Knowsley’s biggest
The Sanctuary
Park or garden · 150 m outside town
16 ha (40 acres)
23 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Knowsley · parks, paths & countryside
77% of Knowsley’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
8 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.0 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Knowsley add up to 3.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Knowsley grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
77%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
8 km
1.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Knowsley?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Historic parksKnowsley Park is a registered historic park (Grade II).Few mapped footpaths1.0 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Knowsley’s strongest suit is its historic parks. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Knowsley grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Knowsley, 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 20% of UK towns39th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space3.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
72out of
100
100
A park within a walk77%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
40out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
7out 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.
Villages its size
Knowsley is 39th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,200 to 2,400 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
Knowsley1.0
Villages its size1.8
Merseyside towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Knowsley3.1
Villages its size1.8
Merseyside towns3.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Knowsley77%
Villages its size82%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Knowsley stands out most for park space per resident: only 12 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 54 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reydon Suffolk | A+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.6 | 49% |
| 2 | Radford Semele Warwickshire | A | 12.3 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 3 | Millbrook Cornwall | A− | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 19% |
| 4 | Picket Piece Hampshire | A− | 3.9 | 100% | 1.3 | 33% |
| 5 | Cannington Somerset | A− | 2.8 | 88% | 3.2 | 3% |
| 6 | Y Felinheli Gwynedd | B+ | 4.9 | 65% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 7 | Hall Green West Yorkshire | B+ | 7.5 | 82% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 8 | Nant-y-moel Mid Glamorgan | B | 7 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Pen-y-fai Mid Glamorgan | B | 3.8 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Stalbridge Dorset | B− | 3.3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Narberth Dyfed | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 1.6 | 4% |
| 12 | Creech St Michael Somerset | B− | 1.2 | 88% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 13 | Dormansland Surrey | B− | 2.5 | 70% | 2.3 | 33% |
| 14 | Upper Halliford Surrey | B− | 5.1 | 44% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 15 | Bassingbourn Cambridgeshire | B− | 3.8 | 85% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Riccall North Yorkshire | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 17 | Wiveliscombe Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 18 | Ashurst Hampshire | B− | 0.9 | 65% | 3.6 | 72% |
| 19 | Debenham Suffolk | C+ | 1 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 20 | St Dennis Cornwall | C+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Osbaldwick North Yorkshire | C+ | 1.9 | 70% | 5 | 0% |
| 22 | Padstow Cornwall | C+ | 0.6 | 33% | 2.5 | 37% |
| 23 | Pentyrch South Glamorgan | C+ | 2.6 | 50% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Bramford Suffolk | C+ | 3.2 | 76% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Mickleton Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.2 | 52% | 2.1 | 45% |
| 26 | Witchford Cambridgeshire | C+ | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Lingwood Norfolk | C+ | 1.2 | 73% | 2.6 | 26% |
| 28 | Stanton Suffolk | C | 2.6 | 87% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Woolavington Somerset | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 30 | Dearham Cumbria | C | 0.6 | 72% | 1.4 | 6% |
| 31 | West Rainton County Durham | C | 2.1 | 73% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Bletchingley Surrey | C | 0.5 | 10% | 3.9 | 18% |
| 33 | Wardley Greater Manchester | C− | 0.6 | 88% | 3 | 0% |
| 34 | Stanford in the Vale Oxfordshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Credenhill Herefordshire | C− | 1.5 | 87% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Roche Cornwall | C− | 2.8 | 81% | 1 | 0% |
| 37 | Marshfield Gwent | C− | 1 | 85% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 38 | Hathern Leicestershire | C− | 1.8 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Knowsley Merseyside | C− | 3.1 | 77% | 1 | 0% |
| 40 | Creigiau South Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Kings Sutton Northamptonshire | C− | 1.8 | 79% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Collingham West Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Reepham Norfolk | C− | 2.3 | 66% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Stilton Cambridgeshire | C− | 0.8 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Coates and Eastrea Cambridgeshire | C− | 0.9 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Dinnington Tyne and Wear | C− | 1.6 | 89% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Brown Edge Staffordshire | C− | 1.1 | 88% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Goxhill Lincolnshire | C− | 1.5 | 69% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Usk Gwent | C− | 3.5 | 56% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Eastry Kent | D | 2 | 77% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Netherton (Wakefield) West Yorkshire | D | 0.7 | 27% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 52 | St Stephen Cornwall | D | 1.2 | 88% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Fishburn County Durham | D | 1.5 | 76% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Burton upon Stather Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 75% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Belton Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 67% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Tattenhall Cheshire | D− | 1.8 | 28% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Ixworth Suffolk | D− | 1 | 73% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Hingham Norfolk | D− | 1.9 | 13% | 1 | 0% |
| 59 | Norton South Yorkshire | D− | 1.3 | 63% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Leven East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.2 | 64% | 0.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Knowsley’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 Knowsley
The biggest is The Sanctuary, 16 ha (40 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Mill Lane Open Space
Park or garden
1.0 ha (2 acres)
0.4 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
May Pole Green
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Knowsley
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Knowsley’s homes are to 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 (77%)Further (24%)
Knowsley77%
Villages its size82%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 469 residents.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Knowsley
8 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Knowsley and the kilometre around it, 1.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Knowsley; 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.
History along the way
A registered historic park in Knowsley
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Knowsley’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IIKnowsley Park0.7 ha
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 Knowsley: May to September
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) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 77 | 65 | 55 | 56 | 61 | 66 | 83 | 80 | 84 | 97 | 91 | 94 |
March is the driest month (55 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 97 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 31 nights a year. The climate in Knowsley →
Things to do
5 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Knowsley is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Tranmere Beach7.7 mi from Knowsley’s edge
DirectionsCrosby Beach8.1 mi from Knowsley’s edge
DirectionsBrazil Bank8.9 mi from Knowsley’s edge
DirectionsTaylor's Bank12 mi from Knowsley’s edge
DirectionsEast Hoyle Bank14 mi from Knowsley’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
Hills and peaks 2
Knowsley Park0.9 mi from town
DirectionsRiding Hill1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 5
Stockbridge Village Children's Playground1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 4 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.
Huyton with RobyKirkbyPrescotLiverpoolAintreeRainfordKnowsley
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Liverpool, 4.1 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 87% 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 Knowsley
What is the biggest park in Knowsley?
The Sanctuary, 16 ha (40 acres), just outside the built-up area. Mill Lane Open Space (1.0 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Knowsley near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Knowsley.
What is the nearest beach to Knowsley?
Tranmere Beach, 7.7 mi from the edge of the village, then Crosby Beach (8.1 mi). Knowsley itself is inland.
How many people in Knowsley live near a park?
77% 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 Knowsley?
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 Knowsley are historic?
Knowsley Park (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Knowsley good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 7% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 72% (3.1 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 Knowsley’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Knowsley’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.