Briston’s biggest
Briston Green
Park or garden
1.6 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Briston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: HazelJMills · CC BY-SA 3.0DOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Briston · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Briston
The Norfolk Coast National Landscape begins 3.1 mi from the village’s edge. 14 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.2 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Briston add up to 2.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Briston grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
69%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
14 km
1.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Norfolk Coast starts 3.1 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Briston?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Norfolk Coast National Landscape starts 3.1 mi north.Few mapped footpaths1.2 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Briston’s strongest suit is the Norfolk Coast National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Briston grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Briston, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
D
Better than 15% of UK towns46th of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space2.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
64out of
100
100
A park within a walk69%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
29out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Norfolk Coast begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
10out 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.
Villages its size
Briston is 46th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,900 to 2,100 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
Briston1.2
Villages its size1.9
Norfolk towns1.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Briston2.7
Villages its size2.3
Norfolk towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Briston69%
Villages its size76%
Norfolk towns73%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Briston stands out most for park space per resident: only 21 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 46 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capel-le-Ferne Kent | A+ | 21.8 | 88% | 4 | 52% |
| 2 | Meliden Clwyd | A+ | 4.2 | 100% | 4.2 | 21% |
| 3 | Vigo Village Kent | A+ | 33.3 | 100% | 2.9 | 44% |
| 4 | Llanfoist Gwent | A+ | 10.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 57% |
| 5 | Ditchingham Norfolk | A+ | 17.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 6 | Bournmoor County Durham | A | 11 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 7 | Upper Rissington Gloucestershire | A | 6.2 | 100% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 8 | Churchill Somerset | A | 2.8 | 84% | 3.9 | 39% |
| 9 | Wrington Somerset | A | 3.2 | 100% | 2.6 | 20% |
| 10 | Machen Gwent | A | 3.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Y Bala Gwynedd | A | 4 | 100% | 1.4 | 67% |
| 12 | South Nutfield Surrey | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 13 | Little Haywood Staffordshire | A− | 1.3 | 100% | 3.3 | 34% |
| 14 | Kirkby Lonsdale Cumbria | B+ | 9.2 | 74% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 15 | Yealmpton Devon | B+ | 1.8 | 87% | 1.8 | 50% |
| 16 | Pontesbury Shropshire | B+ | 3.1 | 63% | 3.8 | 28% |
| 17 | Polesworth Warwickshire | B+ | 13.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 18 | Valley Gwynedd | B+ | 5 | 33% | 1.2 | 37% |
| 19 | Martlesham Suffolk | B | 2.1 | 69% | 3.8 | 24% |
| 20 | Sandford Dorset | B | 0.3 | 43% | 4.7 | 41% |
| 21 | Wrotham Kent | B | 1.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 49% |
| 22 | Welsh Bicknor Gloucestershire | B | 2.7 | 31% | 3.3 | 45% |
| 23 | Wheaton Aston Staffordshire | B− | 2.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 24 | Dilton Marsh Wiltshire | B− | 2.1 | 67% | 3.5 | 4% |
| 25 | Hutton Cranswick East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 5 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 26 | Barmouth Gwynedd | B− | 0.5 | 60% | 2 | 53% |
| 27 | Northleach Gloucestershire | B− | 1.5 | 68% | 2.6 | 100% |
| 28 | Audley Staffordshire | C+ | 3.4 | 83% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Axbridge Somerset | C+ | 1.3 | 72% | 2.8 | 51% |
| 30 | Landkey Devon | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Langtoft Lincolnshire | C+ | 2.8 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 32 | Whitchurch Somerset | C+ | 2.3 | 47% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 33 | Wychbold Worcestershire | C | 2.1 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Hatton Warwickshire | C | 1.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 35 | Ramsden Heath Essex | C | 2.3 | 82% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 36 | West Haddon Northamptonshire | C | 2.3 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Goodwick Dyfed | C | 0.2 | 47% | 1.9 | 25% |
| 38 | Hightown Merseyside | C | 1.7 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Longrock Cornwall | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.2 | 26% |
| 40 | Barrow Suffolk | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Chivenor and Wrafton Devon | C− | 0.6 | 0% | 1.7 | 17% |
| 42 | Pool-in-Wharfedale West Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 44% | 1.6 | 7% |
| 43 | Ashwell Hertfordshire | C− | 3 | 52% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 44 | Stoke Golding Leicestershire | C− | 1.4 | 85% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Bishop Burton and Cherry Burton East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.5 | 78% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Briston Norfolk | D | 2.7 | 69% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Broughton Northamptonshire | D | 2.7 | 70% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Baschurch Shropshire | D | 2.3 | 72% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Cookley Worcestershire | D | 2.3 | 52% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Hutton Rudby North Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 35% | 1.1 | 13% |
| 51 | Morda Shropshire | D | 0.7 | 84% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Curry Rivel Somerset | D | 1.9 | 33% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Greylees Lincolnshire | D | 1.5 | 79% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Shawbury Shropshire | D− | 2.2 | 30% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Wheldrake North Yorkshire | D− | 1.4 | 72% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Tollerton Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.6 | 19% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Rossett Clwyd | D− | 0.3 | 55% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Wilberfoss East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 69% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Goostrey Cheshire | D− | 0.3 | 42% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Bottisham Cambridgeshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Briston’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 Briston
The biggest is Briston Green, 1.6 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Briston 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 (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (69%)Further (32%)
Briston69%
Villages its size76%
Norfolk towns73%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Norfolk Coast National Landscape is 3.1 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Briston scores 0% on it even though the Norfolk Coast National Landscape is 3.1 mi away. The Broads National Park covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Briston
14 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Briston and the kilometre around it, 1.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Briston; 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 Briston: May to September
The village’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 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 62 | 51 | 54 | 44 | 55 | 68 | 62 | 74 | 67 | 79 | 81 | 70 |
April is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 81 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Briston →
Things to do
2 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Briston is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
Holkham Naturist Beach14 mi from Briston’s edge
DirectionsWest Sands22 mi from Briston’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Pineviewin town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Melton ConstableHoltFoulshamReephamCawstonFakenhamBriston
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Holt, 4.1 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 84% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Holt has at least twice Briston’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Briston
What is the biggest park in Briston?
Briston Green, 1.6 ha (4 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Briston near a National Park?
Yes. the Broads National Park begins 14 mi south-east of the village’s edge. It covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Norfolk Coast National Landscape, 3.1 mi away.
What is the nearest beach to Briston?
Holkham Naturist Beach, 14 mi from the edge of the village, then West Sands (22 mi). Briston itself is inland.
How many people in Briston live near a park?
69% 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 Briston?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Briston good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 10% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 64% (2.7 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 Briston’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Briston’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.