Thornton’s biggest
Wyre Estuary Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (111 acres)2.6 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.6 km of path
63 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ian Greig · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Thornton · parks, paths & countryside
Thornton is on the coast
The sea makes up 29% of the area within 5 km. 34 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.6 for every square kilometre. 71% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Thornton grades C for the outdoors: #50 of 65 in Lancashire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
71%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
34 km
1.6 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
The sea
29%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Thornton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast29% of the area within 5 km is sea; 1 beach mapped.Few mapped footpaths1.6 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Thornton’s strongest suit is the sea. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Thornton grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Thornton, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C
Better than 34% of UK towns#50 of 65 in Lancashire · 52nd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
48out of
100
100
A park within a walk71%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
32out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
19out of
100
100
The sea29%of the area within 5 km
92out 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
Thornton is 52nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 17,900 to 20,800 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
Thornton1.6
Towns its size3.4
Lancashire towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Thornton2.1
Towns its size2.2
Lancashire towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Thornton71%
Towns its size86%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
Thornton falls furthest behind on path per km², where 57 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camborne Cornwall | A+ | 2.2 | 93% | 4 | 8% |
| 2 | Littlehampton West Sussex | A+ | 2.1 | 99% | 3.1 | 18% |
| 3 | Litherland Merseyside | A | 7.3 | 94% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Buxton Derbyshire | A | 3.5 | 86% | 3.8 | 61% |
| 5 | Houghton Regis Bedfordshire | A | 3.5 | 81% | 8 | 20% |
| 6 | Colne Lancashire | A | 3.2 | 86% | 5.3 | 8% |
| 7 | Waltham Abbey Essex | A | 11.9 | 92% | 6.7 | 0% |
| 8 | Farnham Surrey | A | 5.1 | 73% | 4.3 | 35% |
| 9 | Hazlemere Buckinghamshire | A | 2.5 | 81% | 4.7 | 68% |
| 10 | Forest Town Nottinghamshire | A | 6.4 | 94% | 5.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Northwich Cheshire | A | 8.8 | 92% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Leek Staffordshire | A | 4.2 | 83% | 3.6 | 19% |
| 13 | Stratton St Margaret Wiltshire | A | 3.3 | 82% | 5.1 | 5% |
| 14 | Keynsham Somerset | A | 2.1 | 95% | 4.6 | 11% |
| 15 | Abbots Langley and Kings Langley Hertfordshire | A | 3.8 | 88% | 3.6 | 3% |
| 16 | Harwich Essex | A− | 1.7 | 95% | 2.1 | 20% |
| 17 | Peterlee County Durham | A− | 2.3 | 85% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Ebbw Vale Gwent | A− | 2 | 92% | 3.3 | 29% |
| 19 | Mansfield Woodhouse Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Devizes Wiltshire | A− | 1.8 | 91% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 21 | Walkden Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 92% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Belper Derbyshire | B+ | 2.4 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Eastwood Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 93% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 24 | Hythe and Dibden Purlieu Hampshire | B+ | 0.8 | 49% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 25 | Sandhurst Berkshire | B+ | 5.1 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 26 | Warminster Wiltshire | B+ | 1.7 | 86% | 3 | 44% |
| 27 | Hazel Grove Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.9 | 62% | 4.2 | 3% |
| 28 | Mirfield West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 90% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Ripley Derbyshire | B | 2.4 | 91% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Irlam Greater Manchester | B | 3.1 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Cradley Heath West Midlands | B | 3.3 | 76% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Penwortham Lancashire | B | 2.9 | 91% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Ely Cambridgeshire | B | 2.7 | 88% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Stanley County Durham | B | 1.7 | 88% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 35 | Shaw Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 96% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Stourport-on-Severn Worcestershire | B | 3.1 | 79% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Romsey Hampshire | B− | 1.2 | 82% | 4.5 | 2% |
| 38 | Ware Hertfordshire | B− | 2 | 81% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Guisborough North Yorkshire | B− | 1.5 | 80% | 2.6 | 35% |
| 40 | Calne Wiltshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 2.4 | 33% |
| 41 | Wednesbury West Midlands | B− | 2.7 | 93% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 42 | Carterton Oxfordshire | B− | 2.1 | 82% | 2 | 13% |
| 43 | Failsworth Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.8 | 77% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Rawmarsh South Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 84% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Maesteg Mid Glamorgan | C+ | 2 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Melksham Wiltshire | C+ | 2.2 | 87% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Bideford Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 83% | 1 | 11% |
| 48 | Newmarket Suffolk | C+ | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Knowle and Dorridge West Midlands | C+ | 2.7 | 82% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Adwick le Street South Yorkshire | C+ | 2.8 | 89% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Spennymoor County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Thornton Lancashire | C | 2.1 | 71% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Nantwich Cheshire | C | 2.2 | 86% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 54 | Sleaford Lincolnshire | C | 1.7 | 93% | 2 | 0% |
| 55 | Maghull Merseyside | C− | 1.6 | 86% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Skegness Lincolnshire | C− | 0.9 | 58% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Willerby and Anlaby East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.6 | 46% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Selby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.6 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Goole East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 81% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Tiverton Devon | D | 1.5 | 59% | 2.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Thornton’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 Thornton
The biggest is Wyre Estuary Country Park, 45 ha (111 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 65 ha (160 acres) and 6 km of path
Parks & gardens 48 haPlaying fields 16 ha
The two biggest, Wyre Estuary Country Park and Poolfoot Farm Training Ground, are 82% of the named green space and carry 3 km of path between them.
Poolfoot Farm Training Ground
Playing field
8.2 ha (20 acres)0.2 km of path
11 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
King George's Playing Fields
Playing field
6.4 ha (16 acres)0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Thornton
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Towers Wood
Park or garden · 60 m outside town
2.3 ha (6 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
North Drive Park
Playing field · 280 m outside town
1.8 ha (5 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.2 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Kenyon Gardens
Park or garden
1.4 ha (3 acres)0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Thornton 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 (71%)Further (29%)
Thornton71%
Towns its size86%
Lancashire towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 5,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 34 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 567 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Forest Of Bowland National Landscape is 9.7 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 Thornton
34 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Thornton and the kilometre around it, 1.6 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
Wyre Way (Fleetwood Peninsula Loop)18.7 km
Lancashire Coastal Way4.3 km
Wyre Way (Shard Bridge to Garstang)0.6 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Wyre Way (Fleetwood Peninsula Loop), Lancashire Coastal Way and Wyre Way (Shard Bridge to Garstang).
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 Thornton: 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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 86 | 66 | 59 | 57 | 55 | 63 | 70 | 80 | 80 | 121 | 107 | 107 |
May is the driest month (55 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 121 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 26 nights a year. The climate in Thornton →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Thornton
29% of the area within 5 km of Thornton is sea. 1 beach is mapped within 5 km, 0 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.
Things to do
34 playgrounds
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.
1Nature reserves3Picnic sites3.1× towns its size34Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size1Dog parks2Campsites
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Fleetwood Marsh19 ha · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 3
Plus 3 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 34
Carrabine Park0.4 mi from town
DirectionsBambinos Play Centre0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 32 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Fylde Dog Field0.8 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 2
Stannah House Caravan Park0.1 mi from town
DirectionsHigh Gate Barn Campsite1.1 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.
CleveleysCarletonHambletonPoulton-le-FyldeStalmineFleetwoodThornton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Carleton, 1.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Thornton
What is the biggest park in Thornton?
Wyre Estuary Country Park, 45 ha (111 acres), with 2.6 km of path. Poolfoot Farm Training Ground (8.2 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Thornton near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Forest Of Bowland National Landscape, 9.7 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 806 km² and was designated in 1964.
What are the best walks near Thornton?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Wyre Way (Fleetwood Peninsula Loop), Lancashire Coastal Way and Wyre Way (Shard Bridge to Garstang). Wyre Estuary Country Park alone has 2.6 km of path.
How many people in Thornton live near a park?
71% 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 Thornton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Thornton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 19% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 48% (2.1 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 Thornton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Thornton’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.