Aintree’s biggest
Aintree Parish Playing Field
Playing field
3.5 ha (9 acres)
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Aintree
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ben Brooksbank · CC BY-SA 2.0DOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Aintree · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Aintree
43% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Aintree add up to 1.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 29 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.5 for every square kilometre. Aintree grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
43%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
29 km
2.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Aintree grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Aintree, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
D
Better than 8% of UK towns#25 of 25 in Merseyside
Public green space1.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
22out of
100
100
A park within a walk43%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
10out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
45out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out 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
How Aintree compares with UK towns of 5,900 to 6,500
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,900 to 6,500 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
Aintree2.5
Towns its size2.7
Merseyside towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Aintree1.3
Towns its size2.2
Merseyside towns3.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Aintree43%
Towns its size80%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
Aintree falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 55 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netley Hampshire | A+ | 16.3 | 100% | 4.1 | 4% |
| 2 | Stone Kent | A+ | 3.1 | 100% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 3 | Wingerworth Derbyshire | A | 9 | 86% | 4 | 0% |
| 4 | Boldon Colliery Tyne and Wear | A | 5.3 | 95% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 5 | Bedwas Gwent | A | 4.4 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 6 | Barnton Cheshire | A− | 10 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 7 | Marston Moretaine Bedfordshire | A− | 17.4 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 8 | Alcester Warwickshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Ackworth Moor Top West Yorkshire | A− | 4.6 | 91% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Burghfield Common Berkshire | A− | 2.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 8% |
| 11 | Dodworth South Yorkshire | A− | 2.3 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 12 | Broadbridge Heath West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 95% | 4.3 | 3% |
| 13 | Milford and Witley Surrey | B+ | 2.6 | 54% | 3.7 | 78% |
| 14 | Cawston Warwickshire | B+ | 3.6 | 98% | 3 | 0% |
| 15 | Crofton West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 16 | Axminster Devon | B | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 66% |
| 17 | Hindhead Surrey | B | 1.7 | 37% | 5.9 | 66% |
| 18 | Galleywood Essex | B | 10.3 | 61% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 19 | Throckley Tyne and Wear | B | 3.1 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Wixams Bedfordshire | B | 5.3 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 21 | Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Northumberland | B | 2.2 | 77% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 22 | East Wittering West Sussex | B | 1.1 | 78% | 1.9 | 27% |
| 23 | Oundle Northamptonshire | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Bovey Tracey Devon | B− | 2.2 | 66% | 2.5 | 55% |
| 25 | Yapton West Sussex | B− | 1.8 | 63% | 2 | 15% |
| 26 | Upton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Great Torrington Devon | B− | 2.6 | 88% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Danbury Essex | B− | 3.9 | 34% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Ushaw Moor and Bearpark County Durham | C+ | 1.6 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 30 | South Molton Devon | C+ | 2.2 | 96% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Annesley Woodhouse Nottinghamshire | C+ | 1.1 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Kirby Cross Essex | C+ | 2.4 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Waltham Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.2 | 84% | 1.3 | 19% |
| 34 | Oakdale Gwent | C+ | 5.2 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Lower Willingdon East Sussex | C+ | 0.8 | 57% | 4.2 | 33% |
| 36 | Tetbury Gloucestershire | C+ | 1.2 | 66% | 2.6 | 88% |
| 37 | Malton North Yorkshire | C+ | 2.3 | 43% | 2.4 | 24% |
| 38 | Strensall North Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 89% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 39 | Bowdon Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Cross Hands and Pen-y-groes Dyfed | C | 9.7 | 70% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Ilminster Somerset | C− | 2.3 | 61% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Ottery St Mary Devon | C− | 1.2 | 71% | 1.7 | 34% |
| 43 | Gildersome West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 81% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Studley Warwickshire | C− | 1.6 | 63% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 45 | Great Shelford and Stapleford Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.6 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Weaverham Cheshire | C− | 0.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 47 | Stainforth South Yorkshire | C− | 2.2 | 80% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Boston Spa West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 86% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 49 | Cottenham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 86% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Washingborough and Heighington Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 66% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Staplehurst Kent | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 52 | Arlesey Bedfordshire | D | 0.9 | 51% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Werrington Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 42% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 54 | Wem Shropshire | D | 1.2 | 77% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Aintree Merseyside | D | 1.3 | 43% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Selston Nottinghamshire | D | 0.9 | 61% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Earls Barton Northamptonshire | D | 1.5 | 71% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 58 | Thurcroft South Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 59 | Abercynon Mid Glamorgan | D− | 1.1 | 55% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Tadcaster North Yorkshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 1.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Aintree’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 Aintree
The biggest is Aintree Parish Playing Field, 3.5 ha (9 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Deerbarn Park
Park or garden · 190 m outside town
0.7 ha (2 acres)0.1 km of path
0.7 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
4 in 10 Aintree 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 (43%)Further (57%)
Aintree43%
Towns its size80%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 3,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 22 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 282 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 19 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
National Landscape
Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley
19 mi south-west389 km²since 2011
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Aintree
29 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Aintree and the kilometre around it, 2.5 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
Trans-Pennine Trail (Southport to Liverpool)7.8 km
The regional route here is the Trans-Pennine Trail (Southport to Liverpool).
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 Aintree: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 77 | 64 | 56 | 55 | 61 | 70 | 76 | 71 | 84 | 90 | 92 | 92 |
April is the driest month (55 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 92 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 27 nights a year. The climate in Aintree →
Things to do
22 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
Aintree is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Crosby Beach3.9 mi from Aintree’s edge
DirectionsBrazil Bank5.2 mi from Aintree’s edge
DirectionsTranmere Beach6.7 mi from Aintree’s edge
DirectionsTaylor's Bank7.5 mi from Aintree’s edge
DirectionsEast Hoyle Bank11 mi from Aintree’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 22
Copy Farm Playground0.5 mi from town
DirectionsCopthorne Aventure Playground0.6 mi from town
DirectionsFernbank Playground0.6 mi from town
DirectionsRice Lane Recreation Ground Playground1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Copy Farm Dog Park0.5 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.
MaghullBootleKirkbyLitherlandLydiateCrosbyAintree
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Litherland, 2.5 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 94% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Litherland and Crosby have at least twice Aintree’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Aintree
What is the biggest park in Aintree?
Aintree Parish Playing Field, 3.5 ha (9 acres). Deerbarn Park (0.7 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Aintree near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 19 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Aintree?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Trans-Pennine Trail (Southport to Liverpool).
What is the nearest beach to Aintree?
Crosby Beach, 3.9 mi from the edge of the town, then Brazil Bank (5.2 mi). Aintree itself is inland.
How many people in Aintree live near a park?
43% 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 Aintree?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Aintree good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 45% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 22% (1.3 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 Aintree’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Aintree’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.