Brierfield’s biggest
Victoria Park
Park or garden · 40 m outside town
8.4 ha (21 acres)3.2 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.2 km of path
12 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Brierfield Mills · Photo: Grzegorz Gniady · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Brierfield · parks, paths & countryside
Brierfield has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 89 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 5.6 for every square kilometre. The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape begins 0.8 mi from the town’s edge. 92% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Brierfield grades A for the outdoors: #6 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
92%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
89 km
5.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
18%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Forest Of Bowland National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Brierfield?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths5.6 km of path per km², more than 96% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Forest Of Bowland National Landscape starts 0.8 mi north-west.
Brierfield’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape close by.
Outdoors grade
Brierfield grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Brierfield, 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 89% of UK towns#6 of 65 in Lancashire · 3rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
47out of
100
100
A park within a walk92%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
70out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape18%of the land within 5 km
76out of
100
100
Footpaths5.6 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
Brierfield is 3rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 10,100 to 11,400 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
Brierfield5.6
Towns its size3.1
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Brierfield2.1
Towns its size1.9
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Brierfield92%
Towns its size82%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Brierfield stands out most for path per km²: only 3 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weybourne Surrey | A+ | 7.1 | 86% | 6.1 | 14% |
| 2 | West End Hampshire | A | 9.1 | 100% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Brierfield Lancashire | A | 2.1 | 92% | 5.6 | 18% |
| 4 | Penryn Cornwall | A | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 31% |
| 5 | Great Harwood Lancashire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.3 | 4% |
| 6 | Godalming Surrey | A− | 4.6 | 73% | 3.1 | 66% |
| 7 | Soham Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 8 | Platt Bridge and Abram Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Royston South Yorkshire | A− | 7.9 | 97% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 10 | Romiley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.9 | 80% | 3.8 | 1% |
| 11 | Southwater West Sussex | A− | 3.4 | 82% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 12 | Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire | A− | 4 | 85% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Chadwell St Mary Essex | A− | 3.2 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Whitwick Leicestershire | A− | 4.2 | 84% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 15 | Egglescliffe County Durham | A− | 4.9 | 94% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Kearsley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Uppermill Greater Manchester | A− | 2.4 | 70% | 4.8 | 27% |
| 18 | Tidworth Wiltshire | B+ | 3.7 | 90% | 2.3 | 8% |
| 19 | Pelsall West Midlands | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire | B+ | 1.9 | 76% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 21 | Barnoldswick Lancashire | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 4 | 2% |
| 22 | South Elmsall West Yorkshire | B+ | 9 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 23 | Cranleigh Surrey | B | 2.5 | 20% | 4.3 | 38% |
| 24 | Corsham Wiltshire | B | 1.9 | 81% | 3 | 31% |
| 25 | Baldock Hertfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Warmsworth South Yorkshire | B | 2.7 | 79% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 27 | Great Dunmow Essex | B | 2 | 92% | 4 | 0% |
| 28 | Gillingham Dorset | B | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 29 | Sandbach Cheshire | B− | 2.5 | 87% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Monmouth Gwent | B− | 1.5 | 69% | 3.1 | 45% |
| 31 | Oswaldtwistle Lancashire | B− | 1.1 | 94% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 32 | Filton Gloucestershire | B− | 3.3 | 40% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Cambourne Cambridgeshire | B− | 0.7 | 91% | 7.1 | 0% |
| 34 | Baglan West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Liskeard Cornwall | C+ | 0.8 | 89% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 36 | Raunds Northamptonshire | C+ | 4.7 | 74% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Bolsover Derbyshire | C+ | 1.9 | 85% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Abertillery Gwent | C | 2.4 | 69% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Selsey West Sussex | C | 1.6 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 40 | Earl Shilton Leicestershire | C | 1.5 | 98% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Kippax West Yorkshire | C | 1.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Brimington Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 72% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Ulverston Cumbria | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.8 | 8% |
| 44 | Catshill Worcestershire | C | 1.4 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Prudhoe Northumberland | C− | 1.7 | 37% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Epping Essex | C− | 1.2 | 70% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Attleborough Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Hexham Northumberland | C− | 1.5 | 64% | 2 | 9% |
| 49 | Cleveleys Lancashire | C− | 0.8 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Chatteris Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.4 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Lutterworth Leicestershire | C− | 1.7 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 52 | West Moors Dorset | C− | 0.9 | 33% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | New Ollerton and Ollerton Nottinghamshire | C− | 0.8 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Dinnington South Yorkshire | C− | 1.1 | 81% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Leominster Herefordshire | C− | 1.1 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Newtown Powys | D | 2.3 | 65% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Haxby North Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 59% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Sherborne Dorset | D | 1.2 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Longton Lancashire | D | 1.7 | 60% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Burton Latimer Northamptonshire | D | 0.9 | 62% | 2.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Brierfield’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 Brierfield
The biggest is Victoria Park, 8.4 ha (21 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 4 named parks by size: 14 ha (34 acres) and 5 km of path
Parks & gardens 10 haPlaying fields 3.2 ha
The two biggest, Victoria Park and Heyhead Park, are 77% of the named green space and carry 4 km of path between them.
Heyhead Park
Park or garden
2.1 ha (5 acres)0.9 km of path
15 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Brierfield
Directionsto the nearest entrance
John Bradley Playing Fields
Playing field
3.2 ha (8 acres)0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Brierfield
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Brierfield Peace Garden
Park or garden
0.0 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Brierfield
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Brierfield 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 (92%)Further (8%)
Brierfield92%
Towns its size82%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 34 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 315 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 0.8 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
National Landscape
Forest Of Bowland
0.8 mi north-west806 km²since 196418% of the land within 5 km
Official site18% of the land within 5 km of Brierfield is National Park or National Landscape, more than 76% of UK towns. Yorkshire Dales National Park covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Brierfield
89 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Brierfield and the kilometre around it, 5.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalOther waymarked
Pendle Way9.7 km
Bronte Way6.6 km
Burnley Way4.7 km
Brun Valley Greenway0.8 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Pendle Way, Bronte Way and Burnley 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 Brierfield: 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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 116 | 98 | 87 | 66 | 68 | 82 | 90 | 103 | 99 | 116 | 118 | 135 |
April is the driest month (66 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 135 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Brierfield →
The coast
Beaches near Brierfield
0% of the area within 5 km of Brierfield is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 1 beach is mapped within 5 km.
Treasure Beach2.8 mi from town
DirectionsSea: 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
34 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
Nature reserves 1
Quarry Hill Nature Reserve6.4 ha · 0.3 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 34
Plus 34 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.
NelsonFenceBurnleyBarrowfordColnePadihamBrierfield
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Burnley, 1.9 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 95% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Barrowford has at least twice Brierfield’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Brierfield
What is the biggest park in Brierfield?
Victoria Park, 8.4 ha (21 acres), with 3.2 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Heyhead Park (2.1 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Brierfield near a National Park?
Yes. Yorkshire Dales National Park begins 12 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 0.8 mi away.
What are the best walks near Brierfield?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Pendle Way, Bronte Way and Burnley Way. Victoria Park alone has 3.2 km of path.
How many people in Brierfield live near a park?
92% 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 Brierfield?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Brierfield good for walking?
For paths, yes: 5.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 96% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 47% (2.1 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 Brierfield’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Brierfield’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.