Photo: David Pashley · CC BY-SA 2.085% of Stalham’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Broads National Park reaches the edge of Stalham. 20 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.0 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Stalham add up to 1.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Stalham grades B− for the outdoors: #22 of 51 in Norfolk. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Stalham grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Stalham, 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.
Stalham is 30th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 3,200 to 3,500 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Stalham falls furthest behind on path per km², where 36 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minchinhampton Gloucestershire | A+ | 5.6 | 91% | 5.3 | 90% |
| 2 | Lane End Buckinghamshire | A+ | 3.1 | 92% | 4.7 | 90% |
| 3 | Silsoe Bedfordshire | A+ | 6.6 | 100% | 3.8 | 2% |
| 4 | Goring Oxfordshire | A+ | 3 | 100% | 3.2 | 98% |
| 5 | Talke and Talke Pits Staffordshire | A | 16.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Broadwell and Coalway Gloucestershire | A | 2.8 | 72% | 5.5 | 38% |
| 7 | Elsenham Essex | A− | 3 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 8 | Westward Ho! Devon | A− | 12.3 | 63% | 1.7 | 18% |
| 9 | Birdwell South Yorkshire | A− | 3.6 | 90% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Essington Staffordshire | B+ | 6.8 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 11 | Newlyn Cornwall | B+ | 1.5 | 67% | 3.2 | 24% |
| 12 | Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd | B+ | 3.6 | 70% | 2.5 | 78% |
| 13 | St Asaph Clwyd | B+ | 3.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 9% |
| 14 | Mickletown West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 93% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 15 | Water Orton Warwickshire | B+ | 5.3 | 82% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Hartley Wintney Hampshire | B+ | 6.1 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 17 | Elton Cheshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 18 | Madeley Staffordshire | B | 3.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 19 | Whalley Lancashire | B | 1.2 | 88% | 3.5 | 23% |
| 20 | Fishbourne West Sussex | B | 1.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 21 | Westerham Kent | B | 1.9 | 61% | 3.5 | 66% |
| 22 | Fernhill Heath Worcestershire | B | 3.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Caddington Bedfordshire | B | 1.3 | 81% | 3.6 | 33% |
| 24 | Brockenhurst Hampshire | B | 1.8 | 63% | 3.3 | 98% |
| 25 | Hemingford Grey Cambridgeshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 26 | Sunniside Tyne and Wear | B | 2.1 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 27 | Istead Rise Kent | B− | 1.9 | 82% | 2.7 | 15% |
| 28 | Ruabon Clwyd | B− | 3.8 | 69% | 1.9 | 20% |
| 29 | Castle Cary Somerset | B− | 2.2 | 91% | 3 | 0% |
| 30 | Stalham Norfolk | B− | 1.9 | 85% | 2 | 23% |
| 31 | Pilsley and Lower Pilsley Derbyshire | B− | 1.9 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Fishguard Dyfed | C+ | 0.8 | 64% | 2.1 | 23% |
| 33 | Highley Shropshire | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Pegswood Northumberland | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Leadgate County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 36 | Thorpe Willoughby North Yorkshire | C | 0.4 | 92% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Marlow Bottom Buckinghamshire | C | 0.5 | 40% | 3.4 | 50% |
| 38 | Ashburton Devon | C | 1.7 | 74% | 1 | 60% |
| 39 | Somersham Cambridgeshire | C | 2.7 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Earls Colne Essex | C | 1.4 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Bedale North Yorkshire | C | 3.6 | 78% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Alvechurch Worcestershire | C | 2.2 | 84% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Adderbury and Twyford Oxfordshire | C | 1.7 | 89% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Eastchurch Kent | C | 1.9 | 72% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Nettleham Lincolnshire | C | 4.2 | 74% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Holsworthy Devon | C− | 2.7 | 84% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 47 | Bishopthorpe North Yorkshire | C− | 3.2 | 51% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Lytchett Matravers Dorset | C− | 1.2 | 83% | 1.2 | 5% |
| 49 | Willand Devon | C− | 0.9 | 88% | 0.6 | 1% |
| 50 | Talbot Green Mid Glamorgan | D | 0.7 | 66% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Witham St Hughs Lincolnshire | D | 0.7 | 91% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Wadhurst East Sussex | D | 0.9 | 19% | 1.2 | 100% |
| 53 | Chapel St Leonards Lincolnshire | D | 0.4 | 53% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Messingham Lincolnshire | D | 3.4 | 46% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Eglwys-Brewis South Glamorgan | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Cherry Willingham Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 79% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Spixworth Norfolk | D | 0.6 | 59% | 1.2 | 5% |
| 58 | Heckington Lincolnshire | D | 1.4 | 68% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Headcorn Kent | D− | 1.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Bawtry South Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 49% | 1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Stalham’s built-up area.
How close Stalham’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 500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 677 residents.
the Broads and Norfolk Coast both start about 3 miles from Stalham
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.
the Broads
23% of the land within 5 km of Stalham is National Park or National Landscape, more than 79% of UK towns. The Broads National Park covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989.
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Stalham
20 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Stalham and the kilometre around it, 2.0 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 Weavers’ 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 Stalham: 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 | 15.8 | 16.8 | 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) | 56 | 46 | 46 | 38 | 42 | 56 | 55 | 65 | 59 | 71 | 70 | 64 |
April is the driest month (38 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 71 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 31 nights a year. The climate in Stalham →
5 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
Stalham 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
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stalham | B− | 1.9 | 85% | 23% |
| Sutton 0.8 mi | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 29% |
| Hoveton and Wroxham 6.0 mi | D | 1.4 | 65% | 18% |
| Martham 6.4 mi | B | 1.7 | 74% | 45% |
| North Walsham 6.5 mi | C− | 1.3 | 69% | 10% |
| Coltishall and Horstead 7.1 mi | C− | 2.1 | 57% | 8% |
| Badersfield 7.4 mi | D− | 0.3 | 53% | 2% |
Martham, 6.4 miles away, grades B, the best next door: 74% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Stalham
Is Stalham near a National Park?
It covers 302 km² and has been a National Park since 1989.
What are the best walks near Stalham?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Weavers’ Way and Stalham Staithe Circular.
What is the nearest beach to Stalham?
Corton Sands, 20 mi from the edge of the town, then Corton Beach (20 mi). Stalham itself is inland.
How many people in Stalham live near a park?
85% 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 Stalham?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Stalham good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 30% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 42% (1.9 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 Stalham’s overall grade.
Where Stalham’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.