Ludlow’s biggest
Ludlow Boxing Club
Playing field
1.8 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Ludlow
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Ludlow · parks, paths & countryside
92% of Ludlow’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Shropshire Hills National Landscape begins 0.3 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 33 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.1 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Ludlow add up to 2.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Ludlow grades B for the outdoors: #4 of 19 in Shropshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
92%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
33 km
2.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
16%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Shropshire Hills National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Ludlow grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Ludlow, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B
Better than 62% of UK towns#4 of 19 in Shropshire · 25th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
53out of
100
100
A park within a walk92%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
71out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape16%of the land within 5 km
75out of
100
100
Footpaths2.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
34out 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
Ludlow is 25th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 9,400 to 10,700 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
Ludlow2.1
Towns its size3.1
Shropshire towns2.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ludlow2.3
Towns its size2.3
Shropshire towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ludlow92%
Towns its size84%
Shropshire towns72%
All UK towns83%
Ludlow falls furthest behind on path per km², where 48 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caldicot Gwent | A+ | 4.2 | 92% | 3 | 2% |
| 2 | South Merstham Surrey | A | 3.7 | 84% | 3.7 | 20% |
| 3 | Beccles Suffolk | A | 4.5 | 87% | 3.2 | 20% |
| 4 | Nuthall and Watnall Nottinghamshire | A | 6.3 | 97% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 5 | Bradford-on-Avon Wiltshire | A | 2.8 | 88% | 3.7 | 21% |
| 6 | Godalming Surrey | A− | 4.6 | 73% | 3.1 | 66% |
| 7 | Southborough Kent | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 2.5 | 57% |
| 8 | Thurmaston Leicestershire | A− | 10.4 | 89% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 9 | Soham Cambridgeshire | A− | 4.7 | 97% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 10 | Platt Bridge and Abram Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 98% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 11 | Esher Surrey | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Kings Hill Kent | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 13 | Padiham Lancashire | A− | 1.5 | 95% | 4.5 | 18% |
| 14 | Bingham Nottinghamshire | A− | 3.4 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire | A− | 4 | 85% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitwick Leicestershire | A− | 4.2 | 84% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Egglescliffe County Durham | A− | 4.9 | 94% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 18 | Yarm North Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 19 | Pelsall West Midlands | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Corfe Mullen Dorset | B+ | 3.1 | 72% | 3.5 | 13% |
| 21 | Woodbridge Suffolk | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 22 | Cranleigh Surrey | B | 2.5 | 20% | 4.3 | 38% |
| 23 | Shildon County Durham | B | 2.8 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 24 | Baldock Hertfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Ludlow Shropshire | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2.1 | 16% |
| 26 | North Wingfield and Holmewood Derbyshire | B | 2.7 | 84% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 27 | Great Dunmow Essex | B | 2 | 92% | 4 | 0% |
| 28 | Queensbury West Yorkshire | B | 2.6 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 29 | Immingham Lincolnshire | B | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 30 | Pembroke Dock Dyfed | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 1.1 | 25% |
| 31 | Caernarfon Gwynedd | B− | 1.7 | 83% | 1.4 | 14% |
| 32 | Horbury West Yorkshire | B− | 2.5 | 75% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Mildenhall Suffolk | B− | 2.1 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Monmouth Gwent | B− | 1.5 | 69% | 3.1 | 45% |
| 35 | Radstock Somerset | B− | 1.1 | 93% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 36 | Knottingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Whitchurch Shropshire | B− | 2.7 | 86% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Mold Clwyd | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 1.6 | 17% |
| 39 | Baglan West Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 69% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Brandon County Durham | C+ | 2.2 | 72% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Raunds Northamptonshire | C+ | 4.7 | 74% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Crook County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 85% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Lydney Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.1 | 52% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Abertillery Gwent | C | 2.4 | 69% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Diss Norfolk | C | 1.5 | 80% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Barnham West Sussex | C | 1.3 | 70% | 2.3 | 32% |
| 47 | Kippax West Yorkshire | C | 1.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Shepton Mallet Somerset | C | 1.2 | 70% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 49 | Catshill Worcestershire | C | 1.4 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Prudhoe Northumberland | C− | 1.7 | 37% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Polegate East Sussex | C− | 0.8 | 64% | 2.2 | 24% |
| 52 | Lutterworth Leicestershire | C− | 1.7 | 83% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | West Moors Dorset | C− | 0.9 | 33% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Haxby North Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 59% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Sherborne Dorset | D | 1.2 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Broughton Astley Leicestershire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Burton Latimer Northamptonshire | D | 0.9 | 62% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Pocklington East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.6 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Pheasey West Midlands | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Ponteland Northumberland | D− | 1.1 | 36% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ludlow’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 Ludlow
The biggest is Ludlow Boxing Club, 1.8 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Dinham Millennium Green
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)0.1 km of path
0.7 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Ludlow’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 (92%)Further (8%)
Ludlow92%
Towns its size84%
Shropshire towns72%
All UK towns83%
About 800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 15 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 669 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is 0.3 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
Shropshire Hills
0.3 mi north808 km²since 195916% of the land within 5 km
Official site16% of the land within 5 km of Ludlow is National Park or National Landscape, more than 74% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Ludlow
33 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Ludlow and the kilometre around it, 2.1 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 - stage 064.9 km
Shropshire Way - stage 054.1 km
Mortimer Trail3.0 km
The regional route here is the Mortimer 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 Ludlow: 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 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 76 | 59 | 54 | 57 | 56 | 62 | 58 | 67 | 56 | 83 | 77 | 84 |
March is the driest month (54 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 84 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 47 nights a year. The climate in Ludlow →
Things to do
4 viewpoints and 15 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
Viewpoints 4
Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
Tinkers Hill144 m (472 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsCaynham Fort Hill173 m (568 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 15
Dahn Drive Play Areain town
DirectionsFriars Field Play Areain town
DirectionsNormandie Close Play Areain town
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 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.
Tenbury WellsCraven ArmsCleobury MortimerLeominsterLudlow
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludlow | B | 2.3 | 92% | 16% |
| Tenbury Wells 6.6 mi | C | 2.3 | 51% | 3% |
| Craven Arms 7.1 mi | B | 1.3 | 87% | 59% |
| Cleobury Mortimer 9.7 mi | D | 0.8 | 64% | 2% |
| Leominster 10.2 mi | C− | 1.1 | 72% | 0% |
Craven Arms, 7.1 miles away, grades B, the best next door: 87% of its residents live within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Ludlow
What is the biggest park in Ludlow?
Ludlow Boxing Club, 1.8 ha (4 acres). Dinham Millennium Green (0.1 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Ludlow near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Shropshire Hills National Landscape, 0.3 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 808 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Ludlow?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Shropshire Way - stage 06, Shropshire Way - stage 05 and Mortimer Trail.
How many people in Ludlow live near a park?
92% 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 Ludlow?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Ludlow good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 34% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 53% (2.3 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 Ludlow’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Ludlow’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.