Photo: S Parish · CC BY-SA 2.0Hightown is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 35% of the area within 5 km. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 44% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Hightown add up to 1.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Hightown grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Hightown?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Hightown’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the King Charles III England Coast Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Hightown grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Hightown, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Hightown is 44th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,900 to 2,100 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Hightown stands out most for path per km²: only 25 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 49 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meliden Clwyd | A+ | 4.2 | 100% | 4.2 | 21% |
| 2 | Vigo Village Kent | A+ | 33.3 | 100% | 2.9 | 44% |
| 3 | Llanfoist Gwent | A+ | 10.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 57% |
| 4 | Ditchingham Norfolk | A+ | 17.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 5 | Fowey Cornwall | A | 3.2 | 91% | 2.1 | 32% |
| 6 | Lower Kingswood Surrey | A | 4.7 | 75% | 6.6 | 22% |
| 7 | Bournmoor County Durham | A | 11 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 8 | Chiseldon Wiltshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 3.4 | 69% |
| 9 | Upper Rissington Gloucestershire | A | 6.2 | 100% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 10 | Churchill Somerset | A | 2.8 | 84% | 3.9 | 39% |
| 11 | Wrington Somerset | A | 3.2 | 100% | 2.6 | 20% |
| 12 | Y Bala Gwynedd | A | 4 | 100% | 1.4 | 67% |
| 13 | Highfields Caldecote Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 14 | Bishops Lydeard Somerset | A− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 23% |
| 15 | Great Haywood Staffordshire | A− | 7.1 | 27% | 4.1 | 29% |
| 16 | Stowupland Suffolk | A− | 5.3 | 83% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 17 | Yealmpton Devon | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 1.8 | 50% |
| 18 | Culverstone Green Kent | B+ | 5.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 42% |
| 19 | Brompton North Yorkshire | B+ | 4.7 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 20 | Valley Gwynedd | B+ | 5 | 33% | 1.2 | 37% |
| 21 | Sandford Dorset | B | 0.3 | 43% | 4.7 | 41% |
| 22 | Meppershall Bedfordshire | B | 2.3 | 83% | 3 | 2% |
| 23 | Welsh Bicknor Gloucestershire | B | 2.7 | 31% | 3.3 | 45% |
| 24 | Dyserth Clwyd | B− | 0.5 | 54% | 3.6 | 22% |
| 25 | Wheaton Aston Staffordshire | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 26 | Felbridge Surrey | B− | 2 | 80% | 2.4 | 25% |
| 27 | Trelewis Mid Glamorgan | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Uffculme Devon | B− | 2.8 | 86% | 1.3 | 14% |
| 29 | Edenfield Lancashire | B− | 2.7 | 69% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Rothbury Northumberland | B− | 1 | 76% | 3.8 | 21% |
| 31 | Exning Suffolk | B− | 3.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Barmouth Gwynedd | B− | 0.5 | 60% | 2 | 53% |
| 33 | Northleach Gloucestershire | B− | 1.5 | 68% | 2.6 | 100% |
| 34 | Ightham Kent | C+ | 2 | 30% | 3 | 56% |
| 35 | Axbridge Somerset | C+ | 1.3 | 72% | 2.8 | 51% |
| 36 | Landkey Devon | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Langtoft Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 38 | Read Lancashire | C+ | 1.6 | 71% | 2.5 | 21% |
| 39 | Whitchurch Somerset | C+ | 2.3 | 47% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 40 | Wychbold Worcestershire | C | 2.1 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Clenchwarton Norfolk | C | 2.2 | 87% | 0.3 | 3% |
| 42 | Goodwick Dyfed | C | 0.2 | 47% | 1.9 | 25% |
| 43 | Marcham Oxfordshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Hightown Merseyside | C | 1.7 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Barrowby Lincolnshire | C− | 3.5 | 66% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Keyingham East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 100% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Cadnam and Bartley Hampshire | C− | 0.9 | 30% | 2.4 | 79% |
| 48 | Carlton North Yorkshire | C− | 0.7 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Pool-in-Wharfedale West Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 44% | 1.6 | 7% |
| 50 | Urpeth County Durham | C− | 1.3 | 0% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Hibaldstow Lincolnshire | C− | 1.7 | 89% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Stoke Golding Leicestershire | C− | 1.4 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Bishop Burton and Cherry Burton East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.5 | 78% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 54 | Baschurch Shropshire | D | 2.3 | 72% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Curry Rivel Somerset | D | 1.9 | 33% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Greylees Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 79% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Haxey Lincolnshire | D | 1.6 | 46% | 2 | 0% |
| 58 | Westwoodside Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 33% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Wilberfoss East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 69% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Bottisham Cambridgeshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Hightown’s built-up area.
4 in 10 Hightown 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).
About 1,100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 17 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.
Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley
Hightown is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
21 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Hightown 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 village.
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Hightown. The regional route here is the Sefton Coastal Path.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Hightown: May to August
The village’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 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 57 | 51 | 48 | 51 | 61 | 64 | 72 | 77 | 89 | 80 | 90 |
April is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 90 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 27 nights a year. The climate in Hightown →
The coast and beaches near Hightown
35% of the area within 5 km of Hightown is sea. 21 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 2 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.
2 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Litherland, 4.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 94% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Crosby and Litherland have at least twice Hightown’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Hightown
Is Hightown near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 17 mi south-west of the village’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Hightown?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Cleveleys to Liverpool and Sefton Coastal Path.
How many people in Hightown live near a park?
44% 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 Hightown?
May to August: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Hightown 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 34% (1.7 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 Hightown’s overall grade.
Where Hightown’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.