Kirkham’s biggest
William Segar Hodgson Playing Field
Playing field
3.4 ha (8 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Kirkham
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0D−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Kirkham · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Kirkham
23 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.3 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Kirkham add up to 1.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 66% of residents. Kirkham grades D− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
66%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
23 km
1.3 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
Outdoors grade
Kirkham grades D− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Kirkham, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
D−
Better than 5% of UK towns#65 of 65 in Lancashire
Public green space1.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
20out of
100
100
A park within a walk66%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
26out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
13out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 2.6% 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
How Kirkham compares with UK towns of 8,600 to 9,300
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,600 to 9,300 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
Kirkham1.3
Towns its size3.1
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Kirkham1.3
Towns its size2.5
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Kirkham66%
Towns its size84%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Kirkham falls furthest behind on path per km², where 56 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 3 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 4 | Storrington West Sussex | A | 5.5 | 85% | 3.2 | 54% |
| 5 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 6 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 7 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 8 | Warlingham Surrey | A | 4.2 | 81% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 9 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 13 | Ryton Tyne and Wear | A− | 5.5 | 85% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Brightlingsea Essex | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 17 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 18 | Alfreton Derbyshire | B+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Longridge Lancashire | B+ | 1.9 | 89% | 3 | 32% |
| 20 | Winnersh Berkshire | B+ | 9.6 | 80% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Higham Ferrers Northamptonshire | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 24 | Banstead Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 5.2 | 3% |
| 25 | Cinderford Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 4.7 | 4% |
| 26 | Ashbourne Derbyshire | B | 1.9 | 92% | 2.7 | 14% |
| 27 | Cockermouth Cumbria | B | 2.6 | 81% | 2.2 | 42% |
| 28 | Ampthill Bedfordshire | B | 6.8 | 71% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Clay Cross Derbyshire | B | 2.6 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 32 | South Kirkby West Yorkshire | B | 3 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 33 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 34 | Wendover Buckinghamshire | B | 1 | 58% | 5.6 | 60% |
| 35 | Hornsea East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 90% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Whitnash Warwickshire | B− | 2 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Cullompton Devon | B− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 39 | West End and Chobham Surrey | B− | 3.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 41 | Hoo St Werburgh Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 92% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 44 | Atherstone Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 45 | Brinsworth South Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 76% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 49 | Burscough Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 50 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Adlington Lancashire | C− | 1.3 | 64% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Harworth and Bircotes Nottinghamshire | D | 1.9 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Holbeach Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 91% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Tarleton and Hesketh Bank Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 63% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Kirkham’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 Kirkham
The biggest is William Segar Hodgson Playing Field, 3.4 ha (8 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Kirkham 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 (66%)Further (34%)
Kirkham66%
Towns its size84%
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; 19 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 470 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 8.6 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 Kirkham
23 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Kirkham and the kilometre around it, 1.3 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
Lancashire Coastal Way0.5 km
The regional route here is the Lancashire Coastal 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 Kirkham: May 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 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 82 | 64 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 66 | 72 | 88 | 88 | 105 | 93 | 101 |
May 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 105 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Kirkham →
Things to do
19 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
Kirkham is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Half Moon Bay17 mi from Kirkham’s edge
DirectionsTaylor's Bank19 mi from Kirkham’s edge
DirectionsMallows Bay20 mi from Kirkham’s edge
DirectionsCrosby Beach21 mi from Kirkham’s edge
DirectionsBrazil Bank24 mi from Kirkham’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
Playgrounds 19
Freckleton Playground for children1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Boys' Brigade Training and Conference Centre0.2 mi from town
DirectionsMowbreck Scout Campsite0.5 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.
WeshamWrea GreenNewton-with-ScalesWarton (Fylde)FreckletonCliftonKirkham
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkham | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 0% |
| Wesham 0.8 mi | C− | 1.7 | 87% | 0% |
| Wrea Green 1.4 mi | B− | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Newton-with-Scales 1.7 mi | D | 1.4 | 76% | 0% |
| Warton (Fylde) 2.0 mi | C | 1.3 | 92% | 0% |
| Freckleton 2.1 mi | D | 0.4 | 73% | 0% |
| Clifton 2.8 mi | C | 1.8 | 100% | 0% |
Wrea Green, 1.4 miles away, grades B−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Wrea Green has at least twice Kirkham’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Kirkham
What is the biggest park in Kirkham?
William Segar Hodgson Playing Field, 3.4 ha (8 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Kirkham near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 8.6 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 806 km² and was designated in 1964.
What are the best walks near Kirkham?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Lancashire Coastal Way.
What is the nearest beach to Kirkham?
Half Moon Bay, 17 mi from the edge of the town, then Taylor's Bank (19 mi). Kirkham itself is inland.
How many people in Kirkham live near a park?
66% 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 Kirkham?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Kirkham good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 13% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 20% (1.3 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 Kirkham’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Kirkham’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.