Didcot’s biggest
Edmonds Park
Playing field
7.4 ha (18 acres)0.4 km of path
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Didcot
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Didcot · parks, paths & countryside
39% of the land within 5 km of Didcot is National Park or National Landscape
The North Wessex Downs National Landscape begins 0.1 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 106 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.8 for every square kilometre. 88% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Didcot grades A− for the outdoors: #8 of 38 in Oxfordshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
88%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
106 km
3.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
39%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: North Wessex Downs National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Didcot?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside39% of the land within 5 km is North Wessex Downs National Landscape.A town of footpaths3.8 km of path per km², more than 77% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Less park per person1.6 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Didcot’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by dense footpaths. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Didcot grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Didcot, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A−
Better than 77% of UK towns#8 of 38 in Oxfordshire · 17th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
32out of
100
100
A park within a walk88%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
63out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape39%of the land within 5 km
88out of
100
100
Footpaths3.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
77out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of
100
100
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.
Towns its size
Didcot is 17th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 31,600 to 37,800 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
Didcot3.8
Towns its size3.9
Oxfordshire towns2.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Didcot1.6
Towns its size2.2
Oxfordshire towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Didcot88%
Towns its size84%
Oxfordshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
Didcot falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 44 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locks Heath Hampshire | A+ | 3.5 | 91% | 3.7 | 4% |
| 2 | Great Malvern Worcestershire | A+ | 3.9 | 90% | 6 | 38% |
| 3 | Dover Kent | A+ | 3 | 86% | 2.9 | 29% |
| 4 | Hyde Greater Manchester | A | 4.3 | 91% | 3.9 | 1% |
| 5 | Epsom Surrey | A | 5.7 | 80% | 4.8 | 2% |
| 6 | Burgess Hill West Sussex | A | 2.4 | 87% | 5 | 27% |
| 7 | Skelmersdale Lancashire | A | 7.8 | 91% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 8 | Redhill Surrey | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 4.3 | 14% |
| 9 | Rustington West Sussex | A− | 2.1 | 78% | 2.7 | 25% |
| 10 | Chandler's Ford Hampshire | A− | 2.7 | 80% | 5.3 | 6% |
| 11 | Dunstable Bedfordshire | A− | 2 | 78% | 8 | 29% |
| 12 | Caversham Berkshire | A− | 2.5 | 77% | 4.3 | 32% |
| 13 | Sutton in Ashfield Nottinghamshire | A− | 4.3 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 14 | Accrington Lancashire | A− | 2.6 | 79% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 15 | Nelson Lancashire | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 5.2 | 15% |
| 16 | St Neots Cambridgeshire | A− | 3.5 | 91% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Didcot Oxfordshire | A− | 1.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 39% |
| 18 | Exmouth Devon | A− | 1.4 | 82% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 19 | Waterlooville Hampshire | B+ | 1 | 66% | 5.2 | 18% |
| 20 | Chippenham Wiltshire | B+ | 2.8 | 76% | 3.9 | 7% |
| 21 | Fulwood Lancashire | B+ | 3.5 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Swadlincote Derbyshire | B+ | 4.1 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 23 | Chichester West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3 | 40% |
| 24 | Lichfield Staffordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 82% | 3.1 | 2% |
| 25 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | B+ | 3.1 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 26 | Pudsey West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 94% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 27 | Hucknall Nottinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 28 | Aberdare Mid Glamorgan | B+ | 4.6 | 84% | 1.8 | 19% |
| 29 | Hitchin Hertfordshire | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 4.4 | 10% |
| 30 | West Bridgford Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.2 | 86% | 7.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Wigston Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Billingham County Durham | B | 4.7 | 86% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Whitley Bay Tyne and Wear | B | 1.9 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Warwick Warwickshire | B | 3 | 85% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Denton Greater Manchester | B | 2.4 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Letchworth Hertfordshire | B | 2.2 | 85% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Loughton Essex | B | 2.9 | 74% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Abingdon-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Bicester Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 99% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Caerphilly Gwent | B | 2.6 | 82% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Chadderton Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 87% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 43 | Morecambe Lancashire | B− | 0.8 | 84% | 2.2 | 2% |
| 44 | Redcar North Yorkshire | B− | 2.6 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Tonbridge Kent | B− | 2.1 | 65% | 2.6 | 38% |
| 46 | Whitstable Kent | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 47 | Camberley Surrey | C+ | 2 | 73% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Billericay Essex | C+ | 4.1 | 70% | 3 | 0% |
| 49 | Winsford Cheshire | C+ | 1.3 | 92% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater Surrey | C+ | 2.2 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Morley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Horndean Hampshire | C+ | 0.9 | 57% | 3.3 | 53% |
| 54 | Rayleigh Essex | C | 2 | 71% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Sedgley West Midlands | C | 1.5 | 65% | 4 | 0% |
| 56 | Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Bilston West Midlands | C− | 1.5 | 76% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Rushden Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Bromsgrove Worcestershire | C− | 1.4 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.5 | 70% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Didcot’s built-up area.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Natural England / NRW
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Didcot
The biggest is Edmonds Park, 7.4 ha (18 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 4 named parks by size: 10 ha (24 acres)
Parks & gardens 0.8 haPlaying fields 9.0 haPlay spaces 0.1 ha
The two biggest, Edmonds Park and Smallbone Recreation Park, are 84% of the named green space. 3 of the 4 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Smallbone Recreation Park
Park or garden
0.8 ha (2 acres)0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Didcot
Directionsto the nearest entrance
East Hagbourne Recreation Ground
Playing field · 230 m outside town
1.6 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Edmonds Park Splash Pad
Play space
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Didcot
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Didcot 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).
Within 400 m (88%)Further (12%)
Didcot88%
Towns its size84%
Oxfordshire towns81%
All UK towns83%
About 4,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 43 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 805 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Didcot
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.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
National Landscape
North Wessex Downs
0.1 mi east1,731 km²since 197239% of the land within 5 km
Official site39% of the land within 5 km of Didcot is National Park or National Landscape, more than 88% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Didcot
106 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Didcot and the kilometre around it, 3.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
LocalOther waymarked
The Vale Way2.9 km
Hanson Way1.1 km
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Didcot: 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 43 | 39 | 47 | 49 | 48 | 46 | 54 | 47 | 67 | 68 | 59 |
March is the driest month (39 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 68 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Didcot →
Things to do
43 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.
1Viewpoints4Nature reserves1.9× towns its size1Picnic sites43Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size
The nearest beaches
Didcot is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Leys Park14 mi from Didcot’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 4
Sutton Courtenay Environmental Centre6.2 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsMillennium Common11 ha · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsBlewbury Nature Reserve1.1 ha · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsNeptune Wood5.7 ha · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 43
Caterpillar Playgroundin town
DirectionsLady Grove Park Play Areain town
DirectionsPlus 41 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
HarwellSutton CourtenayBlewburyChiltonSteventonBrightwell-cum-SotwellDidcot
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Didcot | A− | 1.6 | 88% | 39% |
| Harwell 2.0 mi | B− | 1.4 | 85% | 42% |
| Sutton Courtenay 2.6 mi | C | 1.2 | 23% | 6% |
| Blewbury 2.7 mi | B | 3.1 | 54% | 79% |
| Chilton 3.4 mi | A | 5.4 | 88% | 70% |
| Steventon 3.6 mi | B+ | 2.0 | 100% | 17% |
| Brightwell-cum-Sotwell 3.8 mi | B− | 2.5 | 72% | 40% |
Chilton, 3.4 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 88% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Chilton has at least twice Didcot’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Didcot
What is the biggest park in Didcot?
Edmonds Park, 7.4 ha (18 acres). Smallbone Recreation Park (0.8 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Didcot near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, 0.1 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,731 km² and was designated in 1972.
What are the best walks near Didcot?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the The Vale Way and Hanson Way.
What is the nearest beach to Didcot?
The Leys Park, 14 mi from the edge of the town. Didcot itself is inland.
How many people in Didcot live near a park?
88% 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 Didcot?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Didcot good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 77% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 32% (1.6 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 Didcot’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Didcot’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.