Brecon’s biggest
Beacons Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Brecon · parks, paths & countryside
Brecon is inside the Brecon Beacons National Park
Parks and playing fields in Brecon add up to 3.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 59 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.2 for every square kilometre. Brecon grades A for the outdoors: #1 of 7 in Powys. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
86%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
59 km
3.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
61%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Brecon Beacons National Park
Outdoors grade
Brecon grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Brecon, 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 89% of UK towns#1 of 7 in Powys · 11th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
73out of
100
100
A park within a walk86%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
58out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape61%of the land within 5 km
95out of
100
100
Footpaths3.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
64out 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
Brecon is 11th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 7,900 to 8,700 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
Brecon3.2
Towns its size2.9
Powys towns1.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Brecon3.2
Towns its size2.2
Powys towns2.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Brecon86%
Towns its size86%
Powys towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Brecon stands out most for park space per resident: only 13 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upton Dorset | A+ | 9.1 | 84% | 4.7 | 18% |
| 2 | Hawkinge Kent | A+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.2 | 74% |
| 3 | Chipping Sodbury Gloucestershire | A+ | 5.2 | 93% | 8.2 | 29% |
| 4 | Pool and Illogan Cornwall | A+ | 3.7 | 81% | 4 | 5% |
| 5 | Ecclesfield and Grenoside South Yorkshire | A+ | 5.1 | 94% | 5.2 | 2% |
| 6 | Stakeford Northumberland | A+ | 10 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 7 | Bargod Gwent | A | 13.6 | 100% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Wallingford Oxfordshire | A | 3.1 | 85% | 3.7 | 61% |
| 9 | Dursley Gloucestershire | A | 1.8 | 90% | 7.2 | 52% |
| 10 | Grove Oxfordshire | A | 2.2 | 92% | 4.7 | 27% |
| 11 | Brecon Powys | A | 3.2 | 86% | 3.2 | 61% |
| 12 | East Cowes Isle of Wight | A | 1.4 | 96% | 3 | 8% |
| 13 | Ledbury Herefordshire | A | 3.3 | 89% | 3.1 | 34% |
| 14 | Penistone South Yorkshire | A | 2.6 | 97% | 3.9 | 9% |
| 15 | Bearsted Kent | A | 5.5 | 76% | 3.5 | 39% |
| 16 | Stonehouse Gloucestershire | A | 1.8 | 94% | 4.6 | 36% |
| 17 | Bursledon Hampshire | A | 2.6 | 90% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Richmond North Yorkshire | A | 2.4 | 96% | 3.9 | 7% |
| 19 | Maryport Cumbria | A− | 1.4 | 100% | 2.4 | 5% |
| 20 | Norton Canes Staffordshire | A− | 13.3 | 97% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 21 | London Colney Hertfordshire | A− | 3.7 | 96% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 22 | Pembroke Dyfed | B+ | 2.2 | 91% | 1 | 31% |
| 23 | Coppull Lancashire | B+ | 4.6 | 85% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 24 | Hadleigh Suffolk | B+ | 2.6 | 87% | 2.7 | 10% |
| 25 | Runwell Essex | B+ | 5.1 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 26 | Pershore Worcestershire | B | 2.7 | 76% | 3.2 | 7% |
| 27 | Edenbridge Kent | B | 2.6 | 64% | 3 | 42% |
| 28 | Abergele Clwyd | B | 2.9 | 78% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Clayton-le-Moors Lancashire | B | 1.1 | 86% | 4.2 | 2% |
| 30 | Alnwick Northumberland | B− | 2.2 | 67% | 3.4 | 7% |
| 31 | Twyford Berkshire | B− | 2.4 | 86% | 2.1 | 5% |
| 32 | Meltham West Yorkshire | B− | 1 | 63% | 5.3 | 27% |
| 33 | Stansted Mountfitchet Essex | B− | 0.8 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Denbigh Clwyd | B− | 1.3 | 96% | 2.3 | 5% |
| 35 | Fakenham Norfolk | C+ | 5.2 | 81% | 2 | 0% |
| 36 | Bewdley Worcestershire | C+ | 1.7 | 88% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Crediton Devon | C+ | 2.4 | 89% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 38 | Seaton Delaval Northumberland | C+ | 0.5 | 66% | 4 | 0% |
| 39 | Ammanford Dyfed | C+ | 2.8 | 70% | 1.5 | 9% |
| 40 | Faringdon Oxfordshire | C | 1.3 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 41 | Silsden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 67% | 3.5 | 1% |
| 42 | Rothwell Northamptonshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Norton-on-Derwent North Yorkshire | C | 1.6 | 58% | 2.4 | 16% |
| 44 | Southam Warwickshire | C | 2.3 | 86% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 45 | Gerrards Cross Buckinghamshire | C | 2.1 | 38% | 2.3 | 2% |
| 46 | Hedon East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 0.9 | 74% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 47 | Sherburn in Elmet North Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Glastonbury Somerset | C− | 2 | 69% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Llanharan and Brynna Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 97% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Hilton Derbyshire | C− | 1.1 | 89% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Radlett Hertfordshire | C− | 2.1 | 60% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Rainworth Nottinghamshire | C− | 0.5 | 65% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 53 | East Leake Nottinghamshire | C− | 2.4 | 68% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Penkridge Staffordshire | C− | 0.8 | 70% | 2.1 | 7% |
| 55 | Launceston Cornwall | C− | 2.1 | 66% | 0.9 | 1% |
| 56 | Highworth Wiltshire | C− | 0.4 | 59% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Swaffham Norfolk | D | 1 | 68% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Ashford Common Surrey | D | 0.8 | 62% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Coxheath Kent | D | 1.2 | 48% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Clydach West Glamorgan | D | 1.7 | 68% | 0.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Brecon’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 Brecon
The biggest is Beacons Park, 1.5 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
9 in 10 Brecon 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 (86%)Further (14%)
Brecon86%
Towns its size86%
Powys towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 1,200 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 11 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 751 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Brecon
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 Park
Brecon Beacons
Brecon is inside it1,350 km²since 195561% of the land within 5 km
61% of the land within 5 km of Brecon is National Park or National Landscape, more than 94% of UK towns. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Brecon
59 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Brecon and the kilometre around it, 3.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Taff Trail0.5 km
The regional route here is the Taff Trail.
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 Brecon: 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) | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 140 | 114 | 77 | 69 | 70 | 63 | 74 | 90 | 81 | 126 | 129 | 159 |
June is the driest month (63 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 159 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Brecon →
Things to do
11 playgrounds
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.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 6
Slwch Tump246 m (807 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsCefn-Cantref290 m (951 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsPen y Crug331 m (1,086 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsThe Held270 m (886 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsTwyn Llechfaen317 m (1,040 ft) · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsCoed Fenni-fach280 m (919 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
Priory Mill Farm0.1 mi from town
DirectionsBrecon Beacons Caravan Club Site0.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
TalgarthLlangynidrBrecon
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brecon | A | 3.2 | 86% | 61% |
| Talgarth 7.4 mi | B | 5.7 | 71% | 52% |
| Llangynidr 8.7 mi | B+ | 2.4 | 65% | 100% |
Brecon grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Brecon
What is the biggest park in Brecon?
Beacons Park, 1.5 ha (4 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Brecon?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Taff Trail.
How many people in Brecon live near a park?
86% 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 Brecon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Brecon good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 64% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 73% (3.2 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 Brecon’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Brecon’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.