Wye’s biggest
Horton Meadow
Playing field
1.4 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Wye
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Original uploader was O1ive at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Wye · parks, paths & countryside
Wye is inside the Kent Downs National Landscape
100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Wye add up to 4.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Wye grades A+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
4.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
26 km
3.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
71%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Kent Downs National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Wye?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the Kent Downs National LandscapeWye sits inside it: 879 km² of protected landscape.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Room to roam4.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 85% of UK towns.On a National TrailThe North Downs Way passes through.
Wye’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by parks close to every home.
Outdoors grade
Wye grades A+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Wye, 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 98% of UK towns2nd of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space4.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
86out of
100
100
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
89out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape71%of the land within 5 km
96out of
100
100
Footpaths3.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
62out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out 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.
Villages its size
Wye is 2nd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,000 to 2,200 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
Wye3.1
Villages its size2.5
Kent towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Wye4.7
Villages its size2.0
Kent towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Wye100%
Villages its size70%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Wye stands out most for park space per resident: only 4 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hay-on-Wye Powys | A+ | 9.3 | 100% | 3.8 | 21% |
| 2 | Wye Kent | A+ | 4.7 | 100% | 3.1 | 71% |
| 3 | Seaview and Nettlestone Isle of Wight | A+ | 3.6 | 89% | 2.8 | 8% |
| 4 | Fowey Cornwall | A | 3.2 | 91% | 2.1 | 32% |
| 5 | Lower Kingswood Surrey | A | 4.7 | 75% | 6.6 | 22% |
| 6 | Chiseldon Wiltshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 3.4 | 69% |
| 7 | Highfields Caldecote Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 8 | Marldon Devon | A− | 4.1 | 70% | 2.7 | 3% |
| 9 | Bishops Lydeard Somerset | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 23% |
| 10 | Great Haywood Staffordshire | A− | 7.1 | 27% | 4.1 | 29% |
| 11 | Culverstone Green Kent | B+ | 5.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 42% |
| 12 | Brompton North Yorkshire | B+ | 4.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Bermuda Warwickshire | B | 4.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 14 | Alveston Gloucestershire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Bickington Devon | B | 1.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Meppershall Bedfordshire | B | 2.3 | 83% | 3 | 2% |
| 17 | Needingworth Cambridgeshire | B− | 4.6 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 18 | Dyserth Clwyd | B− | 0.5 | 54% | 3.6 | 22% |
| 19 | Bishop's Tachbrook Warwickshire | B− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 20 | Felbridge Surrey | B− | 2 | 80% | 2.4 | 25% |
| 21 | Uffculme Devon | B− | 2.8 | 86% | 1.3 | 14% |
| 22 | Edenfield Lancashire | B− | 2.7 | 69% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Rothbury Northumberland | B− | 1 | 76% | 3.8 | 21% |
| 24 | Exning Suffolk | B− | 3.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 25 | Westoning Bedfordshire | B− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 26 | Ightham Kent | C+ | 2 | 30% | 3 | 56% |
| 27 | Brantham Suffolk | C+ | 1 | 27% | 2.6 | 42% |
| 28 | Kintbury Berkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 71% | 1.8 | 92% |
| 29 | Gregson Lane Lancashire | C+ | 1.7 | 86% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Pembrey Dyfed | C+ | 0.3 | 48% | 2.6 | 11% |
| 31 | Read Lancashire | C+ | 1.6 | 71% | 2.5 | 21% |
| 32 | Hixon Staffordshire | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 1.3 | 11% |
| 33 | Market Bosworth Leicestershire | C | 10.9 | 25% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Galgate Lancashire | C | 1.1 | 58% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 35 | Marcham Oxfordshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Bredon Worcestershire | C | 2.1 | 66% | 1.6 | 25% |
| 37 | Benllech Gwynedd | C | 0.1 | 17% | 1.8 | 27% |
| 38 | Barrowby Lincolnshire | C− | 3.5 | 66% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Maesycwmmer Gwent | C− | 1.9 | 73% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 40 | Keyingham East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Micklefield West Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 48% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Carlton North Yorkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Sutton Bonington Nottinghamshire | C− | 2.7 | 28% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Crich Derbyshire | C− | 0.6 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Urpeth County Durham | C− | 1.3 | 0% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Radley Oxfordshire | C− | 2.1 | 36% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Winwick Cheshire | C− | 3.2 | 48% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Ilchester Somerset | C− | 3.5 | 40% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Scholar Green Cheshire | C− | 0.7 | 65% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Bardney Lincolnshire | D | 4.1 | 49% | 1 | 0% |
| 51 | Stone Buckinghamshire | D | 2.2 | 57% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Stretham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 60% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Merriott Somerset | D | 1.1 | 39% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Meden Vale Nottinghamshire | D | 0.3 | 58% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Haxey Lincolnshire | D | 1.6 | 46% | 2 | 0% |
| 56 | Great Eccleston Lancashire | D | 1.2 | 72% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Wymott Lancashire | D− | 0.3 | 10% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Keelby Lincolnshire | D− | 1 | 71% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Westwoodside Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 33% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Wythall Worcestershire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 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 Wye’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 Wye
The biggest is Horton Meadow, 1.4 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
Everyone in Wye lives 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 (100%)Further (0%)
Wye100%
Villages its size70%
Kent towns78%
All UK towns83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Wye
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
National Landscape
Kent Downs
Wye is inside it879 km²since 196871% of the land within 5 km
Official site71% of the land within 5 km of Wye is National Park or National Landscape, more than 96% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Wye is on the North Downs Way
26 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Wye and the kilometre around it, 3.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
NationalRegionalLocal
North Downs Way (Eastern)6.5 km
Stour Valley Walk6.1 km
Otford to Canterbury Cathedral2.4 km
North Downs Way (Canterbury loop)2.1 km
Wye National Nature Reserve Nature Trail0.8 km
The North Downs Way, a national route, passes Wye. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Stour Valley Walk and Otford to Canterbury Cathedral.
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 Wye: 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 74 | 56 | 43 | 45 | 50 | 48 | 47 | 61 | 55 | 87 | 87 | 86 |
March is the driest month (43 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 87 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Wye →
Things to do
Viewpoints, hills and nature near Wye
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
Wye is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Seabrook Beach11 mi from Wye’s edge
DirectionsSandgate Beach11 mi from Wye’s edge
DirectionsSouth Shellness Beach13 mi from Wye’s edge
DirectionsMermaid Beach13 mi from Wye’s edge
DirectionsSunny Sands13 mi from Wye’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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
Viewpoints 1
Wye Crown Millennium Stone0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 1
Plus 1 playground 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.
ChallockAshfordBrabourne LeesFinberryCharthamAldingtonWye
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Wye grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Wye
What is the biggest park in Wye?
Horton Meadow, 1.4 ha (4 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Wye?
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the North Downs Way (Eastern), Stour Valley Walk and Otford to Canterbury Cathedral.
What is the nearest beach to Wye?
Seabrook Beach, 11 mi from the edge of the village, then Sandgate Beach (11 mi). Wye itself is inland.
How many people in Wye live near a park?
100% 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 Wye?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Wye good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 62% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 86% (4.7 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 Wye’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Wye’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.