Minster (Swale)’s biggest
Barton's Point
Park or garden
31 ha (77 acres)3.0 km of path
40 minto walk all 3 km of path
44 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Minster (Swale) · parks, paths & countryside
Minster (Swale) is on the coast
The sea makes up 47% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 29 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 1.2 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 89% of residents. Minster (Swale) grades B for the outdoors: #49 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
89%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
29 km
1.2 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
47%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Minster (Swale)?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast47% of the area within 5 km is sea; 7 beaches mapped.Few mapped footpaths1.2 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Minster (Swale)’s strongest suit is the sea. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Minster (Swale) grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Minster (Swale), 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#49 of 87 in Kent · 35th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
59out of
100
100
A park within a walk89%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
66out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
11out of
100
100
The sea47%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
Minster (Swale) is 35th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 15,700 to 17,800 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
Minster (Swale)1.2
Towns its size3.3
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Minster (Swale)2.5
Towns its size2.3
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Minster (Swale)89%
Towns its size84%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Minster (Swale) falls furthest behind on path per km², where 59 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prestatyn Clwyd | A+ | 3.3 | 92% | 2.9 | 14% |
| 2 | Cirencester Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.3 | 95% | 4.1 | 48% |
| 3 | Dorking Surrey | A | 4.4 | 75% | 7 | 57% |
| 4 | Clitheroe Lancashire | A | 3 | 98% | 3.1 | 59% |
| 5 | Hadfield Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 91% | 4.5 | 36% |
| 6 | Shiney Row and Penshaw Tyne and Wear | A | 9.6 | 98% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 7 | Bishop's Cleeve Gloucestershire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 3.9 | 35% |
| 8 | Connah's Quay Clwyd | A | 5.8 | 97% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Bedlington Northumberland | A | 5.1 | 94% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Bredbury and Woodley Greater Manchester | A | 4.8 | 94% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Lewes East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 83% | 4.6 | 75% |
| 12 | Porthcawl Mid Glamorgan | A− | 3.5 | 82% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 13 | Euxton Lancashire | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 14 | Worcester Park and Stoneleigh Surrey | B+ | 7.3 | 76% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 15 | South Woodham Ferrers Essex | B+ | 7.8 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 16 | Wath upon Dearne South Yorkshire | B+ | 5.5 | 85% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 17 | Weybridge Surrey | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Wombwell South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.4 | 92% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Burnham-on-Sea Somerset | B+ | 2.1 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 20 | Swanley Kent | B+ | 1.8 | 78% | 4.2 | 20% |
| 21 | Swinton South Yorkshire | B+ | 3 | 97% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Liversedge West Yorkshire | B+ | 2 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Tyldesley Greater Manchester | B | 2.3 | 97% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Brackley Northamptonshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 25 | Haydock Merseyside | B | 6.8 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 26 | Westbury Wiltshire | B | 1.4 | 97% | 3.3 | 1% |
| 27 | Amersham Buckinghamshire | B | 1.8 | 62% | 3.7 | 64% |
| 28 | Patchway Gloucestershire | B | 2.5 | 80% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Haslingden Lancashire | B | 1.8 | 89% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 30 | Cobham Surrey | B | 3.1 | 49% | 4 | 1% |
| 31 | Wimborne Minster Dorset | B | 2.7 | 51% | 3.6 | 17% |
| 32 | Penrith Cumbria | B | 1.6 | 91% | 2.9 | 9% |
| 33 | Bangor Gwynedd | B | 0.9 | 79% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 34 | Wymondham Norfolk | B | 2.8 | 97% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Minster (Swale) Kent | B | 2.5 | 89% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Bramhall Greater Manchester | B− | 4.7 | 71% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 37 | St Ives Cambridgeshire | B− | 1.7 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Biddulph Staffordshire | B− | 3.3 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 39 | Baildon West Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 71% | 7.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Heysham Lancashire | B− | 1.4 | 83% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Ramsbottom Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.1 | 74% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 42 | South Normanton and Pinxton Derbyshire | C+ | 1.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Royston Hertfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 83% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Aldridge West Midlands | C+ | 3 | 83% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Bodmin Cornwall | C+ | 1.1 | 87% | 2.4 | 3% |
| 46 | Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley Kent | C | 1.2 | 54% | 3.3 | 21% |
| 47 | Streetly West Midlands | C | 7.5 | 58% | 2 | 0% |
| 48 | Bourne Lincolnshire | C | 1.3 | 70% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Ripon North Yorkshire | C | 1 | 75% | 2.4 | 17% |
| 50 | Nailsea Somerset | C | 1.1 | 65% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Tonypandy Mid Glamorgan | C | 1.5 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 52 | Maltby South Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 78% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Hale Greater Manchester | C− | 2.4 | 50% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Stone Staffordshire | C− | 1.5 | 86% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 55 | North Hykeham Lincolnshire | C− | 2.4 | 60% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Saffron Walden Essex | C− | 1.1 | 63% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Louth Lincolnshire | C− | 0.6 | 76% | 1.3 | 47% |
| 58 | Oswestry Shropshire | C− | 1.3 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 59 | Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay Staffordshire | C− | 1.5 | 60% | 1.6 | 3% |
| 60 | Carmarthen Dyfed | D | 1.6 | 76% | 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 Minster (Swale)’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 Minster (Swale)
The biggest is Barton's Point, 31 ha (77 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The Glen
Park or garden
9.0 ha (22 acres)2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Minster (Swale)
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Minster (Swale) 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 (89%)Further (11%)
Minster (Swale)89%
Towns its size84%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
About 1,800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 20 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 837 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 7.4 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
Footpaths in and around Minster (Swale)
29 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Minster (Swale) and the kilometre around it, 1.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Minster (Swale); its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Minster (Swale): 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 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 45 | 36 | 32 | 36 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 47 | 45 | 59 | 58 | 52 |
March is the driest month (32 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 59 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 18 nights a year. The climate in Minster (Swale) →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Minster (Swale)
47% of the area within 5 km of Minster (Swale) is sea. 7 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Cockleshell Hard3.1 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
20 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
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 5
Rape Hill0.0 mi from town
DirectionsFurze Hill0.5 mi from town
DirectionsBarrows Hill0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPump Hill1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Clifftop camping at Spiders Castle Farm0.3 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.
Halfway HousesSheernessQueenboroughEastchurchWardenIwadeMinster (Swale)
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minster (Swale) | B | 2.5 | 89% | 0% |
| Halfway Houses 1.4 mi | C | 1.8 | 71% | 0% |
| Sheerness 2.1 mi | B− | 3.0 | 68% | 0% |
| Queenborough 2.3 mi | B | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Eastchurch 2.8 mi | C | 1.9 | 72% | 0% |
| Warden 4.4 mi | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Iwade 4.5 mi | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 0% |
Queenborough, 2.3 miles away, grades B, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Minster (Swale)
What is the biggest park in Minster (Swale)?
Barton's Point, 31 ha (77 acres), with 3 km of path. The Glen (9.0 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Minster (Swale) near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 7.4 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
How many people in Minster (Swale) live near a park?
89% 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 Minster (Swale)?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Minster (Swale) good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 11% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 59% (2.5 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 Minster (Swale)’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Minster (Swale)’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.