Heswall’s biggest
Wirral Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (110 acres)11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
62 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi south-westfrom the centre
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Heswall · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Heswall
The sea makes up 21% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Heswall add up to 1.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 56% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Heswall grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
56%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
82 km
2.3 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
The sea
21%
of the area within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Heswall?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Hills with a view5 mapped viewpoints, about 5× as many per resident as the typical town its size.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.Less park per person1.1 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Heswall’s strongest suit is its views, followed by the King Charles III England Coast Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Heswall grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Heswall, 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 21% of UK towns#24 of 25 in Merseyside
Public green space1.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
16out of
100
100
A park within a walk56%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
17out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
39out of
100
100
The sea21%of the area within 5 km
90out 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 Heswall compares with UK towns of 26,700 to 31,700
The 60 UK towns and cities of 26,700 to 31,700 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
Heswall2.3
Towns its size3.3
Merseyside towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Heswall1.1
Towns its size2.2
Merseyside towns3.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Heswall56%
Towns its size84%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
Heswall falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 53 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yate Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.3 | 99% | 6.8 | 11% |
| 2 | Jarrow Tyne and Wear | A+ | 5.3 | 90% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Northfleet Kent | A | 2 | 85% | 7.7 | 4% |
| 4 | Stalybridge Greater Manchester | A | 5 | 82% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 5 | Ashington Northumberland | A | 5.6 | 83% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 6 | Penarth South Glamorgan | A | 3.5 | 83% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 7 | Witney Oxfordshire | A | 2.5 | 88% | 4.6 | 19% |
| 8 | Woodley Berkshire | A | 5 | 81% | 4.3 | 1% |
| 9 | Lancing and Sompting West Sussex | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3 | 37% |
| 10 | Prestwich Greater Manchester | A | 9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Totton Hampshire | A | 1.6 | 94% | 4.4 | 50% |
| 12 | Burntwood Staffordshire | A− | 5.3 | 81% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 13 | Ewell Surrey | A− | 7.5 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Stretford Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 92% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Tadworth and Epsom Downs Surrey | A− | 3.4 | 65% | 5.3 | 16% |
| 16 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 73% | 3.2 | 18% |
| 17 | Cleethorpes Lincolnshire | A− | 3 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Daventry Northamptonshire | A− | 4.1 | 99% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Eston North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 93% | 2.8 | 2% |
| 20 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 84% | 2.9 | 2% |
| 21 | Cramlington Northumberland | B+ | 2.3 | 91% | 6.6 | 0% |
| 22 | Haverhill Suffolk | B+ | 2.4 | 91% | 5 | 0% |
| 23 | Longbenton Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.3 | 80% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Deal Kent | B+ | 1 | 86% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 25 | Farnworth Greater Manchester | B+ | 3 | 85% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Pontypool Gwent | B+ | 3.6 | 93% | 1.8 | 7% |
| 27 | Colwyn Bay Clwyd | B+ | 1.9 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 28 | Windsor Berkshire | B | 5.5 | 83% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Shipley West Yorkshire | B | 2.1 | 87% | 6 | 0% |
| 30 | Consett County Durham | B | 1.7 | 87% | 3.1 | 19% |
| 31 | Darwen Lancashire | B | 2.2 | 89% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Witham Essex | B | 1.9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Egham Surrey | B | 4.1 | 63% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Bushey Hertfordshire | B | 3.1 | 77% | 4 | 0% |
| 35 | Atherton Greater Manchester | B | 3.8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 36 | Rhyl Clwyd | B | 1 | 84% | 2.2 | 7% |
| 37 | Evesham Worcestershire | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 3.5 | 4% |
| 38 | Stanford-le-Hope Essex | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 39 | Radcliffe Greater Manchester | B− | 1.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 40 | Melton Mowbray Leicestershire | B− | 3.3 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Kendal Cumbria | C+ | 0.9 | 67% | 4 | 33% |
| 42 | Horley Surrey | C+ | 1.9 | 84% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Newton Abbot Devon | C+ | 2.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 6% |
| 44 | Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire | C | 1.6 | 84% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 45 | Newark-on-Trent Nottinghamshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 2 | 0% |
| 46 | Walton-on-Thames Surrey | C | 1.6 | 81% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Bedworth Warwickshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Frome Somerset | C | 1.3 | 78% | 2.4 | 9% |
| 49 | Barnstaple Devon | C | 1.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.7 | 92% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Wickford Essex | C | 2.4 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 52 | Congleton Cheshire | C | 1.7 | 72% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Hertford Hertfordshire | C | 0.9 | 65% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 54 | Rushden Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Heywood Greater Manchester | C− | 1.3 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Heswall Merseyside | C− | 1.1 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Port Talbot West Glamorgan | C− | 1.3 | 68% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 58 | Ormskirk Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Spalding Lincolnshire | D | 1.1 | 85% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Wisbech Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Heswall’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 Heswall
The biggest is Wirral Country Park, 45 ha (110 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 8 named parks by size: 178 ha (439 acres) and 42 km of path
Parks & gardens 176 haPlaying fields 1.6 ha
The two biggest, Wirral Country Park and Wirral Country Park, are 50% of the named green space and carry 23 km of path between them.
Wirral Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (110 acres)11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
62 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi south-westfrom the centre
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Wirral Country Park
Park or garden
45 ha (110 acres)11.6 km of path
2 h 35 minto walk all 11.6 km of path
62 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi south-westfrom the centre
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Royden Park
Park or garden · 370 m outside town
28 ha (69 acres)4.3 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.3 km of path
39 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
2.1 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Whitfield Common
Park or garden
7.1 ha (18 acres)1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ridgewood Park
Park or garden
6.7 ha (16 acres)0.3 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Dawstone Park
Park or garden
0.7 ha (2 acres)0.4 km of path
0.9 mi southfrom the centre
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Puddy Dale
Playing field
1.6 ha (4 acres)0.2 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
6 in 10 Heswall 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 (56%)Further (44%)
Heswall56%
Towns its size84%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 13,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 25 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,163 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 8.6 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
8.6 mi west389 km²since 2011
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Heswall is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
82 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Heswall and the kilometre around it, 2.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
King Charles III England Coast Path: Birkenhead to Welsh Border10.1 km
Wirral Way8.5 km
Wirral Circular Trail8.5 km
Parkgate Walk4.7 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Heswall. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Wirral Way and Wirral Circular Trail.
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 Heswall: 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 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 61 | 50 | 51 | 50 | 52 | 63 | 66 | 73 | 73 | 83 | 83 | 84 |
April is the driest month (50 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 84 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 29 nights a year. The climate in Heswall →
The coast
Heswall is near the sea
21% of the area within 5 km of Heswall is sea. 6 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
The King Charles III England Coast Path passes the town.
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
5 viewpoints and 25 playgrounds
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.
5Viewpoints5× towns its size2Hills and peaks1Waterfalls6Nature reserves5.8× towns its size1Picnic sites25Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size1Campsites
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Poll Hill106 m (348 ft) · in town
DirectionsThurstaston Hill91 m (299 ft) · 0.3 mi from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 6
Heswall Dales - Local Nature Reservein town
DirectionsHeswall Dales - SSSIin town
DirectionsHeswall Dales and Cleaver Heath Nature Reserve32 ha · in town
DirectionsThurstaston Common38 ha · 0.2 mi from town
DirectionsThe Dungeon (SSSI)1.3 ha · 0.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 25
Plus 25 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite 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.
GreasbyCaldyBirkenheadNestonWest KirbyBebingtonHeswall
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heswall | C− | 1.1 | 56% | 0% |
| Greasby 2.8 mi | A | 5.9 | 74% | 0% |
| Caldy 3.1 mi | A− | 19.3 | 47% | 0% |
| Birkenhead 3.5 mi | B+ | 3.1 | 71% | 0% |
| Neston 3.7 mi | B+ | 2.7 | 91% | 0% |
| West Kirby 3.9 mi | B | 1.9 | 68% | 0% |
| Bebington 4.2 mi | B+ | 3.0 | 86% | 0% |
Greasby, 2.8 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 74% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Greasby, Caldy and Birkenhead have at least twice Heswall’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Heswall
What is the biggest park in Heswall?
Wirral Country Park, 45 ha (110 acres), with 11.6 km of path. Wirral Country Park (45 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Heswall near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 8.6 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Heswall?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Birkenhead to Welsh Border, Wirral Way and Wirral Circular Trail. Wirral Country Park alone has 11.6 km of path.
How many people in Heswall live near a park?
56% 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 Heswall?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Heswall good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 39% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 16% (1.1 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 Heswall’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Heswall’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.