Hackney has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 375 km in the borough and the kilometre around it, 8.6 for every square kilometre. 97% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Hackney add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Hackney grades B for the outdoors: #14 of 33 in London. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Hackney’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by parks close to every home. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Hackney grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Hackney, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B
Better than 62% of UK towns#14 of 33 in London · 27th of 49 UK boroughs its size
Public green space1.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
26out of 100
A park within a walk97%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
77out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths8.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
100out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 2.1% sea, under the 5% that counts
42out of 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.
Boroughs its size
Hackney is 27th of 49 UK boroughs its size for the outdoors
The 49 UK towns and cities of 181,000 to 349,000 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
Hackney8.6
Boroughs its size4.9
London towns5.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Hackney1.4
Boroughs its size2.0
London towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Hackney97%
Boroughs its size85%
London towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against boroughs its size, Hackney stands out most for path per km²: only 1 of the other 48 has more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 39 of the others do better.
Almost everyone in Hackney lives 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 (97%)Further (3%)
Hackney97%
Boroughs its size85%
London towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 9,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 670 playgrounds are mapped in and around the borough, about one for every 386 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 14 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
375 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Hackney and the kilometre around it, 8.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the borough.
NationalRegionalLocalOther waymarked
London to Walsingham - stage 0111.4 km
New River Path10.8 km
Green Link Walk (Section 2)7.9 km
Capital Ring (Section 12)7.4 km
Capital Ring (Section 13)6.1 km
Jubilee Greenway (section 3)5.7 km
Jubilee Walkway (Eastern Loop)5.6 km
Lea Valley Walk5.3 km
The Barbican Highwalks4.8 km
Jubilee Greenway (section 4)4.6 km
Greenwich Meridian Trail4.6 km
Green Link Walk (Section 3)3.9 km
Jack The Ripper Walk3.8 km
Green Link Walk (Section 1)3.8 km
Thames Path - northern bank3.6 km
Jubilee Walkway (City Loop)3.4 km
Plus 22 more waymarked walks on the map.
The Thames Path, a national route, passes Hackney. Close to home, the London to Walsingham - stage 01 has 11 km of local walk within 2 km of the borough. 24 regional routes pass through, including the New River Path, Green Link Walk (Section 2), Capital Ring (Section 12) and Capital Ring (Section 13).
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
4 historic parks, and what stands in them
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Hackney’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade II
Clissold Park
23 ha. A registered historic park (Grade II). 1 listed structure stands inside it or at its edge.
II*Refreshment Rooms
Registered · Grade II*Victoria Park1.4 ha
Registered · Grade IIAbney Park Cemetery13 ha
Registered · Grade IISpringfield Park1.2 ha
Listed buildings insideSt John's GardensOld Tower of Former Church of St Augustine, Church of St John and Beaufort Family Tomb, St John at Hackney Churchyard Gardens and 10 more
Heritage walks
Heritage Trail 1.5 km Southwark Cathedral to Otford 0.5 km
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 Hackney: April to September
The borough’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)
8.3
9.9
11.7
13.8
15.6
16.6
16.2
14.6
12.6
10.5
8.8
7.8
High (°C)
9
9
12
15
19
21
24
23
20
16
12
9
Rain (mm)
57
43
36
42
45
52
47
57
50
65
64
58
March is the driest month (36 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 24 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 65 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 21 nights a year. The climate in Hackney →
The coast
Beaches near Hackney
2% of the area within 5 km of Hackney is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 12 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.
Things to do
21 viewpoints and 670 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the borough in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK borough its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
City of London, 2.5 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Hackney
What is the biggest park in Hackney?
Victoria Park, 87 ha (214 acres), with 15.1 km of path. Finsbury Park (48 ha) is second. 30 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the borough or within 400 m of it.
Is Hackney near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 14 mi south-east of the borough’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Hackney?
38 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the borough, including the London to Walsingham - stage 01, New River Path and Green Link Walk (Section 2). Victoria Park alone has 15.1 km of path.
How many people in Hackney live near a park?
97% 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 Hackney?
April 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 Hackney are historic?
Abney Park Cemetery (Grade II), Clissold Park (Grade II), Springfield Park (Grade II) and Victoria Park (Grade II*) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Hackney good for walking?
For paths, yes: 8.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 100% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 26% (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 Hackney’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0