Almost everyone in Telford lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
96% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. The Shropshire Hills National Landscape begins 0.0 mi from the city’s edge. 510 km of footpaths run through the city and the kilometre around it, 4.0 for every square kilometre. Telford grades A for the outdoors: #1 of 19 in Shropshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Telford’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Telford grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Telford, 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 92% of UK towns#1 of 19 in Shropshire · 7th of 45 UK cities its size
Public green space3.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
72out of 100
A park within a walk96%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
76out of 100
National Park or National Landscape6%of the land within 5 km
68out of 100
Footpaths4.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
81out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of 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.
Cities its size
Telford is 7th of 45 UK cities its size for the outdoors
The 45 UK towns and cities of 110,000 to 212,000 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
Telford4.0
Cities its size4.5
Shropshire towns2.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Telford3.2
Cities its size2.5
Shropshire towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Telford96%
Cities its size86%
Shropshire towns72%
All UK towns83%
Against cities its size, Telford stands out most for park space per resident: only 8 of the other 44 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 28 of the others do better.
The biggest is Dothill Local Nature Reserve, 47 ha (117 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 30 named parks by size: 274 ha (676 acres) and 48 km of path
Parks & gardens 262 haPlaying fields 12 haPlay spaces 0.1 ha
The biggest is Dothill Local Nature Reserve, 47 ha (117 acres); no single park dominates. 12 of the 30 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
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 (96%)Further (4%)
Telford96%
Cities its size86%
Shropshire towns72%
All UK towns83%
About 6,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 161 playgrounds are mapped in and around the city, about one for every 974 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is 0.0 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
Shropshire Hills
0.0 mi south-west808 km²since 19596% of the land within 5 km
6% of the land within 5 km of Telford is National Park or National Landscape, more than 68% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
12 waymarked walks pass through or near Telford
510 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Telford and the kilometre around it, 4.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the city.
RegionalLocal
Telford T5076.1 km
Monarch's Way12.8 km
Shropshire Way - stage 0910.9 km
Severn Way (2) Shrewsbury to Worcester10.6 km
South Telford Heritage Trail9.4 km
Shropshire Way - stage 107.6 km
George Maw Trail, Benthall Hall6.2 km
Ironbridge Walk, Benthall Hall5.7 km
Shropshire Way - stage 085.2 km
Woodland and Countryside Walk, Benthall Hall2.5 km
Parkland and Meadow Walk, Benthall Hall1.8 km
South Telford Way1.6 km
Close to home, the Telford T50 has 76 km of local walk within 2 km of the city. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Monarch's Way and Severn Way (2) Shrewsbury to Worcester.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
History inside Telford’s parks
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Telford’s named parks.
Park with listed buildings
Dale End Riverside Park
7.0 ha. 3 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
II*The Valley HotelIIDale End House (Former Police Station)
Heritage walks
South Telford Heritage Trail 9.4 km
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Telford: May and July to September
The city’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
16.8
16.4
14.7
12.6
10.5
8.6
7.6
High (°C)
7
8
10
14
17
20
22
21
18
14
10
8
Rain (mm)
60
51
47
55
55
73
61
62
60
72
64
67
March is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 73 mm of rain falls in June, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 53 nights a year. The climate in Telford →
Things to do
9 viewpoints and 161 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the city in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK city its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Telford grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Telford
What is the biggest park in Telford?
Dothill Local Nature Reserve, 47 ha (117 acres), with 7.3 km of path. Dothill Local Nature Reserve (47 ha) is second. 30 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the city or within 400 m of it.
Is Telford near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Shropshire Hills National Landscape, 0.0 mi south-west of the city’s edge. It covers 808 km² and was designated in 1959.
What are the best walks near Telford?
12 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the city, including the Telford T50, Monarch's Way and Shropshire Way - stage 09. Dothill Local Nature Reserve alone has 7.3 km of path.
How many people in Telford live near a park?
96% 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 Telford?
May and July to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Telford good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 81% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 72% (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 Telford’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0