Photo: Thomas Nugent · CC BY-SA 2.090% of Gartcosh’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Gartcosh add up to 1.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 28 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.3 for every square kilometre. Gartcosh has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Gartcosh’s locality.
How close Gartcosh’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 (NRS Census 2022 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; 29 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 112 residents.
The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is 17 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park covers 1,861 km² and has been a National Park since 2002.
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Gartcosh
28 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Gartcosh and the kilometre around it, 3.3 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.
The regional route here is the Strathkelvin Railway Path.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Gartcosh: 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) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.5 | 17.0 | 15.0 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 7.0 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 119 | 105 | 94 | 64 | 68 | 78 | 95 | 107 | 98 | 127 | 115 | 129 |
April is the driest month (64 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 129 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 53 nights a year. The climate in Gartcosh →
3 viewpoints, 29 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
Gartcosh is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. SEPA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
Plus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 11
Plus 3 hills and peaks without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gartcosh | – | 1.1 | 90% | 0% |
| Chryston 1.3 mi | – | 0.8 | 68% | 0% |
| Glenboig 1.4 mi | – | 4.3 | 78% | 0% |
| Moodiesburn 1.6 mi | – | 1.0 | 64% | 0% |
| Stepps 2.2 mi | – | 4.0 | 75% | 0% |
| Bargeddie 2.2 mi | – | 10.7 | 90% | 0% |
| Coatbridge 3.1 mi | – | 4.5 | 87% | 0% |
Glenboig, Stepps and Bargeddie have at least twice Gartcosh’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Gartcosh
Is Gartcosh near a National Park?
Yes. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park begins 17 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,861 km² and has been a National Park since 2002.
What are the best walks near Gartcosh?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Strathkelvin Railway Path and Seven Lochs Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Gartcosh?
Sandy Cove (Old Picnic Spot), 8.4 mi from the edge of the town, then Sandy Bays (8.4 mi). Gartcosh itself is inland.
How many people in Gartcosh live near a park?
90% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Gartcosh?
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, National Park or National Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Gartcosh’s overall grade.
Where Gartcosh’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 Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, 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: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish 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.