Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Victor J Davies · CC BY-SA 1.0Footpaths add up to 69 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 1.9 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Pontypridd add up to 1.5 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 70% of residents. Pontypridd grades D for the outdoors: #21 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Pontypridd’s strongest suit is its historic parks. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Pontypridd, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 29,200 to 34,900 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Pontypridd falls furthest behind on path per km², where 55 of the 59 others do better.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Malvern Worcestershire | A+ | 3.9 | 90% | 6 | 38% |
| 2 | Jarrow Tyne and Wear | A+ | 5.3 | 90% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 3 | Northfleet Kent | A | 2 | 85% | 7.7 | 4% |
| 4 | Burgess Hill West Sussex | A | 2.4 | 87% | 5 | 27% |
| 5 | Witney Oxfordshire | A | 2.5 | 88% | 4.6 | 19% |
| 6 | Prestwich Greater Manchester | A | 9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 7 | Redhill Surrey | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 4.3 | 14% |
| 8 | Rustington West Sussex | A− | 2.1 | 78% | 2.7 | 25% |
| 9 | Chandler's Ford Hampshire | A− | 2.7 | 80% | 5.3 | 6% |
| 10 | Dunstable Bedfordshire | A− | 2 | 78% | 8 | 29% |
| 11 | Caversham Berkshire | A− | 2.5 | 77% | 4.3 | 32% |
| 12 | Nelson Lancashire | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 5.2 | 15% |
| 13 | St Neots Cambridgeshire | A− | 3.5 | 91% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Didcot Oxfordshire | A− | 1.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 39% |
| 15 | Cleethorpes Lincolnshire | A− | 3 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Eston North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 93% | 2.8 | 2% |
| 17 | Waterlooville Hampshire | B+ | 1 | 66% | 5.2 | 18% |
| 18 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 84% | 2.9 | 2% |
| 19 | Fulwood Lancashire | B+ | 3.5 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Swadlincote Derbyshire | B+ | 4.1 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 21 | Chichester West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3 | 40% |
| 22 | Lichfield Staffordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 82% | 3.1 | 2% |
| 23 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | B+ | 3.1 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Colwyn Bay Clwyd | B+ | 1.9 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 25 | Windsor Berkshire | B | 5.5 | 83% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 26 | Shipley West Yorkshire | B | 2.1 | 87% | 6 | 0% |
| 27 | Consett County Durham | B | 1.7 | 87% | 3.1 | 19% |
| 28 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 29 | Wigston Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 30 | Billingham County Durham | B | 4.7 | 86% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 31 | Loughton Essex | B | 2.9 | 74% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Letchworth Hertfordshire | B | 2.2 | 85% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Abingdon-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Caerphilly Gwent | B | 2.6 | 82% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Morecambe Lancashire | B− | 0.8 | 84% | 2.2 | 2% |
| 36 | Radcliffe Greater Manchester | B− | 1.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Stanford-le-Hope Essex | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Whitstable Kent | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Billericay Essex | C+ | 4.1 | 70% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Winsford Cheshire | C+ | 1.3 | 92% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 42 | New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater Surrey | C+ | 2.2 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 43 | Newton Abbot Devon | C+ | 2.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 6% |
| 44 | Morley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Horndean Hampshire | C+ | 0.9 | 57% | 3.3 | 53% |
| 46 | Newark-on-Trent Nottinghamshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 2 | 0% |
| 47 | Bedworth Warwickshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Barnstaple Devon | C | 1.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Rayleigh Essex | C | 2 | 71% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 50 | Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.7 | 92% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Sedgley West Midlands | C | 1.5 | 65% | 4 | 0% |
| 52 | Congleton Cheshire | C | 1.7 | 72% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Bilston West Midlands | C− | 1.5 | 76% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Rushden Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Heywood Greater Manchester | C− | 1.3 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Bromsgrove Worcestershire | C− | 1.4 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Port Talbot West Glamorgan | C− | 1.3 | 68% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Spalding Lincolnshire | D | 1.1 | 85% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.5 | 70% | 1.9 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Pontypridd’s built-up area.
The biggest is Ynysangharad Park, 16 ha (40 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The two biggest, Ynysangharad Park and Coed-Pen-Maen Common, are 85% of the named green space and carry 3 km of path between them.
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 10,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 52 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 613 residents.
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.
Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
69 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Pontypridd and the kilometre around it, 1.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Close to home, the Pontypridd Circular has 15 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Taff Trail and Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Pontypridd’s named parks.
16 ha. A registered historic park (Grade II). 2 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
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.
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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 191 | 145 | 120 | 99 | 95 | 100 | 105 | 128 | 128 | 183 | 182 | 209 |
May is the driest month (95 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 209 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 39 nights a year. The climate in Pontypridd →
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.
Pontypridd is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. Natural Resources Wales tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Mynydd Gelliwion, at 328 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Pontypridd.
Plus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Plus 51 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontypridd | D | 1.5 | 70% | 0% |
| Church Village 2.4 mi | D | 0.7 | 72% | 0% |
| Abertridwr and Senghenydd 2.6 mi | C− | 1.8 | 87% | 0% |
| Ynysybwl 2.8 mi | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0% |
| Beddau 3.2 mi | D | 1.0 | 77% | 0% |
| Porth 3.5 mi | D | 1.8 | 63% | 0% |
| Abercynon 3.8 mi | D− | 1.1 | 55% | 0% |
Abertridwr and Senghenydd, 2.6 miles away, grades C−, 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.
Ynysangharad Park, 16 ha (40 acres), with 2.4 km of path. Coed-Pen-Maen Common (12 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 9.4 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Pontypridd Circular, Taff Trail and Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk. Ynysangharad Park alone has 2.4 km of path.
The Bendricks, 12 mi from the edge of the town, then Pebble Beach (12 mi). Pontypridd itself is inland.
70% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Ynysangharad Park (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 26% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 27% (1.5 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Pontypridd’s overall grade.
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.