Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Irchester War Memorial · Photo: Philip Jeffrey · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Irchester add up to 8.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 20 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.0 for every square kilometre. 83% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Irchester grades B− for the outdoors: #15 of 31 in Northamptonshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Irchester, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,400 to 4,700 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Irchester stands out most for park space per resident: only 6 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 42 of the others do better.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keswick Cumbria | A+ | 9.1 | 100% | 4.1 | 100% |
| 2 | Lawford Essex | A+ | 3.4 | 94% | 2.8 | 40% |
| 3 | Chipstead and Woodmansterne Surrey | A+ | 10.3 | 92% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 4 | Hamble-le-Rice Hampshire | A+ | 12.7 | 67% | 3.6 | 7% |
| 5 | Monkton Heathfield Somerset | A | 2.4 | 100% | 4.4 | 8% |
| 6 | Fortuneswell Dorset | A | 1.1 | 100% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Kimberley Nottinghamshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 8 | Stanton Hill and Skegby Nottinghamshire | A− | 16.1 | 83% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Nantyglo Gwent | A− | 2.5 | 82% | 3.7 | 29% |
| 10 | Brampton South Yorkshire | A− | 4.4 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Wheathampstead Hertfordshire | A− | 3.1 | 93% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 12 | Hugglescote Leicestershire | B+ | 4.2 | 91% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 13 | Winscombe and Sandford Somerset | B+ | 3.5 | 52% | 3.6 | 38% |
| 14 | Kings Worthy Hampshire | B+ | 3.9 | 66% | 3 | 23% |
| 15 | Elmswell Suffolk | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 16 | Sowerby Bridge West Yorkshire | B | 4.5 | 72% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Blackhall Colliery County Durham | B | 1.1 | 95% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Callington Cornwall | B | 2.1 | 100% | 1.1 | 21% |
| 19 | Whaley Bridge Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 44% | 4.3 | 53% |
| 20 | Lyneham Wiltshire | B− | 1.5 | 94% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 21 | High Lane Greater Manchester | B− | 1.5 | 67% | 4.6 | 12% |
| 22 | Earby Lancashire | B− | 1.4 | 93% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Alderley Edge Cheshire | B− | 2.2 | 86% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 24 | Finedon Northamptonshire | B− | 3.9 | 95% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 25 | Bromham Bedfordshire | B− | 3.8 | 87% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Irchester Northamptonshire | B− | 8.2 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 27 | Cwmavon West Glamorgan | B− | 2.3 | 75% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Llay Clwyd | B− | 10.6 | 85% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Cleadon Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.1 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Toddington Bedfordshire | B− | 0.9 | 86% | 3.1 | 8% |
| 31 | Blaina Gwent | C+ | 2.1 | 53% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 32 | Loughor West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.1 | 70% | 1.2 | 6% |
| 33 | Stamford Bridge East Riding of Yorkshire | C+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Brinsley and Underwood Nottinghamshire | C+ | 3.3 | 71% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Iwade Kent | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Kennington Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.1 | 58% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Howden East Riding of Yorkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 94% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Southminster Essex | C+ | 1.8 | 92% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Queen's Hills Norfolk | C | 0.4 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Backworth Tyne and Wear | C | 2 | 59% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Eccleston Lancashire | C | 2.4 | 83% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 42 | Hope Clwyd | C | 8.5 | 64% | 2 | 0% |
| 43 | Clapham Bedfordshire | C | 1.3 | 94% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Kilburn and Horsley Woodhouse Derbyshire | C | 1.6 | 75% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Skelmanthorpe West Yorkshire | C | 1 | 88% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Coxhoe County Durham | C | 1.4 | 66% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Kinver Staffordshire | C | 3.1 | 60% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Wesham Lancashire | C− | 1.7 | 87% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Bricket Wood Hertfordshire | C− | 1.7 | 43% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Stretton Staffordshire | C− | 3.7 | 49% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Saxilby Lincolnshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Crowland Lincolnshire | C− | 2.8 | 70% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Freckleton Lancashire | D | 0.4 | 73% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Linton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.1 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Welton Lincolnshire | D | 2 | 57% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Ynysybwl Mid Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Banks Lancashire | D | 0.3 | 33% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Lakenheath Suffolk | D | 1.1 | 57% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Broughton Lincolnshire | D | 0.9 | 39% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Elm and Emneth Norfolk | D | 2.2 | 45% | 0.7 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Irchester’s built-up area.
The biggest is Irchester Country Park, 79 ha (195 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
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 800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 454 residents.
20 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Irchester 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 Nene Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 42 | 37 | 43 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 62 | 52 | 63 | 59 | 56 |
March is the driest month (37 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 63 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 42 nights a year. The climate in Irchester →
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.
Irchester 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.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irchester | B− | 8.2 | 83% | 0% |
| Wymington 1.9 mi | D | 0.3 | 0% | 0% |
| Rushden 2.0 mi | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 0% |
| Wollaston 2.1 mi | D− | 1.2 | 11% | 0% |
| Wellingborough 2.9 mi | C+ | 2.7 | 95% | 0% |
| Higham Ferrers 3.0 mi | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 0% |
| Great Doddington 3.0 mi | D | 1.3 | 69% | 0% |
Higham Ferrers, 3 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 93% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Irchester Country Park, 79 ha (195 acres), with 9.2 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Irchester.
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Nene Way, Lakes and Meadows Trail and Ditchford Muddy Boot Trail. Irchester Country Park alone has 9.2 km of path.
The Beach, 18 mi from the edge of the town. Irchester itself is inland.
83% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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 94% (8.2 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Irchester’s overall grade.
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.