Bonnyrigg’s biggest
King George's Field
Playing field
6.6 ha (16 acres)1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bonnyrigg
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Bonnyrigg · parks, paths & countryside
95% of Bonnyrigg’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
113 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 6.0 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Bonnyrigg add up to 2.0 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Bonnyrigg has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish 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
95%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
113 km
6.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Bonnyrigg’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Bonnyrigg
The biggest is King George's Field, 6.6 ha (16 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 5 named parks by size: 16 ha (40 acres) and 2 km of path
Parks & gardens 2.3 haPlaying fields 14 ha
The two biggest, King George's Field and Poltonhall Recreation Ground, are 68% of the named green space.
Poltonhall Recreation Ground
Playing field
4.6 ha (11 acres)0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bonnyrigg
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Lasswade Rugby Football Club
Playing field
2.9 ha (7 acres)
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
St Cyr Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bonnyrigg
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Viewbank Park
Park or garden
0.8 ha (2 acres)0.2 km of path
0.7 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Bonnyrigg’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 (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (95%)Further (6%)
Bonnyrigg95%
Midlothian towns95%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 55 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 329 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area is 14 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
National Scenic Area
Upper Tweeddale
14 mi south-west128 km²since 1980
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Bonnyrigg
113 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Bonnyrigg and the kilometre around it, 6.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
North Esk Way10.9 km
Midlothian Core Paths9.6 km
Close to home, the North Esk Way has 11 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Midlothian Core Paths.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A historic garden or designed landscape in Bonnyrigg
Historic Environment Scotland’s Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Bonnyrigg’s named parks.
Registered · Grade Mavisbank3.0 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 Environment Scotland designations.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bonnyrigg: June 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) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.5 | 17.0 | 15.0 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 7.0 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 74 | 57 | 50 | 46 | 50 | 73 | 69 | 76 | 66 | 90 | 83 | 72 |
April is the driest month (46 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 90 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 50 nights a year. The climate in Bonnyrigg →
Things to do
55 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
Bonnyrigg is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Fisherrow Sands4.4 mi from Bonnyrigg’s edge
DirectionsJoppa Shore4.5 mi from Bonnyrigg’s edge
DirectionsPortobello Beach4.8 mi from Bonnyrigg’s edge
DirectionsMusselburgh Sands5.3 mi from Bonnyrigg’s edge
DirectionsEast Sands of Leith6.6 mi from Bonnyrigg’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. SEPA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 4
Plus 4 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Straiton Pond Local Nature Reserve7.1 ha · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Lothian Bridge Caravan Park0.4 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
LoanheadMayfieldDalkeithDanderhallGorebridgePenicuikBonnyrigg
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonnyrigg | – | 2.0 | 95% | 0% |
| Loanhead 1.9 mi | – | 1.6 | 66% | 0% |
| Mayfield 2.2 mi | – | 3.2 | 96% | 0% |
| Dalkeith 2.3 mi | – | 10.3 | 97% | 0% |
| Danderhall 2.9 mi | – | 4.3 | 92% | 0% |
| Gorebridge 3.0 mi | – | 3.0 | 95% | 0% |
| Penicuik 5.0 mi | – | 1.1 | 54% | 0% |
Dalkeith and Danderhall have at least twice Bonnyrigg’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Bonnyrigg
What is the biggest park in Bonnyrigg?
King George's Field, 6.6 ha (16 acres), with 1.2 km of path. Poltonhall Recreation Ground (4.6 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Bonnyrigg near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area, 14 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 128 km² and was designated in 1980.
What are the best walks near Bonnyrigg?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the North Esk Way and Midlothian Core Paths.
What is the nearest beach to Bonnyrigg?
Fisherrow Sands, 4.4 mi from the edge of the town, then Joppa Shore (4.5 mi). Bonnyrigg itself is inland.
How many people in Bonnyrigg live near a park?
95% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Bonnyrigg?
June 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 Bonnyrigg are historic?
Mavisbank (Grade ) is on Historic Environment Scotland’s Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.
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 Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Bonnyrigg’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Bonnyrigg’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 Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, 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: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish 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.