Darwen’s biggest
Blacksnape Playing Fields
Playing field
17 ha (43 acres)2.3 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.3 km of path
24 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Darwen · parks, paths & countryside
Darwen has more footpath per square kilometre than nearly 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 113 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.5 for every square kilometre. 89% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Darwen add up to 2.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Darwen grades B for the outdoors: #29 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
89%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
113 km
4.5 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
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Darwen?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths4.5 km of path per km², more than 88% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Historic parks3 registered historic parks and gardens, including Bold Venture Park.
Darwen’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by its historic parks.
Outdoors grade
Darwen grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Darwen, 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 64% of UK towns#29 of 65 in Lancashire · 35th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
51out of
100
100
A park within a walk89%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
66out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths4.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
88out 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
Darwen is 35th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 25,800 to 30,100 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
Darwen4.5
Towns its size3.4
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Darwen2.2
Towns its size2.5
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Darwen89%
Towns its size83%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Darwen stands out most for path per km²: only 13 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 34 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yate Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.3 | 99% | 6.8 | 11% |
| 2 | Jarrow Tyne and Wear | A+ | 5.3 | 90% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Stroud Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.6 | 79% | 5.8 | 70% |
| 4 | Northfleet Kent | A | 2 | 85% | 7.7 | 4% |
| 5 | Sevenoaks Kent | A | 8.1 | 76% | 3.8 | 70% |
| 6 | Stalybridge Greater Manchester | A | 5 | 82% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 7 | Ashington Northumberland | A | 5.6 | 83% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 8 | Penarth South Glamorgan | A | 3.5 | 83% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 9 | Woodley Berkshire | A | 5 | 81% | 4.3 | 1% |
| 10 | Lancing and Sompting West Sussex | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3 | 37% |
| 11 | Totton Hampshire | A | 1.6 | 94% | 4.4 | 50% |
| 12 | Burntwood Staffordshire | A− | 5.3 | 81% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 13 | Larkfield Kent | A− | 5.6 | 75% | 3.4 | 27% |
| 14 | Ewell Surrey | A− | 7.5 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Rickmansworth Hertfordshire | A− | 2.9 | 81% | 4.4 | 11% |
| 16 | Stretford Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 92% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Tadworth and Epsom Downs Surrey | A− | 3.4 | 65% | 5.3 | 16% |
| 18 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 73% | 3.2 | 18% |
| 19 | Little Hulton Greater Manchester | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 20 | East Grinstead West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 87% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 21 | Cleethorpes Lincolnshire | A− | 3 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Daventry Northamptonshire | A− | 4.1 | 99% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Eston North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 93% | 2.8 | 2% |
| 24 | Cramlington Northumberland | B+ | 2.3 | 91% | 6.6 | 0% |
| 25 | Portishead Somerset | B+ | 2 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Haverhill Suffolk | B+ | 2.4 | 91% | 5 | 0% |
| 27 | Longbenton Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.3 | 80% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 28 | Fleetwood Lancashire | B+ | 2.7 | 92% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 29 | Deal Kent | B+ | 1 | 86% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 30 | Farnworth Greater Manchester | B+ | 3 | 85% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Pontypool Gwent | B+ | 3.6 | 93% | 1.8 | 7% |
| 32 | Colwyn Bay Clwyd | B+ | 1.9 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Shipley West Yorkshire | B | 2.1 | 87% | 6 | 0% |
| 34 | Consett County Durham | B | 1.7 | 87% | 3.1 | 19% |
| 35 | Darwen Lancashire | B | 2.2 | 89% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Rugeley Staffordshire | B | 1.2 | 94% | 2.7 | 37% |
| 37 | Witham Essex | B | 1.9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 38 | Egham Surrey | B | 4.1 | 63% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Atherton Greater Manchester | B | 3.8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Bushey Hertfordshire | B | 3.1 | 77% | 4 | 0% |
| 41 | Rhyl Clwyd | B | 1 | 84% | 2.2 | 7% |
| 42 | Droitwich Spa Worcestershire | B | 2.5 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Evesham Worcestershire | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 3.5 | 4% |
| 44 | Stanford-le-Hope Essex | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Ashton-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 93% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Melton Mowbray Leicestershire | B− | 3.3 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Kendal Cumbria | C+ | 0.9 | 67% | 4 | 33% |
| 48 | Horley Surrey | C+ | 1.9 | 84% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Newton Abbot Devon | C+ | 2.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 6% |
| 50 | Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire | C | 1.6 | 84% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Newark-on-Trent Nottinghamshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 2 | 0% |
| 52 | Walton-on-Thames Surrey | C | 1.6 | 81% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Frome Somerset | C | 1.3 | 78% | 2.4 | 9% |
| 54 | Wickford Essex | C | 2.4 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 55 | Congleton Cheshire | C | 1.7 | 72% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Hertford Hertfordshire | C | 0.9 | 65% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Heywood Greater Manchester | C− | 1.3 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Heswall Merseyside | C− | 1.1 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Ormskirk Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Wisbech Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Darwen’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 Darwen
The biggest is Blacksnape Playing Fields, 17 ha (43 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 50 ha (124 acres) and 11 km of path
Parks & gardens 26 haPlaying fields 24 ha
The two biggest, Blacksnape Playing Fields and Bold Venture Park, are 51% of the named green space and carry 6 km of path between them.
Historic park · Grade II
Bold Venture Park
Park or garden
7.8 ha (19 acres)3.3 km of path
45 minto walk all 3.3 km of path
11 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Darwen
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Historic park · Grade II
Whitehall Park
Park or garden
6.6 ha (16 acres)2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.2 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Grainings Wood
Park or garden
8.9 ha (22 acres)1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.6 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ashton Park
Park or garden
3.0 ha (7 acres)0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Lower Darwen Congregational Church Recreation Ground
Playing field · 200 m outside town
4.5 ha (11 acres)0.3 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.6 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Darwen Cricket and Sports Club
Playing field
1.8 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Darwen 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 (89%)Further (11%)
Darwen89%
Towns its size83%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 3,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 38 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 734 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 7.7 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
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Darwen
113 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Darwen and the kilometre around it, 4.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Local
Tacklers Trail - Witton Weavers Way11.6 km
Reelers Trail - Witton Weavers Way1.6 km
Warpers Trail - Witton Weavers Way0.8 km
Close to home, the Tacklers Trail - Witton Weavers Way has 12 km of local walk within 2 km of the town.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
3 historic parks, and what stands in them
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Darwen’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade II
Bold Venture Park
7.8 ha. A registered historic park (Grade II). 0 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
Registered · Grade IISunnyhurst Woods2.7 ha
Registered · Grade IIWhitehall Park0.7 ha
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Darwen: 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) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 128 | 117 | 102 | 83 | 86 | 101 | 112 | 123 | 122 | 149 | 148 | 162 |
April is the driest month (83 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 162 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 44 nights a year. The climate in Darwen →
Things to do
38 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
Darwen is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Car Park Beach8.4 mi from Darwen’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North8.4 mi from Darwen’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South8.5 mi from Darwen’s edge
DirectionsWader Point8.6 mi from Darwen’s edge
DirectionsStone Beach8.7 mi from Darwen’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. Hughes Peak, at 258 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Darwen.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 14
Hughes Peak258 m (846 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsWives' Hill363 m (1,191 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsDarwen Hill372 m (1,220 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsBlack Hill358 m (1,175 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsWinter Hill276 m (906 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsBog Heights231 m (758 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsGreen Hill264 m (866 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsBrown Lowe391 m (1,283 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 6 hills and peaks without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 2
Plus 2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 38
Tockholes Playground0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 37 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.
HoddlesdenBlackburnBrinscallOswaldtwistleEdgworthRishtonDarwen
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darwen | B | 2.2 | 89% | 0% |
| Hoddlesden 1.4 mi | A | 11.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Blackburn 3.5 mi | B− | 2.2 | 71% | 1% |
| Brinscall 4.2 mi | A | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Oswaldtwistle 4.2 mi | B− | 1.1 | 94% | 0% |
| Edgworth 4.6 mi | B | 3.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Rishton 5.3 mi | B− | 2.2 | 94% | 0% |
Hoddlesden, 1.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Hoddlesden has at least twice Darwen’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Darwen
What is the biggest park in Darwen?
Blacksnape Playing Fields, 17 ha (43 acres), with 2.3 km of path. Bold Venture Park (7.8 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Darwen near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 7.7 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 806 km² and was designated in 1964.
What are the best walks near Darwen?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Tacklers Trail - Witton Weavers Way, Reelers Trail - Witton Weavers Way and Warpers Trail - Witton Weavers Way. Blacksnape Playing Fields alone has 2.3 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Darwen?
Car Park Beach, 8.4 mi from the edge of the town, then Creek Beach North (8.4 mi). Darwen itself is inland.
How many people in Darwen live near a park?
89% 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 Darwen?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Darwen are historic?
Bold Venture Park (Grade II), Sunnyhurst Woods (Grade II) and Whitehall Park (Grade II) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Darwen good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 88% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 51% (2.2 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 Darwen’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Darwen’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.