Killyleagh’s biggest
Killyleagh Playing Fields
Playing field
1.7 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Killyleagh
Directionsto the park
Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Killyleagh · parks, paths & countryside
Killyleagh is inside the Strangford and Lecale AONB
8 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 0.8 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 69% of residents. Killyleagh has no Outdoors Grade: Northern Ireland’s towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
1.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
69%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
8 km
0.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
82%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Strangford and Lecale AONB
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Killyleagh?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the Strangford and Lecale AONBKillyleagh sits inside it: 525 km² of protected landscape.Parks can be a walk away31% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Killyleagh’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round. 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 Killyleagh’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 Killyleagh
The biggest is Killyleagh Playing Fields, 1.7 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Bridge Centre Play Park
Play space
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Killyleagh
Playground
Directionsto the park
Close to home
7 in 10 Killyleagh 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 (69%)Further (31%)
Killyleagh69%
Newry, Mourne and Down towns81%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 900 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 3 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 929 residents.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty around Killyleagh
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
AONB
Strangford and Lecale
Killyleagh is inside it525 km²since 201082% of the land within 5 km
Official site82% of the land within 5 km of Killyleagh is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
8 waymarked walks pass through or near Killyleagh
8 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Killyleagh and the kilometre around it, 0.8 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.
Local
Long Walk3.3 km
Corbally Walk3.0 km
Crazy Trail3.0 km
Garden Walk1.2 km
Strangford Walk1.1 km
Net Walk & Shore Loney0.9 km
The Broadmeadows0.6 km
Mullagh Walk0.6 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 Killyleagh: 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) | 7.9 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 86 | 58 | 60 | 57 | 57 | 60 | 72 | 78 | 73 | 90 | 94 | 76 |
May is the driest month (57 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 94 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 22 nights a year. The climate in Killyleagh →
Things to do
3 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
Killyleagh is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Skippingstone Beach18 mi from Killyleagh’s edge
DirectionsBrompton Bay18 mi from Killyleagh’s edge
DirectionsSeapark Beach18 mi from Killyleagh’s edge
DirectionsNewtownabbey Bay (Hazelbank) Beach20 mi from Killyleagh’s edge
Directionsjordanstown beach21 mi from Killyleagh’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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Cuan Beach0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 3
Bridge Centre Play Parkin town
DirectionsShrigley Estate Play Park0.4 mi from town
DirectionsDelamont Adventure Playground1.1 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 2
EDYC Caravan and Camping Area0.5 mi from town
DirectionsDelamont Country Park0.9 mi from town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
DownpatrickSaintfieldBallygowanBallynahinchComberKillyleagh
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killyleagh | – | 1.9 | 69% | 82% |
| Downpatrick 5.5 mi | – | 2.5 | 77% | 65% |
| Saintfield 8.2 mi | – | 5.0 | 85% | 0% |
| Ballygowan 9.2 mi | – | 0.6 | 39% | 8% |
| Ballynahinch 9.7 mi | – | 14.5 | 88% | 2% |
| Comber 11.0 mi | – | 1.4 | 60% | 39% |
Saintfield and Ballynahinch have at least twice Killyleagh’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Killyleagh
What is the biggest park in Killyleagh?
Killyleagh Playing Fields, 1.7 ha (4 acres). Bridge Centre Play Park (0.1 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Killyleagh?
8 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Long Walk, Corbally Walk and Crazy Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Killyleagh?
Skippingstone Beach, 18 mi from the edge of the town, then Brompton Bay (18 mi). Killyleagh itself is inland.
How many people in Killyleagh live near a park?
69% 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 Killyleagh?
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 Killyleagh’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Killyleagh’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.