Bacup’s biggest
Edgeside Park
Park or garden · 320 m outside town
7.3 ha (18 acres)1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.7 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Robert Wade · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Bacup · parks, paths & countryside
Bacup has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
131 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 5.5 for every square kilometre. 94% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Bacup add up to 2.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Bacup grades A− for the outdoors: #18 of 65 in Lancashire. 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
94%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
131 km
5.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Forest Of Bowland National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Bacup grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Bacup, 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 76% of UK towns#18 of 65 in Lancashire · 13th 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 walk94%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
73out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths5.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
96out 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.
Towns its size
Bacup is 13th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 12,900 to 14,300 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
Bacup5.5
Towns its size3.1
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Bacup2.5
Towns its size2.2
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Bacup94%
Towns its size80%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Bacup stands out most for path per km²: only 2 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farncombe Surrey | A+ | 5.7 | 92% | 3.8 | 54% |
| 2 | Sidmouth Devon | A | 2.6 | 73% | 2.9 | 60% |
| 3 | Abergavenny Gwent | A | 3.2 | 83% | 3.1 | 60% |
| 4 | Wellington Somerset | A | 2.2 | 99% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 5 | Wick West Sussex | A | 1.3 | 91% | 3 | 25% |
| 6 | Stoke Gifford Gloucestershire | A− | 5.7 | 87% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 7 | Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint West Sussex | A− | 1.9 | 84% | 4.7 | 42% |
| 8 | Addlestone Surrey | A− | 4.3 | 90% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Heckmondwike West Yorkshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Blaydon Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.9 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 11 | Churchdown Gloucestershire | A− | 2.2 | 92% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 12 | Wantage Oxfordshire | A− | 2.5 | 71% | 3.9 | 47% |
| 13 | Bacup Lancashire | A− | 2.5 | 94% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 14 | Audenshaw Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.6 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | B+ | 2.5 | 62% | 2.7 | 1% |
| 16 | Verwood Dorset | B+ | 5.7 | 41% | 3.9 | 13% |
| 17 | Chalfont St Peter Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.2 | 80% | 3.5 | 18% |
| 18 | Marple Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 64% | 3.8 | 5% |
| 19 | Poynton Cheshire | B+ | 2.2 | 79% | 3.7 | 14% |
| 20 | Armthorpe South Yorkshire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Royal Wootton Bassett Wiltshire | B+ | 1.6 | 98% | 3.1 | 10% |
| 22 | Tilbury Essex | B | 1.4 | 98% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 23 | Gomersal and Birkenshaw West Yorkshire | B | 3.2 | 83% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Enderby and Narborough Leicestershire | B | 1.9 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 25 | West Kirby Merseyside | B | 1.9 | 68% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Blaby and Whetstone Leicestershire | B | 3 | 79% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Catterick Garrison North Yorkshire | B− | 4.9 | 78% | 1.8 | 6% |
| 28 | Newport Shropshire | B− | 3.3 | 95% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Scawthorpe and Cusworth South Yorkshire | B− | 3.1 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 30 | Standish Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Gorseinon West Glamorgan | B− | 3.7 | 83% | 1.3 | 2% |
| 32 | Midsomer Norton Somerset | B− | 1.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Sheerness Kent | B− | 3 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe Leicestershire | B− | 3.4 | 73% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 35 | Davenham Cheshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Knutsford Cheshire | C+ | 2.6 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 37 | Beaconsfield Buckinghamshire | C+ | 1.9 | 57% | 2.6 | 31% |
| 38 | Byfleet Surrey | C+ | 3.1 | 59% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Thame Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.9 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 40 | Buckley Clwyd | C+ | 2.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Dunscroft and Hatfield South Yorkshire | C+ | 4 | 91% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Milford Haven Dyfed | C | 0.8 | 70% | 0.9 | 30% |
| 43 | Birtley Tyne and Wear | C | 1.4 | 71% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Flitwick Bedfordshire | C | 0.8 | 59% | 3.9 | 3% |
| 45 | Todmorden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 72% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Syston Leicestershire | C | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Ferndown Dorset | C | 0.7 | 13% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Rhondda Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Brough East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 74% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Pyle Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Uttoxeter Staffordshire | C− | 1.1 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Porth Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Halstead Essex | D | 0.6 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Northallerton North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 70% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Driffield East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 75% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 57 | New Rossington and Rossington South Yorkshire | D | 0.8 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Whittlesey Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 73% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Mountain Ash Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.4 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Church Village Mid Glamorgan | D | 0.7 | 72% | 1.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Bacup’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 Bacup
The biggest is Edgeside Park, 7.3 ha (18 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 25 ha (62 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 17 haPlaying fields 7.7 haPlay spaces 0.0 ha
The two biggest, Edgeside Park and Stubbylee Park, are 51% of the named green space and carry 2 km of path between them. 3 of the 7 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Stubbylee Park
Park or garden
5.4 ha (13 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bacup
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Maden Recreation Ground
Playing field
6.6 ha (16 acres)0.1 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Moorlands Park
Park or garden
2.9 ha (7 acres)0.3 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bacup
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hawthorn Road
Park or garden
1.7 ha (4 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bacup
Directionsto the nearest entrance
West View Football Ground
Playing field
1.1 ha (3 acres)
0.7 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Bacup 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 (94%)Further (6%)
Bacup94%
Towns its size80%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 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 678 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 9.0 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
Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Bacup
131 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Bacup and the kilometre around it, 5.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
Rossendale Way13.1 km
Irwell Sculpture Trail10.0 km
Mary Towneley Loop9.0 km
Todmorden Centenary Way3.9 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Rossendale Way, Irwell Sculpture Trail and Mary Towneley Loop.
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 Bacup: June 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 5 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 156 | 132 | 112 | 91 | 84 | 99 | 109 | 117 | 118 | 143 | 153 | 176 |
May is the driest month (84 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 176 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 55 nights a year. The climate in Bacup →
Things to do
20 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Bacup is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Car Park Beach7.9 mi from Bacup’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North8.1 mi from Bacup’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South8.1 mi from Bacup’s edge
DirectionsStone Beach8.1 mi from Bacup’s edge
DirectionsWader Point8.3 mi from Bacup’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.
Up high. Higher Hogshead, at 445 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Bacup.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 5
Higher Hogshead445 m (1,460 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsFreeholds Top454 m (1,490 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsHades Hill1.2 mi from town
DirectionsCowpe Lowe438 m (1,437 ft) · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 20
Plus 20 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.
WeirWhitworthRawtenstallTodmordenWardleEdenfieldBacup
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Bacup grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Bacup
What is the biggest park in Bacup?
Edgeside Park, 7.3 ha (18 acres), with 1.3 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Stubbylee Park (5.4 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Bacup near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 11 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 9.0 mi away.
What are the best walks near Bacup?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Rossendale Way, Irwell Sculpture Trail and Mary Towneley Loop.
What is the nearest beach to Bacup?
Car Park Beach, 7.9 mi from the edge of the town, then Creek Beach North (8.1 mi). Bacup itself is inland.
How many people in Bacup live near a park?
94% 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 Bacup?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Bacup good for walking?
For paths, yes: 5.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 96% 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 Bacup’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Bacup’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.