Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Shorne add up to 28.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Kent Downs National Landscape reaches the edge of Shorne. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 23% of residents. Shorne grades A for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Shorne’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Kent Downs National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Shorne, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,000 to 1,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Shorne stands out most for park space per resident: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 47 of the others do better.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grove Dorset | A+ | 6 | 100% | 8.7 | 0% |
| 2 | Lizard Cornwall | A+ | 2.3 | 100% | 3.3 | 30% |
| 3 | Uplyme Devon | A+ | 2.4 | 100% | 3 | 61% |
| 4 | Winchelsea Beach East Sussex | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 45% |
| 5 | East Challow Oxfordshire | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 6 | Cemaes Gwynedd | A+ | 5 | 100% | 1.3 | 14% |
| 7 | Abingworth West Sussex | A | 6.1 | 100% | 2.7 | 27% |
| 8 | Newnham Gloucestershire | A | 4.2 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 9 | Bellingham Northumberland | A | 8.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 57% |
| 10 | Aberaeron Dyfed | A | 6.1 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Shorne Kent | A | 28.3 | 23% | 3.4 | 24% |
| 12 | Misterton Somerset | A | 2.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 35% |
| 13 | Godshill Isle of Wight | A | 2.1 | 100% | 2.7 | 53% |
| 14 | Chedgrave Norfolk | A− | 3 | 100% | 1.7 | 26% |
| 15 | Ardleigh Essex | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.5 | 21% |
| 16 | Hyde Heath Buckinghamshire | B+ | 5.4 | 68% | 2.1 | 81% |
| 17 | Llangynidr Powys | B+ | 2.4 | 65% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 18 | Loddiswell Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 100% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 19 | Thornwood Common Essex | B+ | 6.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Clyst Honiton Devon | B+ | 8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Morchard Bishop Devon | B | 2.6 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 22 | Thornton Leicestershire | B | 13.7 | 50% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 23 | Llanymynech Shropshire | B | 2 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 24 | Minley Hampshire | B− | 5.7 | 0% | 6.5 | 0% |
| 25 | High Shincliffe County Durham | B− | 0.5 | 100% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 26 | King's Bromley Staffordshire | B− | 3.4 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Derry Hill and Studley Wiltshire | C+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.7 | 1% |
| 28 | St Newlyn East Cornwall | C+ | 3 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Little Waltham Essex | C+ | 2.3 | 63% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Simister Greater Manchester | C | 16.6 | 0% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Warmington Northamptonshire | C | 1.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 32 | Bempton East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.6 | 100% | 0.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Little Melton Norfolk | C | 4.2 | 72% | 2 | 0% |
| 34 | Hilton Cambridgeshire | C | 6.8 | 70% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Upper Bucklebury Berkshire | C | 0.1 | 0% | 4 | 48% |
| 36 | Elswick Lancashire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Freethorpe Norfolk | C− | 2.3 | 26% | 0.7 | 61% |
| 38 | Ansley Warwickshire | C− | 1.8 | 64% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Ewyas Harold Herefordshire | C− | 2.1 | 55% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 40 | Hoylandswaine South Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 60% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Marchwiel Clwyd | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 42 | Castle Hedingham Essex | C− | 1.7 | 52% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 43 | Swarthmoor Cumbria | C− | 0.2 | 79% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Surfleet Lincolnshire | C− | 4.2 | 0% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Scole Norfolk | C− | 2.1 | 51% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Loxwood West Sussex | D | 0 | 0% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 47 | New Quay Dyfed | D | 1.2 | 30% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Sutton St James Lincolnshire | D | 0.1 | 100% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Skidby East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.8 | 56% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Marshland St James Norfolk | D | 3.5 | 0% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Northop Clwyd | D | 1.6 | 70% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Hevingham Norfolk | D | 1.8 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Waltham on the Wolds Leicestershire | D | 2 | 23% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Horsham St Faith Norfolk | D | 0.9 | 52% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Henham Essex | D | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0% |
| 56 | Sutton Norfolk | D− | 0 | 0% | 1 | 29% |
| 57 | Methwold Norfolk | D− | 1.8 | 61% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Foulsham Norfolk | D− | 1.4 | 29% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Wainfleet St Mary Lincolnshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Ranby Nottinghamshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 0.8 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Shorne’s built-up area.
The biggest is Shorne Wood Country Park, 129 ha (319 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
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 800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 208 residents.
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.
24% of the land within 5 km of Shorne is National Park or National Landscape, more than 80% of UK towns.
36 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Shorne and the kilometre around it, 3.4 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 Darnley Trail has 8 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. The regional route here is the 1066 Harold's Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
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 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 61 | 41 | 35 | 39 | 43 | 45 | 40 | 46 | 49 | 66 | 62 | 56 |
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 66 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Shorne →
8% of the area within 5 km of Shorne is sea. 11 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
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.
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.
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shorne | A | 28.3 | 23% | 24% |
| Higham 1.3 mi | C− | 0.5 | 0% | 18% |
| Cuxton 2.6 mi | A+ | 25.2 | 90% | 44% |
| Gravesend 2.6 mi | A | 1.4 | 84% | 14% |
| Rochester 3.2 mi | A+ | 2.4 | 92% | 23% |
| Cliffe Woods 3.3 mi | B− | 1.7 | 62% | 1% |
| Istead Rise 3.6 mi | B− | 1.9 | 82% | 15% |
Rochester, 3.2 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 92% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Shorne Wood Country Park, 129 ha (319 acres), with 17 km of path. Shorne Wood Country Park (129 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
7 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Darnley Trail, Red Circular Walk and 1066 Harold's Way. Shorne Wood Country Park alone has 17 km of path.
23% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
For paths, yes: 3.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 70% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 100% (28.3 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Shorne’s overall grade.
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.