Maghera’s biggest
The Quadrangle
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Maghera
Directionsto the park
St. Lurach's Church · Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Maghera · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Maghera
Sperrin AONB begins 1.0 mi from the town’s edge. 8 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.6 for every square kilometre. 66% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Maghera has no Outdoors Grade: Northern Ireland’s towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
2.0 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
66%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
8 km
0.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
10%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Sperrin AONB
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Maghera?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close bySperrin AONB starts 1.0 mi north-west.Parks can be a walk away34% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Maghera’s strongest suit is Sperrin AONB close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Maghera’s settlement.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · DAERA
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Maghera
The biggest is The Quadrangle, 0.1 ha (0 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Mullagh Bridge Picnic Area
Park or garden · 270 m outside town
0.1 ha (0 acres)
0.8 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the park
Close to home
7 in 10 Maghera 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 (NISRA Census 2021 data zones against OpenStreetMap’s parks).
Within 400 m (66%)Further (34%)
Maghera66%
Mid Ulster towns82%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 4 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,059 residents.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Sperrin AONB is 1.0 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the settlement; circle size shows each one’s area. Northern Ireland has no National Parks.
AONBThe 5 km the grade counts
10% of the land within 5 km of Maghera is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Maghera
8 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Maghera and the kilometre around it, 0.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Maghera; 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Maghera: 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) | 7.8 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.1 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.3 | 7.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 116 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 68 | 75 | 79 | 87 | 79 | 105 | 114 | 111 |
April is the driest month (67 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 116 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Maghera →
Things to do
4 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Maghera is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Portstewart Strand22 mi from Maghera’s edge
DirectionsCastlerock Beach22 mi from Maghera’s edge
DirectionsEast Strand24 mi from Maghera’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. DAERA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Waterfalls 3
Grillagh Waterfall1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Craigadick Picnic Area0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 4
Plus 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.
MagherafeltDungivenMaghera
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maghera | – | 2.0 | 66% | 10% |
| Magherafelt 6.9 mi | – | 1.9 | 77% | 3% |
| Dungiven 11.1 mi | – | 1.4 | 85% | 49% |
Questions about the outdoors in Maghera
What is the biggest park in Maghera?
The Quadrangle, 0.1 ha (0 acres). Mullagh Bridge Picnic Area (0.1 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Maghera near an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?
The nearest protected landscape is Sperrin AONB, 1.0 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,182 km² and was designated in 2008.
What is the nearest beach to Maghera?
Portstewart Strand, 22 mi from the edge of the town, then Castlerock Beach (22 mi). Maghera itself is inland.
How many people in Maghera live near a park?
66% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NISRA Census 2021 data zones against OpenStreetMap’s parks). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Maghera?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Maghera’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Maghera’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: © OpenStreetMap contributors (parks, public gardens, pitches and recreation grounds, playgrounds), Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Ireland and Northern Ireland extract. Ordnance Survey’s OpenStreetMap covers Great Britain only.
- Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: DAERA (Northern Ireland Environment Agency) boundaries, areas and designation dates, via Open Data NI, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, October 2026. Places over the border are marked Republic of Ireland.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Department for Communities, Historic Environment Division, via Open Data NI, 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) and Tailte Éireann provinces (CC BY 4.0, © Tailte Éireann) as land. Residents near a park: NISRA Census 2021 data zones.
- Grade: Northern Ireland towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
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.