Photo: David from Colorado Springs, United States · CC BY 2.0Almost everyone in Blofield lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Broads National Park begins 0.6 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 14 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 1.5 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Blofield add up to 2.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Blofield grades B+ for the outdoors: #12 of 51 in Norfolk. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors town is Blofield?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Blofield’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by the Broads National Park close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Blofield grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Blofield, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Blofield is 12th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,600 to 2,800 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Blofield stands out most for park space per resident: only 19 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 45 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ambleside Cumbria | A+ | 6.9 | 92% | 4.6 | 100% |
| 2 | Settle North Yorkshire | A+ | 6.4 | 100% | 3.6 | 73% |
| 3 | Downley Buckinghamshire | A+ | 9.5 | 76% | 7.6 | 71% |
| 4 | Hadston Northumberland | A+ | 5.8 | 100% | 2 | 1% |
| 5 | Yorkley and Whitecroft Gloucestershire | A | 3.3 | 74% | 6.4 | 1% |
| 6 | Hellingly East Sussex | A | 6.9 | 90% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 7 | Martlesham Heath Suffolk | A− | 3.5 | 68% | 4.6 | 25% |
| 8 | Newington Kent | A− | 2.3 | 78% | 2.3 | 21% |
| 9 | Combe Martin Devon | A− | 1.8 | 88% | 1.5 | 37% |
| 10 | Newhey Greater Manchester | B+ | 2.4 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 11 | Avonmouth Bristol | B+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Blofield Norfolk | B+ | 2.9 | 100% | 1.5 | 17% |
| 13 | Buckfastleigh Devon | B+ | 2.9 | 89% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 14 | Broadway Worcestershire | B | 2 | 65% | 3.6 | 56% |
| 15 | Dipton County Durham | B | 3.2 | 87% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 16 | Farington Moss Lancashire | B | 5.9 | 93% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Prestbury Cheshire | B | 5.6 | 42% | 3.2 | 6% |
| 18 | Builth Wells Powys | B | 4.9 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Brynamman Dyfed | B | 1.7 | 100% | 1 | 51% |
| 20 | Sutton-in-Craven North Yorkshire | B | 1.8 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Mancetter and Witherley Warwickshire | B− | 3.1 | 88% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Alltwen West Glamorgan | B− | 4.2 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 23 | Cliffe Woods Kent | B− | 1.7 | 62% | 2.5 | 1% |
| 24 | Halton Lancashire | B− | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 35% |
| 25 | Pucklechurch Gloucestershire | C+ | 1.2 | 64% | 4.2 | 20% |
| 26 | Godstone Surrey | C+ | 1.7 | 52% | 3.7 | 18% |
| 27 | Shevington Moor Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.1 | 90% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Ashington West Sussex | C+ | 1.3 | 86% | 2.3 | 21% |
| 29 | Hurworth-on-Tees County Durham | C+ | 4.5 | 93% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Snettisham Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 73% | 1.3 | 32% |
| 31 | Endon Staffordshire | C+ | 3 | 89% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Little Dunmow Essex | C+ | 1.1 | 89% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Bosham West Sussex | C+ | 1.2 | 48% | 1.4 | 58% |
| 34 | Lostock Gralam Cheshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Catterick North Yorkshire | C | 3.6 | 89% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Badsey Worcestershire | C | 2.8 | 54% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 37 | South Brent Devon | C | 1.5 | 79% | 0.8 | 64% |
| 38 | Smallfield Surrey | C | 1.6 | 70% | 2.4 | 1% |
| 39 | Marham Norfolk | C | 3.5 | 85% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 40 | Shelley West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 81% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Wittering Cambridgeshire | C− | 3.1 | 83% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 42 | South Wonston Hampshire | C− | 1.6 | 42% | 2.6 | 7% |
| 43 | Wolston Warwickshire | C− | 1.6 | 89% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Higham Kent | C− | 0.5 | 0% | 1.8 | 18% |
| 45 | Codicote Hertfordshire | C− | 0.4 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Newick East Sussex | C− | 1.7 | 35% | 2.1 | 16% |
| 47 | Hardwick Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.5 | 82% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Costessey Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 12% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | West Clyst Devon | C− | 0.6 | 59% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Saughall Cheshire | D | 2.5 | 27% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Christleton and Waverton Cheshire | D | 2.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Tonna West Glamorgan | D | 2.1 | 36% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Willington Derbyshire | D | 1.8 | 67% | 2 | 0% |
| 54 | Brierley South Yorkshire | D | 0.7 | 82% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Keele Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 0% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Larkhill Wiltshire | D | 1.1 | 68% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Watton at Stone Hertfordshire | D | 0.8 | 61% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | St Martins Shropshire | D | 0.6 | 59% | 0.8 | 2% |
| 59 | Swineshead Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 73% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Manea Cambridgeshire | D− | 1.3 | 63% | 1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Blofield’s built-up area.
How close Blofield’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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 14 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 191 residents.
The Broads National Park is 0.6 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.
17% of the land within 5 km of Blofield is National Park or National Landscape, more than 76% of UK towns. The Broads National Park covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989.
8 waymarked walks pass through or near Blofield
14 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Blofield and the kilometre around it, 1.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The regional route here is the Wherryman's Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Blofield: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 51 | 45 | 43 | 36 | 41 | 56 | 47 | 59 | 57 | 67 | 65 | 59 |
April is the driest month (36 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 67 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 33 nights a year. The climate in Blofield →
2 viewpoints, 14 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
Blofield is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 14
Plus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The outdoors in nearby towns
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blofield | B+ | 2.9 | 100% | 17% |
| Brundall 1.0 mi | C | 1.6 | 62% | 20% |
| Blofield Heath 1.1 mi | C− | 2.5 | 43% | 17% |
| Little Plumstead 1.6 mi | D | 0.6 | 64% | 16% |
| Lingwood 1.9 mi | C+ | 1.2 | 73% | 26% |
| Salhouse 3.1 mi | C− | 1.9 | 71% | 17% |
| Rackheath 3.5 mi | B | 2.6 | 100% | 14% |
Blofield grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Blofield
Is Blofield near a National Park?
Yes. the Broads National Park begins 0.6 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989.
What are the best walks near Blofield?
8 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Blofield Heritage Walk, Burlingham Wood Circular Walk and Wherry Lines Walk 1.
What is the nearest beach to Blofield?
Corton Sands, 15 mi from the edge of the town, then Corton Beach (15 mi). Blofield itself is inland.
How many people in Blofield live near a park?
100% 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 Blofield?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Blofield good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 17% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 68% (2.9 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 Blofield’s overall grade.
Where Blofield’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.