Swanscombe’s biggest
Swanscombe Heritage Park
Park or garden
26 ha (65 acres)2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
37 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Swanscombe
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Brian Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0A+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Swanscombe · parks, paths & countryside
Swanscombe is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 10% of the area within 5 km. Footpaths add up to 129 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 8.5 for every square kilometre. The Kent Downs National Landscape begins 4.5 mi from the town’s edge. Swanscombe grades A+ for the outdoors: #12 of 87 in Kent. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
90%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
129 km
8.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Kent Downs starts 4.5 mi out, past the 5 km
The sea
10%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Swanscombe?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast10% of the area within 5 km is sea; 8 beaches mapped.A town of footpaths8.5 km of path per km², more than 99% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Kent Downs National Landscape starts 4.5 mi south-east.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.
Swanscombe’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Swanscombe grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Swanscombe, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A+
Better than 95% of UK towns#12 of 87 in Kent · 6th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
74out of
100
100
A park within a walk90%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
67out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Kent Downs begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths8.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
100out of
100
100
The sea10%of the area within 5 km
86out 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
Swanscombe is 6th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 14,600 to 16,300 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
Swanscombe8.5
Towns its size3.5
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Swanscombe3.3
Towns its size2.6
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Swanscombe90%
Towns its size86%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Swanscombe stands out most for path per km²: none of the other 59 has more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saltash Cornwall | A+ | 2.4 | 96% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 2 | Lymington Hampshire | A+ | 2.8 | 89% | 3.3 | 56% |
| 3 | Tadley Hampshire | A+ | 11.4 | 96% | 4.2 | 9% |
| 4 | Llandudno Clwyd | A+ | 2.1 | 83% | 4.9 | 3% |
| 5 | Conwy Clwyd | A+ | 2.9 | 82% | 3.6 | 13% |
| 6 | Swanscombe Kent | A+ | 3.3 | 90% | 8.5 | 0% |
| 7 | Kesgrave Suffolk | A | 3.3 | 97% | 4.7 | 14% |
| 8 | Petersfield Hampshire | A | 3.2 | 93% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 9 | Hadfield Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 91% | 4.5 | 36% |
| 10 | Bedlington Northumberland | A | 5.1 | 94% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Staveley Derbyshire | A | 6.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Penzance Cornwall | A | 1.6 | 96% | 2.3 | 34% |
| 13 | Lewes East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 83% | 4.6 | 75% |
| 14 | Stapleford Nottinghamshire | A | 3.5 | 95% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Skipton North Yorkshire | A | 1.7 | 99% | 4.2 | 25% |
| 16 | Kidsgrove Staffordshire | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 17 | Porthcawl Mid Glamorgan | A− | 3.5 | 82% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Frimley Surrey | A− | 2.9 | 99% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 19 | Hessle East Riding of Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 96% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 20 | Risca Gwent | A− | 6.9 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Ilkley West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.6 | 76% | 5.7 | 37% |
| 22 | Worcester Park and Stoneleigh Surrey | B+ | 7.3 | 76% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 23 | South Woodham Ferrers Essex | B+ | 7.8 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 24 | Uckfield East Sussex | B+ | 2.9 | 47% | 4.9 | 22% |
| 25 | Neston Cheshire | B+ | 2.7 | 91% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Peacehaven East Sussex | B+ | 1.1 | 51% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 27 | Somercotes and Swanwick Derbyshire | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Weybridge Surrey | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Ashtead Surrey | B+ | 2.7 | 62% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 30 | Newport Pagnell Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 31 | Humberston and New Waltham Lincolnshire | B+ | 4.1 | 44% | 2.2 | 1% |
| 32 | Whickham Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.9 | 77% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Swinton South Yorkshire | B+ | 3 | 97% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Brackley Northamptonshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Tyldesley Greater Manchester | B | 2.3 | 97% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Haydock Merseyside | B | 6.8 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Crowthorne Berkshire | B | 4.7 | 60% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Haslingden Lancashire | B | 1.8 | 89% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Redruth Cornwall | B− | 1.5 | 78% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 40 | Hoyland South Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Knaresborough North Yorkshire | B− | 2.3 | 87% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Mexborough South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Teignmouth Devon | B− | 1.7 | 82% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | East Ardsley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.8 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 45 | South Normanton and Pinxton Derbyshire | C+ | 1.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Elland West Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 69% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Herne Kent | C+ | 1.2 | 54% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.2 | 78% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Darton South Yorkshire | C+ | 2.5 | 86% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | South Hayling Hampshire | C+ | 1 | 65% | 1.4 | 26% |
| 51 | Aldridge West Midlands | C+ | 3 | 83% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Hockley and Hawkwell Essex | C+ | 1.6 | 85% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Garforth West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley Kent | C | 1.2 | 54% | 3.3 | 21% |
| 55 | Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Nailsea Somerset | C | 1.1 | 65% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Alsager Cheshire | C | 1.2 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 58 | Swallownest and Aston South Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 73% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Taverham and Drayton Norfolk | C− | 1.9 | 67% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Shepshed Leicestershire | D | 1.1 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Swanscombe’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 Swanscombe
The biggest is Swanscombe Heritage Park, 26 ha (65 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 4 named parks by size: 32 ha (78 acres) and 4 km of path
Parks & gardens 32 haPlay spaces 0.0 ha
The two biggest, Swanscombe Heritage Park and Worcester Park, are 98% of the named green space and carry 4 km of path between them.
Worcester Park
Park or garden · 250 m outside town
4.8 ha (12 acres)1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi westfrom the centre
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ingress Park
Park or garden
0.5 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Swanscombe
2 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Empire Park Play Area
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Swanscombe
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Swanscombe 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 (90%)Further (10%)
Swanscombe90%
Towns its size86%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
About 1,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 48 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 322 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 4.5 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Swanscombe scores 0% on it even though the Kent Downs National Landscape is 4.5 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Swanscombe is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
129 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Swanscombe and the kilometre around it, 8.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegional
King Charles III England Coast Path: Grain to Woolwich10.7 km
1066 Harold's Way1.3 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Swanscombe. 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Swanscombe: 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 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 46 | 39 | 41 | 47 | 48 | 44 | 56 | 53 | 69 | 69 | 62 |
March is the driest month (39 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 69 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 31 nights a year. The climate in Swanscombe →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Swanscombe
10% of the area within 5 km of Swanscombe is sea. 8 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Northfleet Beach0.6 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 48 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 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Plus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 48
Children's Play Areain town
DirectionsLow Close Playground0.0 mi from town
DirectionsChildren's Play Area - Castle Hill Park0.1 mi from town
DirectionsWorcester Park Play Area0.2 mi from town
DirectionsChildren's Play Area - Christabel Close0.3 mi from town
DirectionsSaxon Park Play Area0.4 mi from town
DirectionsChildren's Play Area - Glover Close0.4 mi from town
DirectionsHuntley Avenue Play Area0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 40 playgrounds 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.
Ebbsfleet ValleyStoneBeanNorthfleetChafford Hundred and West ThurrockDarenthSwanscombe
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swanscombe | A+ | 3.3 | 90% | 0% |
| Ebbsfleet Valley 1.0 mi | A | 9.0 | 77% | 0% |
| Stone 1.1 mi | A+ | 3.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Bean 1.5 mi | A− | 17.0 | 72% | 0% |
| Northfleet 2.4 mi | A | 2.0 | 85% | 4% |
| Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock 2.5 mi | B+ | 2.2 | 97% | 0% |
| Darenth 2.6 mi | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 1% |
Stone, 1.1 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Ebbsfleet Valley and Bean have at least twice Swanscombe’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Swanscombe
What is the biggest park in Swanscombe?
Swanscombe Heritage Park, 26 ha (65 acres), with 2.9 km of path. Worcester Park (4.8 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Swanscombe near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 4.5 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Swanscombe?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Grain to Woolwich and 1066 Harold's Way. Swanscombe Heritage Park alone has 2.9 km of path.
How many people in Swanscombe live near a park?
90% 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 Swanscombe?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Swanscombe good for walking?
For paths, yes: 8.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 100% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 74% (3.3 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 Swanscombe’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Swanscombe’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.