% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Gosport Hampshire | A | 3 | 85% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 15 | South Shields Tyne and Wear | A | 2.4 | 80% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 16 | Farnborough Hampshire | A | 4 | 77% | 4.9 | 3% |
| 17 | Paignton Devon | A | 1.8 | 84% | 3.1 | 20% |
| 18 | Tynemouth Tyne and Wear | A− | 2.2 | 85% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Chesterfield Derbyshire | A− | 2.7 | 86% | 4.4 | 4% |
| 20 | Hereford Herefordshire | A− | 2.6 | 92% | 3.6 | 6% |
| 21 | Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire | A− | 5.2 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Lowestoft Suffolk | A− | 1.8 | 79% | 3 | 17% |
| 23 | St Albans Hertfordshire | A− | 3.7 | 95% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Dudley West Midlands | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 25 | Harrogate North Yorkshire | A− | 2.9 | 86% | 3.6 | 6% |
| 26 | Mansfield Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.7 | 93% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 27 | Carlton Nottinghamshire | B+ | 4.9 | 82% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 28 | Dewsbury West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 92% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Bootle Merseyside | B+ | 2.1 | 93% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Canterbury Kent | B+ | 1.6 | 77% | 5.7 | 19% |
| 31 | Maidenhead Berkshire | B+ | 1.8 | 83% | 4.1 | 3% |
| 32 | Bebington Merseyside | B+ | 3 | 86% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Huyton with Roby Merseyside | B+ | 3.7 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Ellesmere Port Cheshire | B | 2.8 | 90% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Widnes Cheshire | B | 3 | 86% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 36 | Beeston Nottinghamshire | B | 2.7 | 77% | 6 | 0% |
| 37 | Taunton Somerset | B | 1.2 | 80% | 4.9 | 16% |
| 38 | Sale Greater Manchester | B | 2 | 86% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Barrow-in-Furness Cumbria | B | 2 | 91% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Macclesfield Cheshire | B | 1.8 | 80% | 3.3 | 18% |
| 41 | Corby Northamptonshire | B | 3.4 | 96% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Rotherham South Yorkshire | B | 3.1 | 73% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Margate Kent | B | 1.8 | 88% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Tamworth Staffordshire | B− | 2.7 | 89% | 3 | 0% |
| 45 | Brentwood Essex | B− | 3.9 | 69% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Kettering Northamptonshire | B− | 2.1 | 90% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 47 | Stafford Staffordshire | B− | 1.9 | 70% | 3.1 | 11% |
| 48 | Smethwick West Midlands | C+ | 2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Wellingborough Northamptonshire | C+ | 2.7 | 95% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Halesowen West Midlands | C+ | 2.1 | 77% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Woking Surrey | C+ | 1.7 | 67% | 6.5 | 0% |
| 52 | Shrewsbury Shropshire | C+ | 1.6 | 87% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Walsall West Midlands | C+ | 2.5 | 75% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Clacton-on-Sea Essex | C | 1.7 | 73% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Bognor Regis West Sussex | C | 1.1 | 78% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Loughborough Leicestershire | C | 1.4 | 73% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Stourbridge West Midlands | C | 1.9 | 72% | 3 | 0% |
| 58 | Crewe Cheshire | C | 1.6 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Burton upon Trent Staffordshire | C− | 1.9 | 74% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Kidderminster Worcestershire | D | 1.2 | 72% | 2.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Margate’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 Margate
The biggest is Dane Park, 9.3 ha (23 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 16 named parks by size: 44 ha (108 acres) and 7 km of path
Parks & gardens 29 haPlaying fields 15 ha
The two biggest, Dane Park and Tivoli Park, are 44% of the named green space and carry 2 km of path between them. 11 of the 16 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Tivoli Park
Park or garden
10 ha (25 acres)0.2 km of path
14 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Margate
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Gardens
Park or garden
3.7 ha (9 acres)1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi westfrom the centre
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Northdown Park
Playing field
11 ha (27 acres)0.4 km of path
15 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
2.1 mi eastfrom the centre
Playground 2 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Oval
Park or garden
1.7 ha (4 acres)1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.4 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Crispe Park
Playing field
2.6 ha (6 acres)0.4 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
2.4 mi westfrom the centre
PlaygroundYew Tree Gardens
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Sunken Garden
Park or garden
0.6 ha (1 acres)0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
0.7 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hawley Square
Park or garden
0.6 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
0.7 mi north-eastfrom the centre
8 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
All 16 named parks and green spaces
Dane ParkPark or garden · 9.3 ha · 2.0 km of path
DirectionsTivoli ParkPark or garden · 10 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsThe GardensPark or garden · 3.7 ha · 1.9 km of path
DirectionsNorthdown ParkPlaying field · 11 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsThe OvalPark or garden · 1.7 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsCrispe ParkPlaying field · 2.6 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsSunken GardenPark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsHawley SquarePark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsMargate Cricket ClubPlaying field · 1.7 ha
DirectionsWestcliff GardensPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsWar Memorial GardensPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsMarine GardensPark or garden · 0.2 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsFort GreenPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsFort GreenPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsEthelbert SquarePark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsRossetti GardensPark or garden · 0.0 ha
DirectionsClose to home
9 in 10 Margate 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 (88%)Further (12%)
Margate88%
Towns its size86%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
About 8,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 49 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,292 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 9.3 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
Margate is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
115 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Margate and the kilometre around it, 2.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalLocal
King Charles III England Coast Path: Ramsgate to Whitstable19.2 km
Wantsum Walk6.7 km
Turner & Dickens Walk5.3 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Margate. Close to home, the Wantsum Walk has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
History inside Margate’s parks
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Margate’s named parks.
Park with listed buildings
Hawley Square
0.6 ha. 8 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
IIAdult Education Centre, formerly Thanet School of ArtIIFormer Holy Trinity Hall
Listed buildings insideWar Memorial GardensBank and Railings Outside Nos 1 to 7 (Consec), War Memorials to World War I and World War II, And Surrounding Walls, Paving and Approach and 2, Northdown Road
Listed buildings insideNorthdown ParkDairy Cottage and Northdown House
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Margate: 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 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 50 | 40 | 34 | 36 | 47 | 47 | 46 | 48 | 49 | 72 | 67 | 61 |
March is the driest month (34 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 72 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 15 nights a year. The climate in Margate →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Margate
51% of the area within 5 km of Margate is sea. 18 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 8 with a name.
Walpole Bay0.0 mi from town
DirectionsMargate Main Sands0.0 mi from town
DirectionsKingsgate Bay0.4 mi from town
DirectionsJoss Bay0.8 mi from town
DirectionsStone Bay1.4 mi from town
DirectionsViking Bay1.7 mi from town
DirectionsRamsgate Sands2.4 mi from town
DirectionsRamsgate Western Undercliffe2.5 mi from 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
2 viewpoints and 49 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.
2Viewpoints1Nature reserves49Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size2Dog parks1Campsites20Slipways48.2× towns its size
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Easternmost Point of Kent1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Monkton Nature Reserve5.8 ha · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 49
Birchington Recreation Play Areain town
DirectionsCrispe Park Play Areain town
DirectionsDalby Square Play Areain town
DirectionsDane Park Play Areain town
DirectionsGarlinge Recreation Play Areain town
DirectionsHartsdown Park Play Areain town
DirectionsJubilee Play Parkin town
DirectionsJungle Jimsin town
DirectionsPlus 41 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 2
Plus 2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Slipways 20
Plus 20 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.
BroadstairsRamsgateMinster (Thanet)Cliffs EndSandwichAsh (Dover)Margate
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margate | B | 1.8 | 88% | 0% |
| Broadstairs 2.8 mi | B | 1.7 | 76% | 0% |
| Ramsgate 3.5 mi | B | 1.2 | 89% | 0% |
| Minster (Thanet) 3.6 mi | C | 2.3 | 64% | 0% |
| Cliffs End 3.7 mi | A | 6.9 | 100% | 0% |
| Sandwich 7.8 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 51% | 0% |
| Ash (Dover) 8.1 mi | C | 2.3 | 72% | 0% |
Cliffs End, 3.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Cliffs End has at least twice Margate’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Margate
What is the biggest park in Margate?
Dane Park, 9.3 ha (23 acres), with 2 km of path. Tivoli Park (10 ha) is second. 16 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Margate near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 9.3 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Margate?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Ramsgate to Whitstable, Wantsum Walk and Turner & Dickens Walk. Dane Park alone has 2 km of path.
How many people in Margate live near a park?
88% 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 Margate?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Margate good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 34% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 38% (1.8 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 Margate’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Margate’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.