Colne’s biggest
Alkincoats Park
Park or garden
17 ha (42 acres)4.5 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.5 km of path
24 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Colne · parks, paths & countryside
Colne has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 129 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 5.3 for every square kilometre. The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape begins 1.2 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Colne add up to 3.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Colne grades A for the outdoors: #5 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
86%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
129 km
5.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
8%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Forest Of Bowland National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Colne?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths5.3 km of path per km², more than 94% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Forest Of Bowland National Landscape starts 1.2 mi west.
Colne’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape close by.
Outdoors grade
Colne grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Colne, 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 91% of UK towns#5 of 65 in Lancashire · 7th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
72out of
100
100
A park within a walk86%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
59out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape8%of the land within 5 km
70out of
100
100
Footpaths5.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
95out 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
Colne is 7th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 17,600 to 20,400 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
Colne5.3
Towns its size3.4
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Colne3.2
Towns its size2.3
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Colne86%
Towns its size86%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Colne 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 | Cirencester Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.3 | 95% | 4.1 | 48% |
| 2 | Littlehampton West Sussex | A+ | 2.1 | 99% | 3.1 | 18% |
| 3 | Litherland Merseyside | A | 7.3 | 94% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Buxton Derbyshire | A | 3.5 | 86% | 3.8 | 61% |
| 5 | Houghton Regis Bedfordshire | A | 3.5 | 81% | 8 | 20% |
| 6 | Brixham Devon | A | 3.1 | 76% | 2.5 | 30% |
| 7 | Colne Lancashire | A | 3.2 | 86% | 5.3 | 8% |
| 8 | Waltham Abbey Essex | A | 11.9 | 92% | 6.7 | 0% |
| 9 | Hazlemere Buckinghamshire | A | 2.5 | 81% | 4.7 | 68% |
| 10 | Forest Town Nottinghamshire | A | 6.4 | 94% | 5.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Northwich Cheshire | A | 8.8 | 92% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Leek Staffordshire | A | 4.2 | 83% | 3.6 | 19% |
| 13 | Keynsham Somerset | A | 2.1 | 95% | 4.6 | 11% |
| 14 | Clifton Greater Manchester | A | 10 | 92% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Abbots Langley and Kings Langley Hertfordshire | A | 3.8 | 88% | 3.6 | 3% |
| 16 | Harwich Essex | A− | 1.7 | 95% | 2.1 | 20% |
| 17 | Peterlee County Durham | A− | 2.3 | 85% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Ebbw Vale Gwent | A− | 2 | 92% | 3.3 | 29% |
| 19 | Mansfield Woodhouse Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Devizes Wiltshire | A− | 1.8 | 91% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 21 | Alton Hampshire | B+ | 2.6 | 82% | 3 | 27% |
| 22 | Glossop Derbyshire | B+ | 1.5 | 78% | 4.2 | 60% |
| 23 | Walkden Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 92% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Belper Derbyshire | B+ | 2.4 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Eastwood Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 93% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 26 | Hythe and Dibden Purlieu Hampshire | B+ | 0.8 | 49% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 27 | Sandhurst Berkshire | B+ | 5.1 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Warminster Wiltshire | B+ | 1.7 | 86% | 3 | 44% |
| 29 | Hazel Grove Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.9 | 62% | 4.2 | 3% |
| 30 | Mirfield West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 90% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Ripley Derbyshire | B | 2.4 | 91% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Irlam Greater Manchester | B | 3.1 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Cradley Heath West Midlands | B | 3.3 | 76% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Ely Cambridgeshire | B | 2.7 | 88% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Stanley County Durham | B | 1.7 | 88% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Shaw Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 96% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Stourport-on-Severn Worcestershire | B | 3.1 | 79% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Romsey Hampshire | B− | 1.2 | 82% | 4.5 | 2% |
| 39 | Ware Hertfordshire | B− | 2 | 81% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Guisborough North Yorkshire | B− | 1.5 | 80% | 2.6 | 35% |
| 41 | Calne Wiltshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 2.4 | 33% |
| 42 | Wednesbury West Midlands | B− | 2.7 | 93% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Carterton Oxfordshire | B− | 2.1 | 82% | 2 | 13% |
| 44 | Failsworth Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.8 | 77% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Rawmarsh South Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 84% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Maesteg Mid Glamorgan | C+ | 2 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Melksham Wiltshire | C+ | 2.2 | 87% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Bideford Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 83% | 1 | 11% |
| 49 | Newmarket Suffolk | C+ | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 50 | Knowle and Dorridge West Midlands | C+ | 2.7 | 82% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Adwick le Street South Yorkshire | C+ | 2.8 | 89% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Thornton Lancashire | C | 2.1 | 71% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Nantwich Cheshire | C | 2.2 | 86% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 54 | Sleaford Lincolnshire | C | 1.7 | 93% | 2 | 0% |
| 55 | Maghull Merseyside | C− | 1.6 | 86% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Willerby and Anlaby East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.6 | 46% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Selby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.6 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay Staffordshire | C− | 1.5 | 60% | 1.6 | 3% |
| 59 | Goole East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 81% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Tiverton Devon | D | 1.5 | 59% | 2.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Colne’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 Colne
The biggest is Alkincoats Park, 17 ha (42 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 47 ha (117 acres) and 9 km of path
Parks & gardens 34 haPlaying fields 13 ha
The two biggest, Alkincoats Park and Holt House Playing Fields, are 64% of the named green space and carry 7 km of path between them.
Holt House Playing Fields
Playing field
13 ha (32 acres)2.5 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.5 km of path
18 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Langroyd Country Park
Park or garden
9.9 ha (24 acres)0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
14 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi northfrom the centre
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ball Grove Park
Park or garden
4.8 ha (12 acres)0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi eastfrom the centre
Ferndean WayEast Colne WaySpring Garden
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Greenfield Nature Reserve
Park or garden · 10 m outside town
2.2 ha (5 acres)0.1 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi westfrom the centre
Nature reserve
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Pendle View Gardens
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
0.6 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Park
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Colne
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Colne 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 (86%)Further (14%)
Colne86%
Towns its size86%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 2,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 26 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 727 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 1.2 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
1.2 mi west806 km²since 19648% of the land within 5 km
Official site8% of the land within 5 km of Colne is National Park or National Landscape, more than 69% of UK towns. Yorkshire Dales National Park covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Colne
129 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Colne and the kilometre around it, 5.3 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
Pendle Way9.1 km
The regional route here is the Pendle 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 Colne: 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) | 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 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 118 | 111 | 96 | 71 | 74 | 87 | 104 | 112 | 109 | 131 | 133 | 153 |
April is the driest month (71 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 153 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Colne →
The coast
Beaches near Colne
0% of the area within 5 km of Colne is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 1 beach is mapped within 5 km.
Treasure Beach0.0 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
2 viewpoints and 26 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.
2Viewpoints1Nature reserves4Picnic sites4.3× towns its size26Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Greenfield Road Local Nature Reserve1.9 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 4
Plus 4 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 26
Plus 26 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.
FoulridgeTrawdenBarrowfordNelsonBrierfieldFenceColne
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colne | A | 3.2 | 86% | 8% |
| Foulridge 1.2 mi | A− | 9.4 | 23% | 4% |
| Trawden 1.6 mi | B− | 4.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Barrowford 2.2 mi | A | 4.2 | 82% | 22% |
| Nelson 2.2 mi | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 15% |
| Brierfield 3.5 mi | A | 2.1 | 92% | 18% |
| Fence 4.0 mi | B | 1.3 | 62% | 32% |
Barrowford, 2.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 82% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Foulridge has at least twice Colne’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Colne
What is the biggest park in Colne?
Alkincoats Park, 17 ha (42 acres), with 4.5 km of path. Holt House Playing Fields (13 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Colne near a National Park?
Yes. Yorkshire Dales National Park begins 7.7 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, 1.2 mi away.
What are the best walks near Colne?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Pendle Way. Alkincoats Park alone has 4.5 km of path.
How many people in Colne 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 Colne?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Colne good for walking?
For paths, yes: 5.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 95% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 72% (3.2 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 Colne’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Colne’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.