Cottam’s biggest
Miller Green
Park or garden
3.0 ha (7 acres)0.2 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Cottam
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Cottam · parks, paths & countryside
Cottam has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Cottam add up to 6.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape begins 5.7 mi from the town’s edge. 92% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Cottam grades B+ for the outdoors: #24 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
6.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
92%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
75 km
2.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Forest Of Bowland starts 5.7 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Cottam?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam6.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 91% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe Forest Of Bowland National Landscape starts 5.7 mi north-east.
Cottam’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape close by.
Outdoors grade
Cottam grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Cottam, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B+
Better than 70% of UK towns#24 of 65 in Lancashire · 19th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space6.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
91out of
100
100
A park within a walk92%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
71out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Forest Of Bowland begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
56out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 1.1% sea, under the 5% that counts
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
Cottam is 19th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,300 to 5,800 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
Cottam2.8
Towns its size2.5
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Cottam6.4
Towns its size1.9
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Cottam92%
Towns its size81%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Cottam stands out most for park space per resident: only 3 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ventnor Isle of Wight | A+ | 4.5 | 61% | 3.7 | 25% |
| 2 | Deepcar South Yorkshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 6.4 | 21% |
| 3 | Haworth West Yorkshire | A | 4.1 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Millom Cumbria | A | 2 | 82% | 3.2 | 13% |
| 5 | St Ives Cornwall | A | 0.8 | 89% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 6 | Nailsworth Gloucestershire | A− | 1.3 | 86% | 5.9 | 88% |
| 7 | Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire | A− | 5.6 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 8 | Brotton North Yorkshire | A− | 1.4 | 89% | 3 | 2% |
| 9 | Eynsham Oxfordshire | A− | 3 | 94% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 10 | Steyning West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 86% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 11 | Blaenavon Gwent | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 39% |
| 12 | Henfield West Sussex | A− | 3.8 | 51% | 4.4 | 17% |
| 13 | Merley Dorset | B+ | 3.9 | 64% | 4.1 | 6% |
| 14 | Highbridge Somerset | B+ | 2.9 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Carlton in Lindrick Nottinghamshire | B+ | 9 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Kingsbridge Devon | B+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.6 | 67% |
| 17 | Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.1 | 61% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 18 | Llantwit Major South Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 19 | Cottam Lancashire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 20 | Willington County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 21 | New Alresford Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 94% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 22 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | B+ | 8.8 | 65% | 5 | 0% |
| 23 | Shrivenham and Watchfield Oxfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 96% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 24 | Newent Gloucestershire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Battle East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 64% | 4.3 | 84% |
| 26 | Askern South Yorkshire | B | 8.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Shinfield Berkshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Llandrindod Wells Powys | B− | 4.5 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Haddenham Buckinghamshire | B− | 3.1 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Hullbridge Essex | C+ | 5.7 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 31 | Midhurst West Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 28% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 32 | Broseley Shropshire | C+ | 1.2 | 74% | 3.4 | 8% |
| 33 | Quorndon Leicestershire | C+ | 2.7 | 81% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Rainford Merseyside | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Ruthin Clwyd | C | 2.7 | 51% | 1.5 | 31% |
| 36 | Wadebridge Cornwall | C | 1.8 | 74% | 1.8 | 17% |
| 37 | Coningsby and Tattershall Lincolnshire | C | 2.7 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Four Marks Hampshire | C | 0.9 | 46% | 3 | 31% |
| 39 | Bovingdon Hertfordshire | C | 1.4 | 55% | 2.3 | 26% |
| 40 | Shevington Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Waterbeach Cambridgeshire | C | 1.5 | 94% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Looe Cornwall | C− | 0.1 | 47% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 43 | Welshpool Powys | C− | 2.6 | 82% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Ludgershall Wiltshire | C− | 0.7 | 72% | 1.9 | 32% |
| 45 | Ingatestone Essex | C− | 3.2 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 46 | Measham Leicestershire | C− | 1.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Abertridwr and Senghenydd Gwent | C− | 1.8 | 87% | 1 | 0% |
| 48 | Long Sutton Lincolnshire | D | 2.2 | 81% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Takeley and Little Canfield Essex | D | 1 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Blackrod Greater Manchester | D | 1 | 83% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Wigton Cumbria | D | 2.4 | 65% | 1 | 0% |
| 52 | Thornton West Yorkshire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Brigg Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 65% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Treherbert Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.2 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Ruskington Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Eye Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Bulkington Warwickshire | D | 0.9 | 76% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Ravenshead Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirton Lincolnshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Cottam’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 Cottam
The biggest is Miller Green, 3.0 ha (7 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
9 in 10 Cottam 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%)
Cottam92%
Towns its size81%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 41 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 134 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 5.7 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Cottam scores 0% on it even though the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 5.7 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Cottam
75 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Cottam and the kilometre around it, 2.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
Preston Guild Wheel12.5 km
Ribble Way3.7 km
Close to home, the Preston Guild Wheel has 13 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Ribble 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 Cottam: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 91 | 81 | 66 | 58 | 62 | 74 | 88 | 105 | 99 | 109 | 105 | 125 |
April is the driest month (58 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 125 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Cottam →
Things to do
41 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
Cottam is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Half Moon Bay17 mi from Cottam’s edge
DirectionsMallows Bay19 mi from Cottam’s edge
DirectionsTaylor's Bank21 mi from Cottam’s edge
DirectionsCrosby Beach22 mi from Cottam’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North22 mi from Cottam’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
Nature reserves 1
Haslam Park Nature Reserve15 ha · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 41
Granny Park0.1 mi from town
DirectionsQuiet Yard0.4 mi from town
DirectionsScience Yard0.4 mi from town
DirectionsJunior's Playground0.6 mi from town
DirectionsInfants Playground0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 36 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.
FulwoodCliftonBroughtonPrestonBartonNewton-with-ScalesCottam
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Fulwood, 1.8 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 87% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Cottam
What is the biggest park in Cottam?
Miller Green, 3.0 ha (7 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Cottam near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 5.7 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 806 km² and was designated in 1964.
What are the best walks near Cottam?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Preston Guild Wheel and Ribble Way.
What is the nearest beach to Cottam?
Half Moon Bay, 17 mi from the edge of the town, then Mallows Bay (19 mi). Cottam itself is inland.
How many people in Cottam 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 Cottam?
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 Cottam good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 56% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 91% (6.4 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 Cottam’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Cottam’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.