Carleton’s biggest
Cottam Hall Playing Fields
Playing field · 280 m outside town
7.0 ha (17 acres)
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Carleton · parks, paths & countryside
86% of Carleton’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The sea makes up 24% of the area within 5 km. 39 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.8 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Carleton add up to 3.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Carleton grades A for the outdoors: #8 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.0 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
86%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
39 km
3.8 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
The sea
24%
of the area within 5 km
Outdoors grade
Carleton grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Carleton, 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 87% of UK towns#8 of 65 in Lancashire · 9th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.0 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
69out of
100
100
A park within a walk86%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
60out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
77out of
100
100
The sea24%of the area within 5 km
91out 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
Carleton is 9th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,600 to 5,000 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
Carleton3.8
Towns its size2.7
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Carleton3.0
Towns its size2.1
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Carleton86%
Towns its size82%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Carleton stands out most for park space per resident: only 19 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rye East Sussex | A+ | 3.5 | 89% | 3.5 | 46% |
| 2 | Frinton-on-Sea Essex | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 3 | Windermere Cumbria | A+ | 3 | 94% | 3.6 | 100% |
| 4 | Rownhams and Nursling Hampshire | A+ | 4.9 | 86% | 6.7 | 12% |
| 5 | Marple Bridge Greater Manchester | A | 9.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 13% |
| 6 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Huntington Staffordshire | A | 3.7 | 74% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 9 | Carleton Lancashire | A | 3 | 86% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Rudheath Cheshire | A | 5.5 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 12 | Writtle Essex | A− | 5.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Cringleford Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 94% | 7.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Dersingham Norfolk | A− | 3.1 | 76% | 1.9 | 39% |
| 15 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Liss Hampshire | A− | 2.3 | 87% | 2.6 | 98% |
| 17 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 18 | Saxmundham Suffolk | B+ | 3.3 | 100% | 1.9 | 3% |
| 19 | Borough Green Kent | B+ | 2.5 | 93% | 1.9 | 50% |
| 20 | Bodicote Oxfordshire | B+ | 10.2 | 86% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 22 | Callington Cornwall | B | 2.1 | 100% | 1.1 | 21% |
| 23 | Coedpoeth Clwyd | B | 1.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 24% |
| 24 | Lenham and Harrietsham Kent | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.4 | 47% |
| 25 | Chalfont St Giles Buckinghamshire | B− | 1.8 | 57% | 3.5 | 37% |
| 26 | Kelvedon and Feering Essex | B− | 3.5 | 94% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Astley Greater Manchester | B− | 3.5 | 78% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Handsacre and Armitage Staffordshire | B− | 1.8 | 89% | 2.1 | 12% |
| 29 | Llay Clwyd | B− | 10.6 | 85% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Dudley Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.6 | 69% | 4 | 0% |
| 31 | Bramley Hampshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Dickens Heath West Midlands | C+ | 3.2 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 34 | Cross Hills North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 3 | 0% |
| 35 | Ripponden West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Edwalton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 2.1 | 58% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Shortstown Bedfordshire | C | 2.4 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 38 | Datchet Berkshire | C | 8.4 | 72% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 40 | Bowburn County Durham | C | 1.5 | 71% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Minster (Thanet) Kent | C | 2.3 | 64% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Makeney Derbyshire | C | 2.1 | 56% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Mynydd Isa Clwyd | C | 0.9 | 87% | 2 | 3% |
| 44 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 45 | Winterton Lincolnshire | C | 1.6 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Woodhall Spa Lincolnshire | C− | 1.9 | 61% | 3 | 0% |
| 47 | Barton-under-Needwood Staffordshire | C− | 2.3 | 70% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea Lancashire | C− | 0.7 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 49 | Middleton St George County Durham | C− | 1.8 | 94% | 1 | 0% |
| 50 | Sowerby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Bailrigg Lancashire | C− | 0 | 0% | 3.4 | 18% |
| 52 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 54 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 55 | South Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 43% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Markfield Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Chilton County Durham | D− | 1.1 | 68% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Carleton’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 Carleton
The biggest is Cottam Hall Playing Fields, 7.0 ha (17 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Carleton’s homes are to 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 (86%)Further (14%)
Carleton86%
Towns its size82%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 700 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 141 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 11 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
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Carleton
39 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Carleton and the kilometre around it, 3.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Wyre Way (Fleetwood Peninsula Loop)3.1 km
The regional route here is the Wyre Way (Fleetwood Peninsula 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 Carleton: May to July and 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) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 88 | 68 | 60 | 56 | 59 | 66 | 72 | 92 | 89 | 109 | 101 | 105 |
April is the driest month (56 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 109 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 29 nights a year. The climate in Carleton →
The coast
Carleton is near the sea
24% of the area within 5 km of Carleton is sea. 1 beach is 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.
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
Hills and peaks 1
Warbreck34 m (112 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsDog parks 1
Fylde Dog Field0.8 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Poulton-le-FyldeThorntonCleveleysHambletonBlackpoolStainingCarleton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Carleton 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 Carleton
What is the biggest park in Carleton?
Cottam Hall Playing Fields, 7.0 ha (17 acres), just outside the built-up area. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Carleton near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 11 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 806 km² and was designated in 1964.
What are the best walks near Carleton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Wyre Way (Fleetwood Peninsula Loop).
How many people in Carleton live near a park?
86% 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 Carleton?
May to July and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Carleton good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 77% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 69% (3.0 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 Carleton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Carleton’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.