Photo: Mat Fascione · CC BY-SA 2.084% of Croft’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Footpaths add up to 16 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.8 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Croft add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Croft grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Croft grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Croft, 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.
Croft is 50th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,700 to 1,800 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Croft falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 43 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llanbadarn Fawr Dyfed | A+ | 14.7 | 82% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 2 | Wanborough Wiltshire | A+ | 6 | 100% | 2.7 | 45% |
| 3 | Trimley St Martin Suffolk | A+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.9 | 43% |
| 4 | Woodbury Devon | A | 3.3 | 100% | 0.9 | 26% |
| 5 | Malvern Wells Worcestershire | A | 10.8 | 37% | 5.3 | 57% |
| 6 | Elstree Hertfordshire | A | 22 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 7 | Grain Kent | A | 13 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 8 | Upchurch Kent | A | 4 | 76% | 2.3 | 7% |
| 9 | New Hartley Northumberland | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 10 | Hamstreet Kent | A− | 2.3 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Wembdon Somerset | A− | 7.4 | 88% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 12 | Ingleton North Yorkshire | B+ | 1.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 54% |
| 13 | Harthill South Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 14 | Pendlebury Greater Manchester | B+ | 18.5 | 74% | 4 | 0% |
| 15 | Eight Ash Green Essex | B+ | 8.2 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Criccieth Gwynedd | B | 2.9 | 75% | 1.3 | 4% |
| 17 | Denby Bottles Derbyshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Rackheath Norfolk | B | 2.6 | 100% | 1 | 14% |
| 19 | South Hiendley West Yorkshire | B | 13.4 | 87% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 20 | North Benfleet Essex | B | 11 | 56% | 4 | 0% |
| 21 | East Bridgford Nottinghamshire | B− | 1.4 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Great Bentley Essex | B− | 6.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Bryn Dyfed | B− | 2.9 | 67% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 24 | Flockton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 25 | Winkfield Row Berkshire | B− | 11 | 80% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Much Wenlock Shropshire | B− | 2.4 | 13% | 3.6 | 20% |
| 27 | Summit Greater Manchester | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Feniton Devon | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 17% |
| 29 | Dunvant West Glamorgan | C+ | 4.3 | 36% | 1.8 | 30% |
| 30 | Langho Lancashire | C+ | 1.6 | 74% | 3 | 7% |
| 31 | Great Chesterford Essex | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Cheddington Buckinghamshire | C+ | 2.2 | 35% | 3.1 | 16% |
| 33 | North Leigh Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.3 | 56% | 2.4 | 26% |
| 34 | Sharnbrook Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 35 | Bury Cambridgeshire | C+ | 1.1 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Duckmanton Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Great Broughton and Little Broughton Cumbria | C | 1.2 | 85% | 2.3 | 1% |
| 38 | Doveridge Derbyshire | C | 1.7 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 39 | Shireoaks Nottinghamshire | C | 1.5 | 78% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 40 | Billington Lancashire | C− | 0.5 | 0% | 3.9 | 14% |
| 41 | Poyle Berkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 42 | West Thorney West Sussex | C− | 0.4 | 0% | 0.9 | 55% |
| 43 | Embsay North Yorkshire | C− | 0.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 44 | Deddington Oxfordshire | C− | 3.6 | 53% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Middle Barton Oxfordshire | C− | 1.9 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Elmstead Market Essex | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Pattingham Staffordshire | C− | 2 | 80% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Higher Kinnerton Clwyd | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Sudbrooke Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 82% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Croft Leicestershire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Charminster Dorset | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2 | 56% |
| 52 | Glinton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 79% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Shrewton Wiltshire | D | 1.4 | 42% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Frizington Cumbria | D | 1.4 | 52% | 0.9 | 15% |
| 55 | Aiskew North Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Houghton on the Hill Leicestershire | D | 1.8 | 60% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Johnston Dyfed | D | 1.4 | 55% | 0.6 | 5% |
| 58 | Bramham West Yorkshire | D− | 1.4 | 47% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Necton Norfolk | D− | 1.5 | 17% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Hambleton North Yorkshire | D− | 0.1 | 52% | 1.1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Croft’s built-up area.
How close Croft’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).
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 4 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 437 residents.
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Croft
16 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Croft and the kilometre around it, 1.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
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 Croft: May, June, August and 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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 45 | 41 | 48 | 51 | 60 | 68 | 62 | 49 | 60 | 62 | 62 |
March is the driest month (41 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 68 mm of rain falls in July, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 49 nights a year. The climate in Croft →
4 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Croft 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.
Up high. Croft Hill, at 128 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Croft.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Playgrounds 4
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
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.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croft | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 0% |
| Huncote 1.2 mi | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 0% |
| Stoney Stanton 1.7 mi | B− | 2.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Littlethorpe 1.9 mi | C− | 0.4 | 57% | 0% |
| Enderby and Narborough 2.0 mi | B | 1.9 | 89% | 0% |
| Sapcote 2.0 mi | C− | 2.4 | 67% | 0% |
| Broughton Astley 2.1 mi | D | 1.0 | 82% | 0% |
Enderby and Narborough, 2 miles away, grades B, the best next door: 89% 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 Croft
Is Croft near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Croft.
What are the best walks near Croft?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Bridleway V44, Footpath V51 and Bridleway V53.
What is the nearest beach to Croft?
library, 9.2 mi from the edge of the village. Croft itself is inland.
How many people in Croft live near a park?
84% 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 Croft?
May, June, August and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Croft good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 24% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 24% (1.4 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 Croft’s overall grade.
Where Croft’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.