Photo: Edmundbolingbroke1958 · Public domainParks and walks in Markfield
Parks and playing fields in Markfield add up to 0.8 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 63% of residents. 35 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.7 for every square kilometre. Markfield grades D for the outdoors: #46 of 50 in Leicestershire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Markfield grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Markfield, 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.
How Markfield compares with UK towns of 4,600 to 5,000
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,600 to 5,000 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Markfield falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 57 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rye East Sussex | A+ | 3.5 | 89% | 3.5 | 46% |
| 2 | Frinton-on-Sea Essex | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 3 | Windermere Cumbria | A+ | 3 | 94% | 3.6 | 100% |
| 4 | Rownhams and Nursling Hampshire | A+ | 4.9 | 86% | 6.7 | 12% |
| 5 | Marple Bridge Greater Manchester | A | 9.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 13% |
| 6 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Huntington Staffordshire | A | 3.7 | 74% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 9 | Carleton Lancashire | A | 3 | 86% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Rudheath Cheshire | A | 5.5 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Writtle Essex | A− | 5.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 12 | Cringleford Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 94% | 7.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Dersingham Norfolk | A− | 3.1 | 76% | 1.9 | 39% |
| 14 | Liss Hampshire | A− | 2.3 | 87% | 2.6 | 98% |
| 15 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Saxmundham Suffolk | B+ | 3.3 | 100% | 1.9 | 3% |
| 17 | Hugglescote Leicestershire | B+ | 4.2 | 91% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Borough Green Kent | B+ | 2.5 | 93% | 1.9 | 50% |
| 19 | Bodicote Oxfordshire | B+ | 10.2 | 86% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Kings Worthy Hampshire | B+ | 3.9 | 66% | 3 | 23% |
| 21 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 22 | Callington Cornwall | B | 2.1 | 100% | 1.1 | 21% |
| 23 | Coedpoeth Clwyd | B | 1.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 24% |
| 24 | Lyneham Wiltshire | B− | 1.5 | 94% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 25 | Lenham and Harrietsham Kent | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.4 | 47% |
| 26 | Chalfont St Giles Buckinghamshire | B− | 1.8 | 57% | 3.5 | 37% |
| 27 | Kelvedon and Feering Essex | B− | 3.5 | 94% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 28 | Astley Greater Manchester | B− | 3.5 | 78% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Bromham Bedfordshire | B− | 3.8 | 87% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Handsacre and Armitage Staffordshire | B− | 1.8 | 89% | 2.1 | 12% |
| 31 | Llay Clwyd | B− | 10.6 | 85% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Dudley Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.6 | 69% | 4 | 0% |
| 33 | Bramley Hampshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Dickens Heath West Midlands | C+ | 3.2 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Loughor West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.1 | 70% | 1.2 | 6% |
| 36 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 37 | Cross Hills North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 3 | 0% |
| 38 | Ripponden West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Edwalton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 2.1 | 58% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Shortstown Bedfordshire | C | 2.4 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Datchet Berkshire | C | 8.4 | 72% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Bowburn County Durham | C | 1.5 | 71% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Minster (Thanet) Kent | C | 2.3 | 64% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Makeney Derbyshire | C | 2.1 | 56% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Mynydd Isa Clwyd | C | 0.9 | 87% | 2 | 3% |
| 46 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 47 | Winterton Lincolnshire | C | 1.6 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Kinver Staffordshire | C | 3.1 | 60% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Woodhall Spa Lincolnshire | C− | 1.9 | 61% | 3 | 0% |
| 50 | Barton-under-Needwood Staffordshire | C− | 2.3 | 70% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea Lancashire | C− | 0.7 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Bricket Wood Hertfordshire | C− | 1.7 | 43% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Middleton St George County Durham | C− | 1.8 | 94% | 1 | 0% |
| 54 | Sowerby North Yorkshire | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Bailrigg Lancashire | C− | 0 | 0% | 3.4 | 18% |
| 56 | Stretton Staffordshire | C− | 3.7 | 49% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | South Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.5 | 43% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Markfield Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Chilton County Durham | D− | 1.1 | 68% | 1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Markfield’s built-up area.
6 in 10 Markfield 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 1,800 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 town, about one for every 1,190 residents.
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Markfield
35 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Markfield and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
3 regional routes pass through, including the Leicestershire Round, National Forest Way and Ivanhoe 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 Markfield: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 51 | 48 | 52 | 54 | 68 | 70 | 67 | 61 | 72 | 68 | 69 |
March is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 72 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 53 nights a year. The climate in Markfield →
4 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
Markfield is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
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. Markfield Hill, at 222 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Markfield.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Anstey, 3.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Thornton, Groby and Bagworth have at least twice Markfield’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Markfield
Is Markfield near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Markfield.
What are the best walks near Markfield?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Leicestershire Round, National Forest Way and Ivanhoe Way.
What is the nearest beach to Markfield?
library, 13 mi from the edge of the town. Markfield itself is inland.
How many people in Markfield live near a park?
63% 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 Markfield?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Markfield good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 53% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 9% (0.8 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 Markfield’s overall grade.
Where Markfield’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.