Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0Overton is on the coast
The sea makes up 28% of the area within 5 km. The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape begins 3.9 mi from the village’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Overton add up to 0.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Overton grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Overton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Overton’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Overton grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Overton, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Overton is 52nd of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,000 to 1,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Overton falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 49 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grove Dorset | A+ | 6 | 100% | 8.7 | 0% |
| 2 | Totternhoe Bedfordshire | A+ | 9.6 | 100% | 4.9 | 26% |
| 3 | Winchelsea Beach East Sussex | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 45% |
| 4 | East Challow Oxfordshire | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 5 | Broadbottom Greater Manchester | A+ | 5 | 100% | 4.2 | 15% |
| 6 | Hawkesbury Upton Gloucestershire | A+ | 3.4 | 100% | 3 | 73% |
| 7 | Westwood Wiltshire | A+ | 2.6 | 100% | 4.4 | 29% |
| 8 | Cemaes Gwynedd | A+ | 5 | 100% | 1.3 | 14% |
| 9 | Mawnan Smith Cornwall | A | 3.5 | 30% | 4 | 40% |
| 10 | Bellingham Northumberland | A | 8.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 57% |
| 11 | Waddington Lancashire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 2.9 | 60% |
| 12 | Little Wymondley Hertfordshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Thurlstone South Yorkshire | A− | 0.9 | 100% | 4.5 | 13% |
| 14 | Wivelsfield Green East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 3 | 11% |
| 15 | North Chailey East Sussex | B+ | 4.5 | 48% | 4.1 | 18% |
| 16 | Langenhoe and Abberton Essex | B+ | 2.3 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 17 | Leek Wootton Warwickshire | B+ | 2.3 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 18 | Norton St Philip Somerset | B+ | 1.8 | 100% | 2.2 | 21% |
| 19 | Loddiswell Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 100% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 20 | Thornwood Common Essex | B+ | 6.1 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Clyst Honiton Devon | B+ | 8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Olveston Gloucestershire | B | 0.7 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 23 | Thornton Leicestershire | B | 13.7 | 50% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 24 | Whitwell Hertfordshire | B | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Levens Cumbria | B | 0.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 53% |
| 26 | Great Paxton Cambridgeshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 27 | Great Amwell Hertfordshire | B− | 5.7 | 0% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Beckington Somerset | B− | 2.7 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Laxfield Suffolk | B− | 3.3 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Winteringham Lincolnshire | B− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 31 | Hooley Surrey | B− | 1.7 | 67% | 3.4 | 18% |
| 32 | King's Bromley Staffordshire | B− | 3.4 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Derry Hill and Studley Wiltshire | C+ | 1.2 | 100% | 1.7 | 1% |
| 34 | St Dogmaels Dyfed | C+ | 1.4 | 71% | 1.1 | 23% |
| 35 | Bethersden Kent | C+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Hill Ridware Staffordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 1.2 | 7% |
| 37 | Bempton East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.6 | 100% | 0.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Elmsett Suffolk | C | 3.4 | 82% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Clifton Lancashire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Scorton North Yorkshire | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Hurst Berkshire | C− | 5.1 | 68% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Lea Lincolnshire | C− | 4.3 | 76% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Swarthmoor Cumbria | C− | 0.2 | 79% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Llangeinor Mid Glamorgan | C− | 3.1 | 62% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Loxwood West Sussex | D | 0 | 0% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Sutton St James Lincolnshire | D | 0.1 | 100% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Marshland St James Norfolk | D | 3.5 | 0% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Besthorpe Norfolk | D | 1.5 | 72% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Barnack Cambridgeshire | D | 1.6 | 26% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Northop Clwyd | D | 1.6 | 70% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Shadoxhurst Kent | D | 1.8 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Overton Lancashire | D | 0.1 | 0% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Wymington Bedfordshire | D | 0.3 | 0% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Sutton Norfolk | D− | 0 | 0% | 1 | 29% |
| 55 | Corby Glen Lincolnshire | D− | 2 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Wawne East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1 | 0% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Foulsham Norfolk | D− | 1.4 | 29% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Mendlesham Suffolk | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Stockton on the Forest North Yorkshire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Prees Shropshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 0.6 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Overton’s built-up area.
Few Overton 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).
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 3 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 339 residents.
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 3.9 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.
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Overton scores 0% on it even though the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 3.9 mi away. Lake District National Park covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Overton
10 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Overton and the kilometre around it, 1.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
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.
The best walking months in Overton: May to September
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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 95 | 78 | 64 | 55 | 59 | 71 | 82 | 96 | 97 | 113 | 115 | 117 |
April is the driest month (55 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 117 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 23 nights a year. The climate in Overton →
The coast and beaches near Overton
28% of the area within 5 km of Overton is sea. 3 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 1 with a name.
Sea: 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.
3 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Nature reserves 2
Plus 1 nature reserve more.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 3
Plus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Plus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Lancaster, 3.5 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 96% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Heysham, Galgate and Lancaster have at least twice Overton’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Overton
Is Overton near a National Park?
Yes. Lake District National Park begins 12 mi north of the village’s edge. It covers 2,362 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 3.9 mi away.
What are the best walks near Overton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Lancashire Coastal Way.
How many people in Overton live near a park?
0% 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 Overton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Overton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 13% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 1% (0.1 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 Overton’s overall grade.
Where Overton’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.