The Grange · Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0Plaxtol is inside the Kent Downs National Landscape
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 57% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Plaxtol add up to 2.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Plaxtol grades B− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Plaxtol?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Plaxtol’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Plaxtol grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Plaxtol, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
100
100
100
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.
Plaxtol is 22nd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,100 to 1,200 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Plaxtol stands out most for park space per resident: only 20 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 43 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corton Suffolk | A+ | 4.4 | 100% | 3 | 5% |
| 2 | Bathford Somerset | A+ | 4.8 | 100% | 3.7 | 64% |
| 3 | Upton St Leonards Gloucestershire | A+ | 5.2 | 80% | 7.5 | 43% |
| 4 | Ditchling East Sussex | A | 7.4 | 77% | 4 | 57% |
| 5 | Ovingham Northumberland | A | 6.5 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 6 | Horsted Keynes West Sussex | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.3 | 83% |
| 7 | Wenvoe South Glamorgan | A− | 5.9 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 8 | Chatburn Lancashire | A− | 1.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 59% |
| 9 | Boosbeck North Yorkshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 22% |
| 10 | Camber East Sussex | A− | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 5% |
| 11 | Gotherington Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.7 | 72% | 3.7 | 33% |
| 12 | St Erth Cornwall | B+ | 0.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 4% |
| 13 | Walton Somerset | B+ | 3 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Oakley Buckinghamshire | B | 2.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 15 | High Pittington County Durham | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 16 | Cropston Leicestershire | B | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Huntley Gloucestershire | B | 2.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 18 | Acomb Northumberland | B | 2 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 19 | Jacobs Well Surrey | B | 1.4 | 77% | 4.7 | 8% |
| 20 | Curdworth Warwickshire | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Bishop Middleham County Durham | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Plaxtol Kent | B− | 2.6 | 57% | 2.5 | 40% |
| 23 | Harpur Hill Derbyshire | B− | 3.1 | 31% | 2.3 | 60% |
| 24 | Kelly Bray Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 22% |
| 25 | Thurlton Norfolk | B− | 1.5 | 100% | 0.7 | 39% |
| 26 | Beaumaris Gwynedd | B− | 2.7 | 30% | 0.8 | 18% |
| 27 | Romsley Worcestershire | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 28 | Latchingdon Essex | B− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Grovesend West Glamorgan | C+ | 3.5 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 30 | Gainford County Durham | C+ | 2.6 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Lacey Green and Loosley Row Buckinghamshire | C+ | 2.1 | 27% | 2.4 | 82% |
| 32 | Whimple Devon | C+ | 5.2 | 70% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 33 | Brinklow Warwickshire | C+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 34 | St Cleer Cornwall | C | 3 | 29% | 1.6 | 32% |
| 35 | Hunston West Sussex | C | 1.8 | 65% | 2.4 | 17% |
| 36 | Three Legged Cross Dorset | C | 1.5 | 77% | 2.6 | 1% |
| 37 | Bow Devon | C | 1.9 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 38 | Swindon Staffordshire | C | 2.5 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 39 | Mannings Heath West Sussex | C | 1 | 71% | 1.9 | 44% |
| 40 | Baldwin's Gate Staffordshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 41 | North Newbald East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Maiden Newton Dorset | C− | 1.1 | 27% | 2 | 100% |
| 43 | Wetheral Cumbria | C− | 3.8 | 51% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Crowle Worcestershire | C− | 2.4 | 34% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Eastrington East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 3 | 65% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Beachley Gloucestershire | C− | 0.3 | 0% | 1.2 | 14% |
| 47 | Fochriw Gwent | C− | 1 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Capel Hendre Dyfed | D | 0.8 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 49 | Benwick Cambridgeshire | D | 0.3 | 100% | 0.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Orwell Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 78% | 2 | 0% |
| 51 | Ramsey Island Essex | D | 1.4 | 39% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Pelynt Cornwall | D | 0 | 0% | 0.6 | 13% |
| 53 | Chawley Oxfordshire | D | 0.3 | 0% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Great Doddington Northamptonshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 55 | High Legh Cheshire | D− | 1.9 | 50% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Moulton Chapel Lincolnshire | D− | 1.5 | 60% | 0 | 0% |
| 57 | Kentford Suffolk | D− | 1.9 | 0% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Austrey Warwickshire | D− | 1.7 | 0% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 59 | East Keswick West Yorkshire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Clipsham Rutland | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Plaxtol’s built-up area.
6 in 10 Plaxtol 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).
About 500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 6 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 190 residents.
National Parks and National Landscapes around Plaxtol
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
40% of the land within 5 km of Plaxtol is National Park or National Landscape, more than 88% of UK towns.
7 waymarked walks pass through or near Plaxtol
21 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Plaxtol and the kilometre around it, 2.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Close to home, the Ightham Mote Circular Walk to Old Soar Manor, Ightham Mote has 10 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Greensand Way and Wealdway.
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 Plaxtol: May to September
The village’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 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 78 | 57 | 47 | 48 | 50 | 49 | 46 | 57 | 55 | 82 | 83 | 81 |
July is the driest month (46 mm) and the warmest (highs of 22 °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 51 nights a year. The climate in Plaxtol →
6 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Plaxtol is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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
Waterfalls 4
Plus 4 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 6
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite 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.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plaxtol | B− | 2.6 | 57% | 40% |
| Ightham 1.9 mi | C+ | 2.0 | 30% | 56% |
| Borough Green 2.2 mi | B+ | 2.5 | 93% | 50% |
| Hadlow 2.6 mi | C− | 1.7 | 61% | 11% |
| Wrotham 3.5 mi | B | 1.6 | 100% | 49% |
| Hildenborough 4.1 mi | B+ | 6.5 | 40% | 46% |
| Tonbridge 4.2 mi | B− | 2.1 | 65% | 38% |
Borough Green, 2.2 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 93% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Hildenborough has at least twice Plaxtol’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Plaxtol
What are the best walks near Plaxtol?
7 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Ightham Mote Circular Walk to Old Soar Manor, Ightham Mote, Greensand Way and Ightham Mote Circular Walk to Shipbourne and Fairlawne, Ightham Mote.
What is the nearest beach to Plaxtol?
Northfleet Beach, 14 mi from the edge of the village, then The Beach (14 mi). Plaxtol itself is inland.
How many people in Plaxtol live near a park?
57% 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 Plaxtol?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Plaxtol good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 46% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 63% (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 Plaxtol’s overall grade.
Where Plaxtol’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.