Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and walks in Croughton
Parks and playing fields in Croughton add up to 3.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 19 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.6 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 73% of residents. Croughton grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Croughton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Croughton’s strongest suit is plenty of park space. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Croughton grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Croughton, 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.
Croughton is 38th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,100 to 1,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Croughton 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 43 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlin How North Yorkshire | A+ | 3.1 | 100% | 2.3 | 13% |
| 2 | Sundridge Kent | A+ | 9.1 | 100% | 2.3 | 73% |
| 3 | Shamley Green Surrey | A | 2.9 | 100% | 3 | 69% |
| 4 | Dawlish Warren Devon | A | 21.1 | 73% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 5 | Niton Isle of Wight | A | 2.6 | 76% | 3.1 | 37% |
| 6 | Donisthorpe Leicestershire | A | 38.4 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 7 | Hoddlesden Lancashire | A | 11.4 | 100% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Egloshayle Cornwall | A | 7.3 | 100% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 9 | Bures Suffolk | A | 5.4 | 100% | 2.5 | 14% |
| 10 | Ruardean Gloucestershire | A | 4.5 | 100% | 2.2 | 29% |
| 11 | Great Bedwyn Wiltshire | A | 3 | 76% | 3.7 | 100% |
| 12 | Lower Halstow Kent | A− | 1.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 4% |
| 13 | Low Bradley North Yorkshire | A− | 1.2 | 100% | 6.2 | 2% |
| 14 | Foulridge Lancashire | A− | 9.4 | 23% | 5.4 | 4% |
| 15 | Oxspring South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.7 | 77% | 4 | 1% |
| 16 | Stallingborough Lincolnshire | B+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Toll Bar South Yorkshire | B+ | 10.9 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 18 | King's Somborne Hampshire | B+ | 5.2 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 19 | Canewdon Essex | B | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 20 | St Bees Cumbria | B | 8.5 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Keinton Mandeville Somerset | B | 3.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Clyst St Mary Devon | B | 5.8 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 23 | Bodedern Gwynedd | B | 1.2 | 100% | 0 | 16% |
| 24 | Woodchurch Kent | B | 2.3 | 78% | 2.8 | 12% |
| 25 | Corse Gloucestershire | B | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 1% |
| 26 | Stradbroke Suffolk | B− | 3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Trawden Lancashire | B− | 4 | 0% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Welford Northamptonshire | B− | 3.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Rushwick Worcestershire | B− | 5 | 71% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Lyne Surrey | C+ | 4 | 71% | 3 | 0% |
| 31 | Coldeast Devon | C+ | 1.6 | 47% | 3.6 | 30% |
| 32 | Haswell County Durham | C+ | 3.2 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 33 | Medomsley County Durham | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Bottom Boat West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Stalmine Lancashire | C | 3.1 | 67% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Clifton upon Dunsmore Warwickshire | C | 2.2 | 79% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Barrington Cambridgeshire | C | 3.6 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Croughton Northamptonshire | C | 3.6 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 39 | Hill Brow and Rake Hampshire | C− | 0 | 0% | 2.9 | 97% |
| 40 | Wolverley Worcestershire | C− | 7.2 | 23% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Methley West Yorkshire | C− | 0.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Sproatley East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 8.6 | 47% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Kirby-le-Soken Essex | C− | 0.7 | 0% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Parson Drove Cambridgeshire | D | 3.5 | 60% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Shardlow Derbyshire | D | 1.5 | 73% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Kingswood Warwickshire | D | 1.7 | 42% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Coup Green Lancashire | D | 0.6 | 70% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Horton and Broadway Somerset | D | 0.5 | 45% | 1.9 | 14% |
| 49 | Puddletown Dorset | D | 0.2 | 0% | 2.1 | 15% |
| 50 | Beckingham Nottinghamshire | D | 2.6 | 28% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Stoke Ferry Norfolk | D | 1.1 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Ifold West Sussex | D | 0 | 0% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 53 | Bretforton Worcestershire | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 1.4 | 9% |
| 54 | Standlake Oxfordshire | D− | 1.7 | 42% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Walesby Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.1 | 50% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Rillington North Yorkshire | D− | 1 | 75% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Wrawby Lincolnshire | D− | 1.8 | 26% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Darrington West Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 72% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Blackwell Worcestershire | D− | 0.7 | 29% | 2 | 0% |
| 60 | Fiskerton Lincolnshire | 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 Croughton’s built-up area.
7 in 10 Croughton 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).
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
The Cotswolds National Landscape is 11 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.
Footpaths in and around Croughton
19 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Croughton and the kilometre around it, 1.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Croughton; 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 Croughton: 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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 51 | 49 | 55 | 63 | 54 | 61 | 69 | 57 | 80 | 79 | 75 |
March is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 80 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 55 nights a year. The climate in Croughton →
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
Croughton 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croughton | C | 3.6 | 73% | 0% |
| Kings Sutton 3.5 mi | C− | 1.8 | 79% | 0% |
| Brackley 3.5 mi | B | 2.7 | 100% | 0% |
| Adderbury and Twyford 4.8 mi | C | 1.7 | 89% | 0% |
| Deddington 5.3 mi | C− | 3.6 | 53% | 0% |
| Upper Heyford 5.3 mi | C− | 1.1 | 100% | 0% |
| Bodicote 5.9 mi | B+ | 10.2 | 86% | 0% |
Bodicote, 5.9 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Bodicote has at least twice Croughton’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Croughton
Is Croughton near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cotswolds National Landscape, 11 mi north-west of the village’s edge. It covers 2,041 km² and was designated in 1966.
What is the nearest beach to Croughton?
The Leys Park, 19 mi from the edge of the village. Croughton itself is inland.
How many people in Croughton live near a park?
73% 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 Croughton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Croughton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 20% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 78% (3.6 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 Croughton’s overall grade.
Where Croughton’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.