West Kirby’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
Centralin the middle of West Kirby
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in West Kirby · parks, paths & countryside
West Kirby is on the coast, on the King Charles III England Coast Path
The sea makes up 53% of the area within 5 km. 56 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.2 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 68% of residents. West Kirby grades B for the outdoors: #16 of 25 in Merseyside. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
68%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
56 km
3.2 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
53%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is West Kirby?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast53% of the area within 5 km is sea; 25 beaches mapped.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.Parks can be a walk away32% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
West Kirby’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by the King Charles III England Coast Path. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
West Kirby grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is West Kirby, 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 56% of UK towns#16 of 25 in Merseyside · 25th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
42out of
100
100
A park within a walk68%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
28out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
65out of
100
100
The sea53%of the area within 5 km
99out 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
West Kirby is 25th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 12,700 to 14,100 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
West Kirby3.2
Towns its size3.1
Merseyside towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
West Kirby1.9
Towns its size2.1
Merseyside towns3.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
West Kirby68%
Towns its size79%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
West Kirby falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 47 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farncombe Surrey | A+ | 5.7 | 92% | 3.8 | 54% |
| 2 | Sidmouth Devon | A | 2.6 | 73% | 2.9 | 60% |
| 3 | Newhaven East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 84% | 2.9 | 50% |
| 4 | Rhosllannerchrugog Clwyd | A | 3.5 | 98% | 2.8 | 31% |
| 5 | Abergavenny Gwent | A | 3.2 | 83% | 3.1 | 60% |
| 6 | Wellington Somerset | A | 2.2 | 99% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 7 | Wick West Sussex | A | 1.3 | 91% | 3 | 25% |
| 8 | Stoke Gifford Gloucestershire | A− | 5.7 | 87% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 9 | Addlestone Surrey | A− | 4.3 | 90% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Heckmondwike West Yorkshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 11 | Churchdown Gloucestershire | A− | 2.2 | 92% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 12 | Wantage Oxfordshire | A− | 2.5 | 71% | 3.9 | 47% |
| 13 | Bacup Lancashire | A− | 2.5 | 94% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 14 | Audenshaw Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.6 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | B+ | 2.5 | 62% | 2.7 | 1% |
| 16 | Verwood Dorset | B+ | 5.7 | 41% | 3.9 | 13% |
| 17 | Ringwood Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 78% | 3.2 | 43% |
| 18 | Poulton-le-Fylde Lancashire | B+ | 3.6 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 19 | Chalfont St Peter Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.2 | 80% | 3.5 | 18% |
| 20 | Marple Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 64% | 3.8 | 5% |
| 21 | Poynton Cheshire | B+ | 2.2 | 79% | 3.7 | 14% |
| 22 | Royal Wootton Bassett Wiltshire | B+ | 1.6 | 98% | 3.1 | 10% |
| 23 | Gomersal and Birkenshaw West Yorkshire | B | 3.2 | 83% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Enderby and Narborough Leicestershire | B | 1.9 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 25 | West Kirby Merseyside | B | 1.9 | 68% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Rushall and Shelfield West Midlands | B | 4.3 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Blaby and Whetstone Leicestershire | B | 3 | 79% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Scawthorpe and Cusworth South Yorkshire | B− | 3.1 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Standish Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 30 | Midsomer Norton Somerset | B− | 1.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Sheerness Kent | B− | 3 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe Leicestershire | B− | 3.4 | 73% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Davenham Cheshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Knutsford Cheshire | C+ | 2.6 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Thame Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.9 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Buckley Clwyd | C+ | 2.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Dunscroft and Hatfield South Yorkshire | C+ | 4 | 91% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 38 | Street Somerset | C+ | 0.7 | 96% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Birtley Tyne and Wear | C | 1.4 | 71% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Flitwick Bedfordshire | C | 0.8 | 59% | 3.9 | 3% |
| 41 | Todmorden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 72% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Syston Leicestershire | C | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Ferndown Dorset | C | 0.7 | 13% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Rhondda Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 45 | Brough East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 74% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 46 | North Walsham Norfolk | C− | 1.3 | 69% | 2 | 10% |
| 47 | Pyle Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Uttoxeter Staffordshire | C− | 1.1 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Porth Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Halstead Essex | D | 0.6 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Northallerton North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 70% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Driffield East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 75% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 54 | Mountsorrel Leicestershire | D | 0.9 | 56% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | New Rossington and Rossington South Yorkshire | D | 0.8 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Flint Clwyd | D | 1 | 56% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Whittlesey Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 73% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Mountain Ash Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.4 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Wombourne Staffordshire | D | 0.8 | 78% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Balderton Nottinghamshire | D | 1.4 | 64% | 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 West Kirby’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 West Kirby
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: 144 ha (357 acres) and 38 km of path
Parks & gardens 141 haPlaying fields 3.6 ha
The two biggest, Wirral Country Park and Wirral Country Park, are 62% of the named green space and carry 23 km of path between them. 3 of the 8 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
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
Centralin the middle of West Kirby
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
Centralin the middle of West Kirby
Wirral Way
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ashton Park
Park or garden
5.1 ha (13 acres)2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of West Kirby
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Newton Park
Playing field
3.6 ha (9 acres)0.3 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Coronation Gardens
Park or garden
0.9 ha (2 acres)0.4 km of path
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Sandlea Park
Park or garden
0.5 ha (1 acres)0.5 km of path
0.5 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Victoria Gardens
Park or garden
0.4 ha (1 acres)0.2 km of path
0.5 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 West Kirby 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 (68%)Further (32%)
West Kirby68%
Towns its size79%
Merseyside towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 4,300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 13 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,029 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 6.7 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
6.7 mi west389 km²since 2011
Footpaths & waymarked walks
West Kirby is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
56 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in West Kirby and the kilometre around it, 3.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegional
King Charles III England Coast Path: Birkenhead to Welsh Border13.7 km
Wirral Circular Trail7.6 km
Wirral Way3.8 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes West Kirby. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Wirral Circular Trail and Wirral Way.
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 West Kirby: 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 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 52 | 65 | 70 | 73 | 75 | 86 | 82 | 84 |
March is the driest month (51 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 86 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 23 nights a year. The climate in West Kirby →
The coast
The coast and beaches near West Kirby
53% of the area within 5 km of West Kirby is sea. 25 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 2 with a name.
East Hoyle Bank0.6 mi from town
DirectionsThe 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
4 viewpoints and 13 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.
4Viewpoints4.1× towns its size3Hills and peaks3.1× towns its size1Nature reserves13Playgrounds0.7× towns its size7Slipways
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 3
Grange Hillin town
DirectionsCaldy Hill77 m (253 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsThurstaston Hill91 m (299 ft) · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 1
Thurstaston Common38 ha · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 13
Ashton Park Play Areain town
DirectionsLower Cagein town
DirectionsMiddle Cagein town
DirectionsUpper Cagein town
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 7
Plus 7 slipways 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.
CaldyHoylakeMeolsGreasbyHeswallBirkenheadWest Kirby
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Meols, 2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Caldy and Greasby have at least twice West Kirby’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in West Kirby
What is the biggest park in West Kirby?
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 West Kirby near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 6.7 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near West Kirby?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the King Charles III England Coast Path: Birkenhead to Welsh Border, Wirral Circular Trail and Wirral Way. Wirral Country Park alone has 11.6 km of path.
How many people in West Kirby live near a park?
68% 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 West Kirby?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is West Kirby good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 65% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 42% (1.9 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 West Kirby’s overall grade.
Sources
Where West Kirby’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.