Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: robert wade · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Hoddlesden add up to 11.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 27 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 4.5 for every square kilometre. Hoddlesden grades A for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Hoddlesden’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by plenty of park space.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Hoddlesden, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,200 to 1,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Hoddlesden stands out most for park space per resident: only 2 of the other 59 have more.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastington Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.2 | 100% | 3.7 | 22% |
| 2 | Holmbridge West Yorkshire | A+ | 2.5 | 100% | 4.2 | 45% |
| 3 | Shamley Green Surrey | A | 2.9 | 100% | 3 | 69% |
| 4 | Donisthorpe Leicestershire | A | 38.4 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 5 | Hoddlesden Lancashire | A | 11.4 | 100% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Rotherfield East Sussex | A | 5.6 | 100% | 1.7 | 91% |
| 7 | Haydon Bridge Northumberland | A | 7.2 | 100% | 1.7 | 26% |
| 8 | Cronton Merseyside | A | 6.8 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Lower Halstow Kent | A− | 1.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 4% |
| 10 | Nutley East Sussex | A− | 2.2 | 75% | 4.5 | 80% |
| 11 | East Hanney Oxfordshire | A− | 5.7 | 100% | 1.8 | 4% |
| 12 | Caldy Merseyside | A− | 19.3 | 47% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 13 | Low Bradley North Yorkshire | A− | 1.2 | 100% | 6.2 | 2% |
| 14 | Thorpe Surrey | A− | 5.2 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 15 | Bonds Lancashire | A− | 1.7 | 100% | 3.5 | 16% |
| 16 | Herstmonceux East Sussex | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 1.5 | 36% |
| 17 | Foulridge Lancashire | A− | 9.4 | 23% | 5.4 | 4% |
| 18 | Felsted Essex | A− | 7.5 | 81% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 19 | Walberton West Sussex | B+ | 1.8 | 100% | 1.9 | 39% |
| 20 | Toll Bar South Yorkshire | B+ | 10.9 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 21 | King's Somborne Hampshire | B+ | 5.2 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Canewdon Essex | B | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Stoke Holy Cross Norfolk | B | 2.2 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 24 | Keinton Mandeville Somerset | B | 3.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Alconbury Weald Cambridgeshire | B | 5 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 26 | Portreath Cornwall | B | 1.1 | 78% | 2.3 | 8% |
| 27 | Woodchurch Kent | B | 2.3 | 78% | 2.8 | 12% |
| 28 | Corse Gloucestershire | B | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 29 | Clarborough Nottinghamshire | B | 4 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Trawden Lancashire | B− | 4 | 0% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Chulmleigh Devon | C+ | 3.5 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 32 | East Morton West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 89% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 33 | Lyne Surrey | C+ | 4 | 71% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Trimdon Grange County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Crondall Hampshire | C+ | 3.6 | 73% | 1.8 | 1% |
| 36 | Husbands Bosworth Leicestershire | C+ | 3 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 37 | Clehonger Herefordshire | C+ | 0.6 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 38 | Thorpe on the Hill West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.2 | 64% | 4 | 0% |
| 39 | Lavenham Suffolk | C | 4.2 | 59% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Medomsley County Durham | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Warwick Bridge Cumbria | C | 6.5 | 78% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 42 | West Clandon Surrey | C | 1.9 | 49% | 2.1 | 28% |
| 43 | Clifton upon Dunsmore Warwickshire | C | 2.2 | 79% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Croughton Northamptonshire | C | 3.6 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 45 | South Killingholme Lincolnshire | C | 1.7 | 68% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Hill Brow and Rake Hampshire | C− | 0 | 0% | 2.9 | 97% |
| 47 | Wolverley Worcestershire | C− | 7.2 | 23% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Crays Hill Essex | C− | 10.6 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Little Downham Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.8 | 61% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Sproatley East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 8.6 | 47% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 51 | Kirby-le-Soken Essex | C− | 0.7 | 0% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 52 | Coup Green Lancashire | D | 0.6 | 70% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Horton and Broadway Somerset | D | 0.5 | 45% | 1.9 | 14% |
| 54 | Beckingham Nottinghamshire | D | 2.6 | 28% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Ifold West Sussex | D | 0 | 0% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 56 | Walesby Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.1 | 50% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Rillington North Yorkshire | D− | 1 | 75% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Blackwell Worcestershire | D− | 0.7 | 29% | 2 | 0% |
| 59 | Fiskerton Lincolnshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Prees Higher Heath Shropshire | D− | 0.7 | 26% | 0.9 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Hoddlesden’s built-up area.
The biggest is Blacksnape Playing Fields, 17 ha (43 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 12 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 102 residents.
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.
27 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Hoddlesden and the kilometre around it, 4.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Hoddlesden; its footpaths are on the map above.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The village’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 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 140 | 132 | 108 | 86 | 89 | 105 | 111 | 121 | 126 | 149 | 154 | 179 |
April is the driest month (86 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 18 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 179 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Hoddlesden →
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Hoddlesden is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Plus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoddlesden | A | 11.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Darwen 1.4 mi | B | 2.2 | 89% | 0% |
| Oswaldtwistle 3.5 mi | B− | 1.1 | 94% | 0% |
| Edgworth 3.7 mi | B | 3.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Blackburn 4.2 mi | B− | 2.2 | 71% | 1% |
| Haslingden 4.3 mi | B | 1.8 | 89% | 0% |
| Accrington 4.7 mi | A− | 2.6 | 79% | 0% |
Hoddlesden grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Blacksnape Playing Fields, 17 ha (43 acres), with 2.3 km of path, just outside the built-up area. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
The nearest protected landscape is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 8.2 mi north of the village’s edge. It covers 806 km² and was designated in 1964.
Car Park Beach, 8.7 mi from the edge of the village, then Creek Beach North (8.8 mi). Hoddlesden itself is inland.
100% 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%.
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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 97% (11.4 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Hoddlesden’s overall grade.
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.