Padiham’s biggest
Memorial Park
Park or garden
6.2 ha (15 acres)2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Padiham
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Padiham · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Padiham lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
95% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Footpaths add up to 71 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.5 for every square kilometre. The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape begins 1.1 mi from the town’s edge. Padiham grades A− for the outdoors: #12 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
95%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
71 km
4.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
18%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Forest Of Bowland National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Padiham?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep95% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.A town of footpaths4.5 km of path per km², more than 88% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Forest Of Bowland National Landscape starts 1.1 mi north.Less park per person1.5 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Padiham’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by dense footpaths. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Padiham grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Padiham, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A−
Better than 80% of UK towns#12 of 65 in Lancashire · 12th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
27out of
100
100
A park within a walk95%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
75out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape18%of the land within 5 km
77out 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
Padiham is 12th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 9,500 to 10,800 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
Padiham4.5
Towns its size3.1
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Padiham1.5
Towns its size2.1
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Padiham95%
Towns its size84%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Padiham stands out most for path per km²: only 3 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 46 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caldicot Gwent | A+ | 4.2 | 92% | 3 | 2% |
| 2 | Brierfield Lancashire | A | 2.1 | 92% | 5.6 | 18% |
| 3 | South Merstham Surrey | A | 3.7 | 84% | 3.7 | 20% |
| 4 | Beccles Suffolk | A | 4.5 | 87% | 3.2 | 20% |
| 5 | Nuthall and Watnall Nottinghamshire | A | 6.3 | 97% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 6 | Bradford-on-Avon Wiltshire | A | 2.8 | 88% | 3.7 | 21% |
| 7 | Godalming Surrey | A− | 4.6 | 73% | 3.1 | 66% |
| 8 | Southborough Kent | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 2.5 | 57% |
| 9 | Soham Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 10 | Platt Bridge and Abram Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 11 | Kings Hill Kent | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 12 | Padiham Lancashire | A− | 1.5 | 95% | 4.5 | 18% |
| 13 | Bingham Nottinghamshire | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire | A− | 4 | 85% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Whitwick Leicestershire | A− | 4.2 | 84% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Chadwell St Mary Essex | A− | 3.2 | 97% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 17 | Egglescliffe County Durham | A− | 4.9 | 94% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Yarm North Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 19 | Tidworth Wiltshire | B+ | 3.7 | 90% | 2.3 | 8% |
| 20 | Pelsall West Midlands | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Corfe Mullen Dorset | B+ | 3.1 | 72% | 3.5 | 13% |
| 22 | Woodbridge Suffolk | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 23 | Cranleigh Surrey | B | 2.5 | 20% | 4.3 | 38% |
| 24 | Baldock Hertfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Shildon County Durham | B | 2.8 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Ludlow Shropshire | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2.1 | 16% |
| 27 | North Wingfield and Holmewood Derbyshire | B | 2.7 | 84% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Great Dunmow Essex | B | 2 | 92% | 4 | 0% |
| 29 | Queensbury West Yorkshire | B | 2.6 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Immingham Lincolnshire | B | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Pembroke Dock Dyfed | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 1.1 | 25% |
| 32 | Caernarfon Gwynedd | B− | 1.7 | 83% | 1.4 | 14% |
| 33 | Horbury West Yorkshire | B− | 2.5 | 75% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Mildenhall Suffolk | B− | 2.1 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Monmouth Gwent | B− | 1.5 | 69% | 3.1 | 45% |
| 36 | Radstock Somerset | B− | 1.1 | 93% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 37 | Whitchurch Shropshire | B− | 2.7 | 86% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Mold Clwyd | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 1.6 | 17% |
| 39 | Baglan West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Raunds Northamptonshire | C+ | 4.7 | 74% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Crook County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 85% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Lydney Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.1 | 52% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Abertillery Gwent | C | 2.4 | 69% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Selsey West Sussex | C | 1.6 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Diss Norfolk | C | 1.5 | 80% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Barnham West Sussex | C | 1.3 | 70% | 2.3 | 32% |
| 47 | Kippax West Yorkshire | C | 1.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Shepton Mallet Somerset | C | 1.2 | 70% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 49 | Catshill Worcestershire | C | 1.4 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Prudhoe Northumberland | C− | 1.7 | 37% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Epping Essex | C− | 1.2 | 70% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Polegate East Sussex | C− | 0.8 | 64% | 2.2 | 24% |
| 53 | Lutterworth Leicestershire | C− | 1.7 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 54 | West Moors Dorset | C− | 0.9 | 33% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Haxby North Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 59% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Sherborne Dorset | D | 1.2 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Broughton Astley Leicestershire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Burton Latimer Northamptonshire | D | 0.9 | 62% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Pocklington East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Ponteland Northumberland | D− | 1.1 | 36% | 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 Padiham’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 Padiham
The biggest is Memorial Park, 6.2 ha (15 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Fennyfold Playing Fields
Playing field
3.7 ha (9 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Padiham
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Whitegate Park
Park or garden
0.6 ha (2 acres)0.2 km of path
0.4 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Padiham’s homes are to 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 (95%)Further (5%)
Padiham95%
Towns its size84%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 20 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 506 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 1.1 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
National Landscape
Forest Of Bowland
1.1 mi north806 km²since 196418% of the land within 5 km
Official site18% of the land within 5 km of Padiham is National Park or National Landscape, more than 76% of UK towns. Yorkshire Dales National Park covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Padiham
71 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Padiham 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.
RegionalLocal
Burnley Way9.8 km
Bronte Way4.2 km
Huncoat Trail3.9 km
Pendle Way2.8 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Burnley Way, Bronte Way and Pendle Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A registered historic park in Padiham
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Padiham’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIGawthorpe Hall2.2 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 Padiham: 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 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 104 | 98 | 84 | 65 | 67 | 81 | 90 | 97 | 97 | 115 | 119 | 136 |
April is the driest month (65 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 136 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Padiham →
Things to do
20 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
Padiham is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Treasure Beach6.3 mi from Padiham’s edge
DirectionsCar Park Beach14 mi from Padiham’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North14 mi from Padiham’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South14 mi from Padiham’s edge
DirectionsStone Beach14 mi from Padiham’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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 20
Plus 20 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.
HaptonReadHuncoatSabdenBurnleyClayton-le-MoorsPadiham
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Huncoat, 2.3 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Huncoat and Burnley have at least twice Padiham’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Padiham
What is the biggest park in Padiham?
Memorial Park, 6.2 ha (15 acres), with 2.1 km of path. Fennyfold Playing Fields (3.7 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Padiham near a National Park?
Yes. Yorkshire Dales National Park begins 14 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 1.1 mi away.
What are the best walks near Padiham?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Burnley Way, Bronte Way and Huncoat Trail. Memorial Park alone has 2.1 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Padiham?
Treasure Beach, 6.3 mi from the edge of the town, then Car Park Beach (14 mi). Padiham itself is inland.
How many people in Padiham live near a park?
95% 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 Padiham?
May 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 Padiham are historic?
Gawthorpe Hall (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Padiham 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 27% (1.5 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 Padiham’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Padiham’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.