Innerleithen’s biggest
Victoria Park
Park or garden
1.9 ha (5 acres)0.5 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Innerleithen
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Dauntless111 · CC BY-SA 3.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Innerleithen · parks, paths & countryside
Parks and walks in Innerleithen
Footpaths add up to 59 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 5.3 for every square kilometre. The Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area begins 4.7 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Innerleithen add up to 1.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Innerleithen has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
1.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
60%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
59 km
5.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Upper Tweeddale starts 4.7 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Innerleithen?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Countryside close byThe Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area starts 4.7 mi west.On a long-distance trailThe Cross Borders Drove Road passes through.Parks can be a walk away40% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Innerleithen’s strongest suit is the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area close by, followed by the Cross Borders Drove Road. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Innerleithen’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Innerleithen
The biggest is Victoria Park, 1.9 ha (5 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
6 in 10 Innerleithen 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 (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (60%)Further (40%)
Innerleithen60%
Scottish Borders towns81%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 1,300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 6 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 525 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area is 4.7 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
National Scenic Area
Upper Tweeddale
4.7 mi west128 km²since 1980
National Scenic Area
Eildon and Leaderfoot
12 mi east39 km²since 1980
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Innerleithen scores 0% on it even though the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area is 4.7 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Innerleithen is on the Cross Borders Drove Road
59 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Innerleithen and the kilometre around it, 5.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
National
Cross Borders Drove Road (Traquair to Hawick)1.6 km
Southern Upland Way (Section A - Portpatrick to Melrose)1.6 km
The Cross Borders Drove Road, a national route, passes Innerleithen.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Innerleithen: June 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) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.2 | 17.5 | 16.9 | 15.0 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 7.1 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 99 | 91 | 81 | 68 | 64 | 77 | 86 | 90 | 82 | 114 | 113 | 124 |
May is the driest month (64 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 124 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 68 nights a year. The climate in Innerleithen →
Things to do
6 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Innerleithen is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Fisherrow Sands22 mi from Innerleithen’s edge
DirectionsJoppa Shore22 mi from Innerleithen’s edge
DirectionsMusselburgh Sands22 mi from Innerleithen’s edge
DirectionsPortobello Beach22 mi from Innerleithen’s edge
DirectionsEast Sands of Leith24 mi from Innerleithen’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. SEPA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Caerlee Hill, at 259 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Innerleithen.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 6
Caerlee Hill259 m (850 ft) · 0.2 mi from town
DirectionsLee Pen502 m (1,647 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsKirnie Law469 m (1,539 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsPlora Rig474 m (1,555 ft) · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsTaniel Hill474 m (1,555 ft) · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 6
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Tweedside Caravan Parkin town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
PeeblesGalashielsSelkirkLangleeInnerleithen
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Innerleithen | – | 1.1 | 60% | 0% |
| Peebles 5.6 mi | – | 2.9 | 95% | 25% |
| Galashiels 9.7 mi | – | 4.6 | 74% | 8% |
| Selkirk 9.9 mi | – | 4.4 | 89% | 0% |
| Langlee 11.1 mi | – | 7.9 | 91% | 17% |
Peebles, Galashiels and Selkirk have at least twice Innerleithen’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Innerleithen
What is the biggest park in Innerleithen?
Victoria Park, 1.9 ha (5 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Innerleithen near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area, 4.7 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 128 km² and was designated in 1980.
What are the best walks near Innerleithen?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Cross Borders Drove Road (Traquair to Hawick) and Southern Upland Way (Section A - Portpatrick to Melrose).
What is the nearest beach to Innerleithen?
Fisherrow Sands, 22 mi from the edge of the town, then Joppa Shore (22 mi). Innerleithen itself is inland.
How many people in Innerleithen live near a park?
60% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Innerleithen?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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 Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Innerleithen’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Innerleithen’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 Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, 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: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
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.