Rhondda’s biggest
King George V Memorial Park
Park or garden · 230 m outside town
5.9 ha (15 acres)0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.5 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Rhondda · parks, paths & countryside
84% of Rhondda’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Brecon Beacons National Park begins 5.6 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Rhondda add up to 1.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 52 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.7 for every square kilometre. Rhondda grades C− for the outdoors: #12 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
52 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Brecon Beacons starts 5.6 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Rhondda?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Brecon Beacons National Park starts 5.6 mi north.Less park per person1.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Rhondda’s strongest suit is the Brecon Beacons National Park close by. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Rhondda grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Rhondda, 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 25% of UK towns#12 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan · 45th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
23out of
100
100
A park within a walk84%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
55out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Brecon Beacons begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
51out 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.
Towns its size
Rhondda is 45th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 12,600 to 14,000 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
Rhondda2.7
Towns its size3.1
Mid Glamorgan towns1.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Rhondda1.4
Towns its size2.2
Mid Glamorgan towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Rhondda84%
Towns its size79%
Mid Glamorgan towns78%
All UK towns83%
Rhondda falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 46 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 | Lees Greater Manchester | A− | 2.5 | 80% | 4.4 | 4% |
| 14 | Tavistock Devon | A− | 5.9 | 83% | 1.6 | 72% |
| 15 | Bacup Lancashire | A− | 2.5 | 94% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Audenshaw Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.6 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 17 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | B+ | 2.5 | 62% | 2.7 | 1% |
| 18 | Verwood Dorset | B+ | 5.7 | 41% | 3.9 | 13% |
| 19 | Ringwood Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 78% | 3.2 | 43% |
| 20 | Chorleywood Hertfordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 37% | 5.7 | 22% |
| 21 | Poulton-le-Fylde Lancashire | B+ | 3.6 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Chalfont St Peter Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.2 | 80% | 3.5 | 18% |
| 23 | Marple Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 64% | 3.8 | 5% |
| 24 | Poynton Cheshire | B+ | 2.2 | 79% | 3.7 | 14% |
| 25 | Royal Wootton Bassett Wiltshire | B+ | 1.6 | 98% | 3.1 | 10% |
| 26 | Gomersal and Birkenshaw West Yorkshire | B | 3.2 | 83% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Enderby and Narborough Leicestershire | B | 1.9 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 28 | West Kirby Merseyside | B | 1.9 | 68% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 29 | Rushall and Shelfield West Midlands | B | 4.3 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 30 | Scawthorpe and Cusworth South Yorkshire | B− | 3.1 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Standish Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Midsomer Norton Somerset | B− | 1.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Sheerness Kent | B− | 3 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe Leicestershire | B− | 3.4 | 73% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 35 | Davenham Cheshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Knutsford Cheshire | C+ | 2.6 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 37 | Thame Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.9 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Buckley Clwyd | C+ | 2.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Street Somerset | C+ | 0.7 | 96% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Birtley Tyne and Wear | C | 1.4 | 71% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Flitwick Bedfordshire | C | 0.8 | 59% | 3.9 | 3% |
| 42 | Todmorden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 72% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Syston Leicestershire | C | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Ferndown Dorset | C | 0.7 | 13% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Rhondda Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Brough East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 74% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 47 | North Walsham Norfolk | C− | 1.3 | 69% | 2 | 10% |
| 48 | Porth Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Halstead Essex | D | 0.6 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Amesbury Wiltshire | D | 1.8 | 73% | 1.6 | 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 Rhondda’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 Rhondda
The biggest is King George V Memorial Park, 5.9 ha (15 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Gelli Park
Park or garden
2.1 ha (5 acres)0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Rhondda
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Gelligaled Park
Playing field
4.8 ha (12 acres)0.3 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Rhondda’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 (84%)Further (16%)
Rhondda84%
Towns its size79%
Mid Glamorgan towns78%
All UK towns83%
About 2,100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 29 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 458 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Brecon Beacons National Park is 5.6 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 Park
Brecon Beacons
5.6 mi north1,350 km²since 1955
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Rhondda scores 0% on it even though the Brecon Beacons National Park is 5.6 mi away. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Rhondda
52 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Rhondda and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Other waymarked
Penrhys Pilgrimage4.0 km
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 Rhondda: 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 282 | 212 | 180 | 135 | 128 | 126 | 143 | 174 | 181 | 269 | 268 | 305 |
June is the driest month (126 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 305 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Rhondda →
Things to do
29 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Rhondda is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Fish Bench Bay13 mi from Rhondda’s edge
DirectionsMargam Sands14 mi from Rhondda’s edge
DirectionsTraeth yr Afon14 mi from Rhondda’s edge
DirectionsMorfa Beach14 mi from Rhondda’s edge
DirectionsHardy’s Bay14 mi from Rhondda’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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 yr Eglwys, at 435 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Rhondda.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 4
Mynydd yr Eglwys435 m (1,427 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsCefn Rhondda481 m (1,578 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsMynydd Troed-y-rhiw328 m (1,076 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsMynydd Ton533 m (1,749 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 29
Stanleytown Park0.7 mi from town
DirectionsTylorstown Playground1.0 mi from town
DirectionsClydach Vale Playground1.0 mi from town
DirectionsCwmparc Playground1.1 mi from town
DirectionsYnyswen Playground1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 24 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.
FerndaleTylorstown and PontygwaithTreorchyMaerdyTonypandyWattstownRhondda
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Ferndale, 1.7 miles away, grades B−, the best next door: 88% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Ferndale and Wattstown have at least twice Rhondda’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Rhondda
What is the biggest park in Rhondda?
King George V Memorial Park, 5.9 ha (15 acres), with 0.9 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Gelli Park (2.1 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Rhondda near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 5.6 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
What are the best walks near Rhondda?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Penrhys Pilgrimage.
What is the nearest beach to Rhondda?
Fish Bench Bay, 13 mi from the edge of the town, then Margam Sands (14 mi). Rhondda itself is inland.
How many people in Rhondda live near a park?
84% 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 Rhondda?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Rhondda good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 51% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 23% (1.4 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 Rhondda’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Rhondda’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.