Haydock’s biggest
Lyme and Wood Pits Country Park
Park or garden
100 ha (246 acres)18.5 km of path
4 h 5 minto walk all 18.5 km of path
140 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Ian Greig · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Haydock · parks, paths & countryside
Haydock has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Haydock add up to 6.8 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 86% of residents. 57 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.7 for every square kilometre. Haydock grades B for the outdoors: #12 of 25 in Merseyside. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
6.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
86%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
57 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Outdoors grade
Haydock grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Haydock, 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 61% of UK towns#12 of 25 in Merseyside · 27th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space6.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
92out of
100
100
A park within a walk86%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
58out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
51out 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
Haydock is 27th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 15,300 to 17,100 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
Haydock2.7
Towns its size3.3
Merseyside towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Haydock6.8
Towns its size2.4
Merseyside towns3.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Haydock86%
Towns its size84%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Haydock stands out most for park space per resident: only 5 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 44 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saltash Cornwall | A+ | 2.4 | 96% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 2 | Prestatyn Clwyd | A+ | 3.3 | 92% | 2.9 | 14% |
| 3 | Conwy Clwyd | A+ | 2.9 | 82% | 3.6 | 13% |
| 4 | Swanscombe Kent | A+ | 3.3 | 90% | 8.5 | 0% |
| 5 | Clitheroe Lancashire | A | 3 | 98% | 3.1 | 59% |
| 6 | Hadfield Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 91% | 4.5 | 36% |
| 7 | Shiney Row and Penshaw Tyne and Wear | A | 9.6 | 98% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 8 | Bishop's Cleeve Gloucestershire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 3.9 | 35% |
| 9 | Connah's Quay Clwyd | A | 5.8 | 97% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Bedlington Northumberland | A | 5.1 | 94% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Bredbury and Woodley Greater Manchester | A | 4.8 | 94% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Lewes East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 83% | 4.6 | 75% |
| 13 | Kidsgrove Staffordshire | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 14 | Porthcawl Mid Glamorgan | A− | 3.5 | 82% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Hessle East Riding of Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 96% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Worcester Park and Stoneleigh Surrey | B+ | 7.3 | 76% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 17 | South Woodham Ferrers Essex | B+ | 7.8 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 18 | Wath upon Dearne South Yorkshire | B+ | 5.5 | 85% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Peacehaven East Sussex | B+ | 1.1 | 51% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 20 | Weybridge Surrey | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 21 | Burnham-on-Sea Somerset | B+ | 2.1 | 79% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 22 | Wombwell South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.4 | 92% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 23 | Whickham Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.9 | 77% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Swinton South Yorkshire | B+ | 3 | 97% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Brackley Northamptonshire | B | 2.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 26 | Tyldesley Greater Manchester | B | 2.3 | 97% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Haydock Merseyside | B | 6.8 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Westbury Wiltshire | B | 1.4 | 97% | 3.3 | 1% |
| 29 | Patchway Gloucestershire | B | 2.5 | 80% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Haslingden Lancashire | B | 1.8 | 89% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Wimborne Minster Dorset | B | 2.7 | 51% | 3.6 | 17% |
| 32 | Penrith Cumbria | B | 1.6 | 91% | 2.9 | 9% |
| 33 | Bangor Gwynedd | B | 0.9 | 79% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 34 | Wymondham Norfolk | B | 2.8 | 97% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Minster (Swale) Kent | B | 2.5 | 89% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 36 | St Ives Cambridgeshire | B− | 1.7 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Redruth Cornwall | B− | 1.5 | 78% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 38 | Hoyland South Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Knaresborough North Yorkshire | B− | 2.3 | 87% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Baildon West Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 71% | 7.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Mexborough South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 42 | Heysham Lancashire | B− | 1.4 | 83% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Teignmouth Devon | B− | 1.7 | 82% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Ramsbottom Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.1 | 74% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 45 | South Normanton and Pinxton Derbyshire | C+ | 1.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Elland West Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 69% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 47 | South Hayling Hampshire | C+ | 1 | 65% | 1.4 | 26% |
| 48 | Aldridge West Midlands | C+ | 3 | 83% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Hockley and Hawkwell Essex | C+ | 1.6 | 85% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Bodmin Cornwall | C+ | 1.1 | 87% | 2.4 | 3% |
| 51 | Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley Kent | C | 1.2 | 54% | 3.3 | 21% |
| 52 | Streetly West Midlands | C | 7.5 | 58% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Ripon North Yorkshire | C | 1 | 75% | 2.4 | 17% |
| 54 | Nailsea Somerset | C | 1.1 | 65% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Alsager Cheshire | C | 1.2 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Maltby South Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 78% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Hale Greater Manchester | C− | 2.4 | 50% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 58 | North Hykeham Lincolnshire | C− | 2.4 | 60% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Saffron Walden Essex | C− | 1.1 | 63% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Carmarthen Dyfed | D | 1.6 | 76% | 1.6 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Haydock’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 Haydock
The biggest is Lyme and Wood Pits Country Park, 100 ha (246 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Sankey Valley Park
Park or garden
56 ha (139 acres)2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
79 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-westfrom the centre
Wagon Lane
Directionsto the nearest entrance
King George V Playing Field
Playing field
6.3 ha (16 acres)0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Haydock
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Haydock 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 (86%)Further (14%)
Haydock86%
Towns its size84%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 2,300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 31 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 521 residents.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Haydock
57 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Haydock and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Haydock; its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Haydock: 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) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 80 | 65 | 58 | 58 | 60 | 70 | 84 | 80 | 82 | 100 | 87 | 102 |
March is the driest month (58 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 102 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. The climate in Haydock →
Things to do
31 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
Haydock is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Tranmere Beach14 mi from Haydock’s edge
DirectionsCrosby Beach14 mi from Haydock’s edge
DirectionsWader Point15 mi from Haydock’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South15 mi from Haydock’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North15 mi from Haydock’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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Weathercock Hill1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 31
Fosters Road Children's Play Areain town
DirectionsBlackbrook Park Children's Play Area0.0 mi from town
DirectionsAshurst Children's Play Area0.4 mi from town
DirectionsChain Lane Playground0.5 mi from town
DirectionsGaskell Park Children's Play Area0.6 mi from town
DirectionsThe Duckeries Children's Play Area0.7 mi from town
DirectionsNanny Goat Park Playground0.8 mi from town
DirectionsHaresfinch Play Area1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 23 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Newton-le-WillowsAshton-in-MakerfieldBillingeBurtonwoodSt HelensWinwickHaydock
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haydock | B | 6.8 | 86% | 0% |
| Newton-le-Willows 1.9 mi | A− | 5.2 | 99% | 0% |
| Ashton-in-Makerfield 2.1 mi | B− | 2.6 | 93% | 0% |
| Billinge 2.3 mi | C | 0.9 | 94% | 0% |
| Burtonwood 2.5 mi | B− | 3.3 | 93% | 0% |
| St Helens 3.1 mi | B | 3.4 | 91% | 0% |
| Winwick 4.0 mi | C− | 3.2 | 48% | 0% |
Newton-le-Willows, 1.9 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 99% 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 Haydock
What is the biggest park in Haydock?
Lyme and Wood Pits Country Park, 100 ha (246 acres), with 18.5 km of path. Sankey Valley Park (56 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Haydock near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Haydock.
What is the nearest beach to Haydock?
Tranmere Beach, 14 mi from the edge of the town, then Crosby Beach (14 mi). Haydock itself is inland.
How many people in Haydock live near a park?
86% 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 Haydock?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Haydock good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 51% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 92% (6.8 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 Haydock’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Haydock’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.