Ellesmere’s biggest
The Mere at Ellesmere
Park or garden
63 ha (157 acres)2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
89 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Ellesmere
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Ellesmere · parks, paths & countryside
Ellesmere has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Ellesmere add up to 12.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 14 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 1.3 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 54% of residents. Ellesmere grades C− for the outdoors: #11 of 19 in Shropshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
12.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
54%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
14 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
Nearest: Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Ellesmere?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam12.5 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 97% of UK towns.Few mapped footpaths1.3 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Ellesmere’s strongest suit is plenty of park space. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Ellesmere grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ellesmere, 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#11 of 19 in Shropshire · 47th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space12.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
97out of
100
100
A park within a walk54%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
16out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 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
Ellesmere is 47th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,100 to 4,400 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
Ellesmere1.3
Towns its size2.5
Shropshire towns2.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ellesmere12.5
Towns its size1.7
Shropshire towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ellesmere54%
Towns its size80%
Shropshire towns72%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Ellesmere stands out most for park space per resident: only 2 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 54 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Malling Kent | A+ | 8.7 | 100% | 3.4 | 21% |
| 2 | Telscombe Cliffs East Sussex | A+ | 3 | 58% | 5.1 | 42% |
| 3 | Great Denham Bedfordshire | A | 14.7 | 100% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Denaby Main South Yorkshire | A | 10.4 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 5 | Overton Hampshire | A | 3.7 | 92% | 2.5 | 45% |
| 6 | Whittle-le-Woods Lancashire | A− | 7.7 | 91% | 4 | 0% |
| 7 | Loftus North Yorkshire | A− | 1.9 | 90% | 2 | 31% |
| 8 | Exminster Devon | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 9 | Arborfield Garrison Berkshire | A− | 10.4 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Stokenchurch Buckinghamshire | A− | 2.3 | 90% | 2.6 | 86% |
| 11 | Hunstanton Norfolk | A− | 3.7 | 71% | 1.4 | 31% |
| 12 | Fairford Gloucestershire | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 1.8 | 17% |
| 13 | Lofthouse and Robin Hood West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.4 | 93% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 14 | Ratby Leicestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Bramley and Wonersh Surrey | B+ | 1.7 | 77% | 3.5 | 59% |
| 16 | Girton Cambridgeshire | B+ | 2.8 | 92% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 17 | Clayton West and Scissett West Yorkshire | B | 1.4 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 18 | Winchcombe Gloucestershire | B | 2.2 | 60% | 3 | 81% |
| 19 | Brampton Cumbria | B | 2 | 92% | 2.2 | 9% |
| 20 | Bourton-on-the-Water Gloucestershire | B | 0.9 | 79% | 3.3 | 100% |
| 21 | Penrhyn Bay Clwyd | B− | 0.6 | 68% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 22 | Woodford Halse Northamptonshire | B− | 3.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 23 | Topsham Devon | B− | 1.9 | 76% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 24 | Easington Lane Tyne and Wear | B− | 0.9 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 25 | Wilton Wiltshire | B− | 1.4 | 94% | 1.6 | 45% |
| 26 | Tibshelf Derbyshire | B− | 1.4 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Ferndale Mid Glamorgan | B− | 3.6 | 88% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Woburn Sands Buckinghamshire | C+ | 1.1 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Milford on Sea Hampshire | C+ | 1.2 | 50% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 30 | Kessingland Suffolk | C+ | 0.9 | 70% | 1.9 | 19% |
| 31 | Old Tupton Derbyshire | C+ | 2.3 | 73% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Eaton Bray and Edlesborough Bedfordshire | C+ | 2.6 | 72% | 1.7 | 29% |
| 33 | Thorpe Hesley South Yorkshire | C+ | 1.8 | 80% | 4 | 0% |
| 34 | Backwell Somerset | C+ | 2.3 | 57% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Sandwich Kent | C+ | 2.1 | 51% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Sible Hedingham Essex | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 37 | Knebworth Hertfordshire | C+ | 1.5 | 81% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Warton (Fylde) Lancashire | C | 1.3 | 92% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Brundall Norfolk | C | 1.6 | 62% | 2.3 | 20% |
| 40 | Meopham Kent | C | 1.3 | 53% | 2.5 | 35% |
| 41 | Uppingham Rutland | C | 2.2 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 42 | Branston Lincolnshire | C | 2.1 | 86% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Long Lawford Warwickshire | C | 1.2 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Llangennech Dyfed | C | 1.6 | 82% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Nelson Gwent | C | 2.1 | 88% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Cuffley Hertfordshire | C− | 13.6 | 19% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 47 | Ellesmere Shropshire | C− | 12.5 | 54% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Chudleigh Devon | C− | 0.3 | 83% | 1.4 | 15% |
| 49 | Epworth Lincolnshire | C− | 1.6 | 75% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 50 | Doddington and Wimblington Cambridgeshire | C− | 2.5 | 73% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Great Ayton North Yorkshire | C− | 0.2 | 48% | 2.2 | 31% |
| 52 | West Kingsdown Kent | D | 0.8 | 28% | 1.6 | 52% |
| 53 | North Weald Bassett Essex | D | 1.4 | 67% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Shepperton Green Surrey | D | 1.4 | 73% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Blidworth Nottinghamshire | D | 0.5 | 23% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Kegworth Leicestershire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Llantrisant Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.6 | 42% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Wheatley Oxfordshire | D− | 0.2 | 34% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Warboys Cambridgeshire | D− | 0.4 | 67% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Pinchbeck Lincolnshire | D− | 1 | 49% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ellesmere’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 Ellesmere
The biggest is The Mere at Ellesmere, 63 ha (157 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
5 in 10 Ellesmere 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 (54%)Further (46%)
Ellesmere54%
Towns its size80%
Shropshire towns72%
All UK towns83%
About 2,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 854 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape is 6.5 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
6.5 mi west389 km²since 2011
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Ellesmere
14 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ellesmere 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.
RegionalLocal
Shropshire Way - Whitchurch to Ellesmere4.3 km
Shropshire Way - stage 124.3 km
Shropshire Way - stage 133.8 km
The regional route here is the Shropshire Way - Whitchurch to Ellesmere.
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 Ellesmere: 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 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 52 | 49 | 50 | 59 | 63 | 66 | 61 | 61 | 78 | 71 | 77 |
March is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 78 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Ellesmere →
Things to do
5 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 1
Ellesmere Point123 m (404 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 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.
St MartinsWhittingtonGobowenChirkWeston RhynOswestryEllesmere
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellesmere | C− | 12.5 | 54% | 0% |
| St Martins 4.6 mi | D | 0.6 | 59% | 2% |
| Whittington 5.1 mi | B− | 3.7 | 100% | 0% |
| Gobowen 5.8 mi | D | 1.2 | 50% | 2% |
| Chirk 6.9 mi | B+ | 1.8 | 100% | 15% |
| Weston Rhyn 7.0 mi | A− | 3.6 | 100% | 10% |
| Oswestry 7.1 mi | C− | 1.3 | 88% | 0% |
Weston Rhyn, 7 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Ellesmere
What is the biggest park in Ellesmere?
The Mere at Ellesmere, 63 ha (157 acres), with 2.9 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Ellesmere near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Bryniau Clwyd A Dyffryn Dyfrdwy/clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, 6.5 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 389 km² and was designated in 2011.
What are the best walks near Ellesmere?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Shropshire Way - Whitchurch to Ellesmere, Shropshire Way - stage 12 and Shropshire Way - stage 13. The Mere at Ellesmere alone has 2.9 km of path.
How many people in Ellesmere live near a park?
54% 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 Ellesmere?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Ellesmere 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 97% (12.5 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 Ellesmere’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Ellesmere’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.