Photo: Geoff Pick · CC BY-SA 2.0Almost everyone in Ringstead lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Footpaths add up to 9 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 1.3 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Ringstead add up to 1.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Ringstead grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Ringstead?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Ringstead’s strongest suit is parks close to every home. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Ringstead grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ringstead, 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.
Ringstead is 38th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,300 to 1,400 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Ringstead stands out most for homes near a park: none of the other 59 has more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 50 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatsfield Surrey | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 3.1 | 34% |
| 2 | Winsley Wiltshire | A | 12.4 | 79% | 4.2 | 38% |
| 3 | Chilton Oxfordshire | A | 5.4 | 88% | 2.8 | 70% |
| 4 | Cowfold West Sussex | A | 2.6 | 100% | 3.6 | 15% |
| 5 | Gomshall Surrey | A | 1.9 | 89% | 4.8 | 87% |
| 6 | West Horsley Surrey | A | 3 | 74% | 5.2 | 40% |
| 7 | Maresfield East Sussex | A | 2.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 44% |
| 8 | Sherfield on Loddon Hampshire | A− | 8.3 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 9 | Weston Rhyn Shropshire | A− | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 10% |
| 10 | Distington Cumbria | A− | 4.2 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 11 | Cwmfelinfach Gwent | A− | 24.6 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Stoke sub Hamdon Somerset | A− | 25.1 | 81% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 13 | Wharncliffe Side South Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 47% | 6.4 | 22% |
| 14 | Bradwell Derbyshire | A− | 1.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 15 | Mynydd Marian Clwyd | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Quintrell Downs Cornwall | B+ | 3.3 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Appleton Thorn Cheshire | B+ | 5.6 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 18 | Barrow Lancashire | B | 0.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 27% |
| 19 | Wymeswold Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 20 | Motcombe Dorset | B | 9.5 | 74% | 1.5 | 25% |
| 21 | Marazion Cornwall | B | 1.4 | 80% | 2 | 14% |
| 22 | Cwmllynfell and Ystradowen West Glamorgan | B | 4.1 | 79% | 1 | 40% |
| 23 | Cefn Cribwr Mid Glamorgan | B | 6.5 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 24 | Sampford Peverell Devon | B− | 3 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 25 | Holymoorside Derbyshire | B− | 1.1 | 82% | 3.8 | 14% |
| 26 | Narborough Norfolk | B− | 3.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Cockfield County Durham | B− | 2.3 | 81% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Kingswood Kent | B− | 3.8 | 23% | 2.7 | 11% |
| 29 | Clwt-y-bont Gwynedd | B− | 0.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 19% |
| 30 | Steeple Bumpstead Essex | B− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Mobberley Cheshire | C+ | 1.4 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Trub Greater Manchester | C+ | 1.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 33 | Houghton Cambridgeshire | C+ | 2.2 | 81% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Launton Oxfordshire | C+ | 0.7 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 35 | Great Waldingfield Suffolk | C | 2 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 36 | East Hendred Oxfordshire | C | 1.4 | 29% | 2.8 | 47% |
| 37 | Great Bardfield Essex | C | 2 | 81% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Ringstead Northamptonshire | C | 1.8 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Tickton East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 2 | 100% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 40 | Winterley Cheshire | C | 0.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 41 | Chelford Cheshire | C | 1.8 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Seaton Burn Tyne and Wear | C | 3.3 | 36% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 43 | Walkern Hertfordshire | C− | 2.4 | 52% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Offord D'Arcy and Offord Cluny Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.7 | 78% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 45 | Cottingham and Middleton Northamptonshire | C− | 12.1 | 53% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Newton St Loe Somerset | C− | 0 | 0% | 3.5 | 17% |
| 47 | Cowbit Lincolnshire | C− | 0.9 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Ogmore-by-Sea South Glamorgan | C− | 0 | 0% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Penrhyn-coch Dyfed | D | 0.7 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Hawley Kent | D | 0.7 | 24% | 2.8 | 3% |
| 51 | Butterwick Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 40% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Todwick South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 51% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Malpas Cheshire | D | 1.6 | 61% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | North Cave East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.5 | 47% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Skelton (York) North Yorkshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Longframlington Northumberland | D | 1.3 | 78% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 57 | Bomere Heath Shropshire | D− | 1.8 | 0% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Woodmansey East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Claypole Lincolnshire | D− | 0.7 | 0% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Griston Norfolk | D− | 0.8 | 15% | 0.5 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ringstead’s built-up area.
How close Ringstead’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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Ringstead
9 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ringstead and the kilometre around it, 1.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
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 best walking months in Ringstead: 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 | 16.8 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 51 | 42 | 38 | 47 | 53 | 52 | 60 | 58 | 50 | 64 | 62 | 51 |
March is the driest month (38 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 64 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Ringstead →
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
Ringstead 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.
Dog parks 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ringstead | C | 1.8 | 100% | 0% |
| Raunds 1.7 mi | C+ | 4.7 | 74% | 0% |
| Woodford 1.7 mi | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Thrapston 2.1 mi | C | 1.2 | 100% | 0% |
| Stanwick 2.4 mi | B− | 7.9 | 82% | 0% |
| Irthlingborough 4.0 mi | A− | 4.7 | 94% | 0% |
| Higham Ferrers 4.3 mi | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 0% |
Irthlingborough, 4 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 94% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Raunds, Stanwick and Irthlingborough have at least twice Ringstead’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Ringstead
Is Ringstead near a National Park?
No National Park or National Landscape is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Ringstead.
What are the best walks near Ringstead?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the village, including the Nene Way.
What is the nearest beach to Ringstead?
The Beach, 24 mi from the edge of the village. Ringstead itself is inland.
How many people in Ringstead live near a park?
100% 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 Ringstead?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Ringstead good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 12% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 40% (1.8 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 Ringstead’s overall grade.
Where Ringstead’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.