Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.076% of Melton Constable’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Norfolk Coast National Landscape begins 3.2 mi from the village’s edge. Footpaths add up to 5 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 0.7 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Melton Constable add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Melton Constable grades D for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Melton Constable?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Melton Constable’s strongest suit is the Norfolk Coast National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Melton Constable grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Melton Constable, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
100
100
100
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.
How Melton Constable compares with UK villages of 1,100 to 1,200
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,100 to 1,200 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Melton Constable falls furthest behind on path per km², where 54 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porlock Somerset | A+ | 2.9 | 75% | 5.2 | 71% |
| 2 | Sundridge Kent | A+ | 9.1 | 100% | 2.3 | 73% |
| 3 | Longhoughton Northumberland | A+ | 4.7 | 100% | 1.2 | 27% |
| 4 | Dawlish Warren Devon | A | 21.1 | 73% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 5 | Egloshayle Cornwall | A | 7.3 | 100% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 6 | Bures Suffolk | A | 5.4 | 100% | 2.5 | 14% |
| 7 | Brighstone Isle of Wight | A | 2.2 | 55% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 8 | Hampsthwaite North Yorkshire | A− | 2 | 100% | 2.6 | 23% |
| 9 | Hurst Green East Sussex | B+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.1 | 100% |
| 10 | Shillingstone Dorset | B+ | 2.8 | 67% | 3.2 | 51% |
| 11 | Stallingborough Lincolnshire | B+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 12 | St Bees Cumbria | B | 8.5 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 13 | Slinfold West Sussex | B | 2.4 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 14 | Gislingham Suffolk | B | 3.1 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Clyst St Mary Devon | B | 5.8 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 16 | Moresby Parks Cumbria | B− | 1.2 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 17 | Stradbroke Suffolk | B− | 3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Thorpe End Norfolk | B− | 0.7 | 100% | 2.5 | 10% |
| 19 | Stretton-on-Dunsmore Warwickshire | B− | 2.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 20 | Penybanc Dyfed | B− | 7.4 | 35% | 2.4 | 1% |
| 21 | Datchworth Hertfordshire | C+ | 10.8 | 76% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Coddington Nottinghamshire | C+ | 2.9 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Tansley Derbyshire | C+ | 1.6 | 73% | 3.4 | 4% |
| 24 | Coldeast Devon | C+ | 1.6 | 47% | 3.6 | 30% |
| 25 | Grampound Road Cornwall | C+ | 3.6 | 100% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Haswell County Durham | C+ | 3.2 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 27 | Allithwaite Cumbria | C+ | 1.9 | 60% | 1 | 17% |
| 28 | Baslow Derbyshire | C+ | 1.6 | 45% | 2.8 | 98% |
| 29 | Chesterton Oxfordshire | C+ | 1.8 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Blackmore Essex | C+ | 3.6 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 31 | Dickleburgh Norfolk | C+ | 1.9 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 32 | Bottom Boat West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Stalmine Lancashire | C | 3.1 | 67% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Cold Norton Essex | C | 1.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Carlyon Bay Cornwall | C | 0.7 | 0% | 2.4 | 12% |
| 36 | Rearsby Leicestershire | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 37 | Yoxall Staffordshire | C | 1.9 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Barrington Cambridgeshire | C | 3.6 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Raglan Gwent | C− | 3.9 | 0% | 1.2 | 1% |
| 40 | North Elmham Norfolk | C− | 4.7 | 71% | 1 | 0% |
| 41 | Southfields Essex | C− | 2.8 | 0% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Old Leake Lincolnshire | C− | 3.6 | 75% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Chilworth Hampshire | C− | 1.1 | 24% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Chudleigh Knighton Devon | C− | 1 | 46% | 2.5 | 16% |
| 45 | Guilsfield Powys | C− | 3.6 | 71% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Abbotskerswell Devon | C− | 4.2 | 49% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Spofforth North Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 78% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Bratton Wiltshire | C− | 1.9 | 25% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Shardlow Derbyshire | D | 1.5 | 73% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Ullesthorpe Leicestershire | D | 1.5 | 75% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Pant Shropshire | D | 0.3 | 0% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Puddletown Dorset | D | 0.2 | 0% | 2.1 | 15% |
| 53 | Outlane West Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 0% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Aston Oxfordshire | D | 2.2 | 62% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Llanybydder Dyfed | D | 2.2 | 60% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Melton Constable Norfolk | D | 1.6 | 76% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Stoke Ferry Norfolk | D | 1.1 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Bretforton Worcestershire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.4 | 9% |
| 59 | Standlake Oxfordshire | D− | 1.7 | 42% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Moor End Gloucestershire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Melton Constable’s built-up area.
How close Melton Constable’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).
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
The Norfolk Coast National Landscape is 3.2 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.
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Melton Constable scores 0% on it even though the Norfolk Coast National Landscape is 3.2 mi away. The Broads National Park covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989.
Footpaths in and around Melton Constable
5 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Melton Constable and the kilometre around it, 0.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Melton Constable; 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.
The best walking months in Melton Constable: May to August
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 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 60 | 47 | 41 | 40 | 50 | 63 | 61 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 73 | 69 |
April is the driest month (40 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 82 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Melton Constable →
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
Melton Constable is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Holt, 4.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 84% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Holt and Fakenham have at least twice Melton Constable’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Melton Constable
Is Melton Constable near a National Park?
Yes. the Broads National Park begins 16 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, 3.2 mi away.
What is the nearest beach to Melton Constable?
Holkham Naturist Beach, 13 mi from the edge of the village, then West Sands (21 mi). Melton Constable itself is inland.
How many people in Melton Constable live near a park?
76% 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 Melton Constable?
May to August: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Melton Constable good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 0.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 3% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 30% (1.6 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 Melton Constable’s overall grade.
Where Melton Constable’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.