426 km of footpaths run through the borough and the kilometre around it, 3.3 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Havering add up to 2.6 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 72% of residents. Havering grades C+ for the outdoors: #28 of 33 in London. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Havering’s strongest suit is the King Charles III England Coast Path, followed by its historic parks.
Outdoors grade
Havering grades C+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Havering, 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 40% of UK towns#28 of 33 in London · 43rd of 49 UK boroughs its size
Public green space2.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
63out of 100
A park within a walk72%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
34out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
66out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 3% 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
Havering is 43rd of 49 UK boroughs its size for the outdoors
The 49 UK towns and cities of 182,000 to 350,000 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
Havering3.3
Boroughs its size4.9
London towns5.7
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Havering2.6
Boroughs its size2.0
London towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Havering72%
Boroughs its size85%
London towns85%
All UK towns83%
Against boroughs its size, Havering stands out most for park space per resident: only 14 of the other 48 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 44 of the others do better.
7 in 10 Havering 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 (72%)Further (28%)
Havering72%
Boroughs its size85%
London towns85%
All UK towns83%
About 72,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 107 playgrounds are mapped in and around the borough, about one for every 2,424 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Kent Downs National Landscape is 6.8 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
Havering is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
426 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Havering and the kilometre around it, 3.3 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
King Charles III England Coast Path: Grain to Woolwich11.5 km
Thames Path9.4 km
London LOOP (Section 21)9.2 km
London LOOP (Section 23)7.5 km
London LOOP (Section 24)7.5 km
London LOOP (Section 22)7.2 km
London LOOP (Section 20)5.1 km
London LOOP (Section 1)4.6 km
Cray Riverway3.7 km
FP 73.0 km
FP 12.4 km
FP 1191.7 km
FP 2251.7 km
FP 831.6 km
FP 21.5 km
Green Chain Walk section 21.5 km
Plus 38 more waymarked walks on the map.
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Havering. 9 regional routes pass through, including the London LOOP (Section 21), London LOOP (Section 23), London LOOP (Section 24) and London LOOP (Section 22).
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 Havering
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Havering’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIUpminster Court1.9 ha
Listed buildings insideUpminster Hall Playing FieldsUpminster Hall and Entrance Piers and Gates to Upminster Court
Listed buildings insideLangtons GardensFairykytes (Havering Art Centre), Gazebo and Bath House at Langtons and Langtons and 1 more
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 Havering: May 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
8.7
7.8
High (°C)
8
9
11
15
18
21
23
23
20
16
11
9
Rain (mm)
53
42
36
40
46
49
49
55
48
66
63
57
March is the driest month (36 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 66 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 34 nights a year. The climate in Havering →
Things to do
10 viewpoints, 107 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
Chigwell Row, 5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Chigwell Row has at least twice Havering’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Havering
What is the biggest park in Havering?
Eastbrookend Country Park, 131 ha (323 acres), with 18 km of path. Harold Wood Park (113 ha) is second. 30 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the borough or within 400 m of it.
Is Havering near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Kent Downs National Landscape, 6.8 mi south of the borough’s edge. It covers 879 km² and was designated in 1968.
What are the best walks near Havering?
54 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the borough, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Grain to Woolwich, Thames Path and London LOOP (Section 21). Eastbrookend Country Park alone has 18 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Havering?
Northfleet Beach, 5.5 mi from the edge of the borough, then Dock Beach (6.2 mi). Havering itself is inland.
How many people in Havering live near a park?
72% 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 Havering?
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 Havering are historic?
Upminster Court (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Havering good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 66% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 63% (2.6 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 Havering’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: Trevor Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0