Welshpool’s biggest
Maesydre Recreation Ground
Playing field
9.1 ha (23 acres)
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Welshpool
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jo and Steve Turner · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Welshpool · parks, paths & countryside
82% of Welshpool’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
17 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.3 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Welshpool add up to 2.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Shropshire Hills National Landscape begins 5.0 mi from the town’s edge. Welshpool grades C− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.6 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
82%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
17 km
1.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Shropshire Hills starts 5.0 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Welshpool?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Shropshire Hills National Landscape starts 5.0 mi south-east.On a National TrailThe Glyndŵr's Way passes through.Few mapped footpaths1.3 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Welshpool’s strongest suit is the Shropshire Hills National Landscape close by, followed by the Glyndŵr's Way. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Welshpool grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Welshpool, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C−
Better than 23% of UK towns#6 of 7 in Powys · 43rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.6 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
61out of
100
100
A park within a walk82%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
51out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Shropshire Hills begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths1.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
12out 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
Welshpool is 43rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,200 to 5,700 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
Welshpool1.3
Towns its size2.6
Powys towns1.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Welshpool2.6
Towns its size1.9
Powys towns2.9
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Welshpool82%
Towns its size80%
Powys towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Welshpool stands out most for park space per resident: only 23 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 53 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ventnor Isle of Wight | A+ | 4.5 | 61% | 3.7 | 25% |
| 2 | Deepcar South Yorkshire | A | 1.8 | 100% | 6.4 | 21% |
| 3 | St Ives Cornwall | A | 0.8 | 89% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 4 | Nailsworth Gloucestershire | A− | 1.3 | 86% | 5.9 | 88% |
| 5 | Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire | A− | 5.6 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 6 | Hoylake Merseyside | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 7 | Brotton North Yorkshire | A− | 1.4 | 89% | 3 | 2% |
| 8 | Eynsham Oxfordshire | A− | 3 | 94% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 9 | Steyning West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 86% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 10 | Blaenavon Gwent | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 39% |
| 11 | Henfield West Sussex | A− | 3.8 | 51% | 4.4 | 17% |
| 12 | Merley Dorset | B+ | 3.9 | 64% | 4.1 | 6% |
| 13 | Highbridge Somerset | B+ | 2.9 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 14 | Carlton in Lindrick Nottinghamshire | B+ | 9 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Sonning Common Oxfordshire | B+ | 2.6 | 60% | 3.7 | 74% |
| 16 | Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.1 | 61% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 17 | Llantwit Major South Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Drighlington West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.1 | 92% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Whitchurch Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 3.3 | 43% |
| 20 | Cottam Lancashire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 21 | New Alresford Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 94% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 22 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | B+ | 8.8 | 65% | 5 | 0% |
| 23 | Shrivenham and Watchfield Oxfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 96% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 24 | Newent Gloucestershire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Battle East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 64% | 4.3 | 84% |
| 26 | Askern South Yorkshire | B | 8.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 27 | Longstanton and Northstowe Cambridgeshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Shinfield Berkshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Llandrindod Wells Powys | B− | 4.5 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Haddenham Buckinghamshire | B− | 3.1 | 86% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Midhurst West Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 28% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 32 | Broseley Shropshire | C+ | 1.2 | 74% | 3.4 | 8% |
| 33 | Quorndon Leicestershire | C+ | 2.7 | 81% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Rainford Merseyside | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Helsby Cheshire | C+ | 1.4 | 66% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Wadebridge Cornwall | C | 1.8 | 74% | 1.8 | 17% |
| 37 | Coningsby and Tattershall Lincolnshire | C | 2.7 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Four Marks Hampshire | C | 0.9 | 46% | 3 | 31% |
| 39 | Bovingdon Hertfordshire | C | 1.4 | 55% | 2.3 | 26% |
| 40 | Shevington Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Waterbeach Cambridgeshire | C | 1.5 | 94% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Looe Cornwall | C− | 0.1 | 47% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 43 | Welshpool Powys | C− | 2.6 | 82% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Ludgershall Wiltshire | C− | 0.7 | 72% | 1.9 | 32% |
| 45 | Ingatestone Essex | C− | 3.2 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 46 | Measham Leicestershire | C− | 1.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Littlestone-on-Sea Kent | C− | 1.4 | 37% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Abertridwr and Senghenydd Gwent | C− | 1.8 | 87% | 1 | 0% |
| 49 | Long Sutton Lincolnshire | D | 2.2 | 81% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Takeley and Little Canfield Essex | D | 1 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 51 | Blackrod Greater Manchester | D | 1 | 83% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Wigton Cumbria | D | 2.4 | 65% | 1 | 0% |
| 53 | Thornton West Yorkshire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Brigg Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 65% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Treherbert Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.2 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Ruskington Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Eye Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Ravenshead Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirton Lincolnshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Welshpool’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 Welshpool
The biggest is Maesydre Recreation Ground, 9.1 ha (23 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Borfa Green
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Welshpool
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Welshpool’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).
Within 400 m (82%)Further (18%)
Welshpool82%
Towns its size80%
Powys towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 8 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 683 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is 5.0 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.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
National Landscape
Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley
18 mi north389 km²since 2011
National Park
Snowdonia
18 mi west2,140 km²since 1951
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Welshpool scores 0% on it even though the Shropshire Hills National Landscape is 5.0 mi away. Snowdonia National Park covers 2,140 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Welshpool is on the Glyndŵr's Way
17 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Welshpool 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 town.
NationalRegional
Severn Way (1) Source to Shrewsbury6.5 km
Glyndŵr's Way3.8 km
Offa's Dyke Path3.1 km
The Glyndŵr's Way, a national route, passes Welshpool. The regional route here is the Severn Way (1) Source to Shrewsbury.
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 Welshpool: 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 76 | 66 | 59 | 53 | 67 | 77 | 72 | 62 | 70 | 85 | 84 | 97 |
April is the driest month (53 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 97 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 38 nights a year. The climate in Welshpool →
Things to do
4 viewpoints and 8 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.
4Viewpoints7Hills and peaks2Nature reserves1Picnic sites8Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size1Campsites
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 4
Cherrytree Bank0.0 mi from town
DirectionsCastle view0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 7
Burgess Lands150 m (492 ft) · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsThe Common158 m (518 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsLlanerchydol Hill94 m (308 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsGroes-Pluen178 m (584 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsYr Allt229 m (751 ft) · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPen-Y-Golfa1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Severn Farm Pond1.3 ha · in town
DirectionsLlyn Coed y Dinas8.0 ha · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 8
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite 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.
GuilsfieldFour CrossesLlanymynechLlanfyllinMinsterleyPantWelshpool
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welshpool | C− | 2.6 | 82% | 0% |
| Guilsfield 2.5 mi | C− | 3.6 | 71% | 0% |
| Four Crosses 7.3 mi | D− | 1.9 | 53% | 0% |
| Llanymynech 8.5 mi | B | 2.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Llanfyllin 9.0 mi | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Minsterley 9.3 mi | C+ | 1.1 | 77% | 38% |
| Pant 9.5 mi | D | 0.3 | 0% | 0% |
Llanymynech, 8.5 miles away, grades B, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Welshpool
What is the biggest park in Welshpool?
Maesydre Recreation Ground, 9.1 ha (23 acres). Borfa Green (0.1 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Welshpool near a National Park?
Yes. Snowdonia National Park begins 18 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 2,140 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Shropshire Hills National Landscape, 5.0 mi away.
What are the best walks near Welshpool?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Severn Way (1) Source to Shrewsbury, Glyndŵr's Way and Offa's Dyke Path.
How many people in Welshpool live near a park?
82% 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 Welshpool?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Welshpool 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 61% (2.6 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 Welshpool’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Welshpool’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.