Cheddar’s biggest
Cheddar Valley Rugby Football Club
Playing field
8.1 ha (20 acres)
11 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi westfrom the centre
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Troxx · CC BY 2.5B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Cheddar · parks, paths & countryside
56% of the land within 5 km of Cheddar is National Park or National Landscape
The Mendip Hills National Landscape reaches the edge of Cheddar. 41% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 45 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.0 for every square kilometre. Cheddar grades B− for the outdoors: #27 of 49 in Somerset. 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
41%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
45 km
3.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
56%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Mendip Hills National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Cheddar?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside56% of the land within 5 km is Mendip Hills National Landscape.Parks can be a walk away59% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Cheddar’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Cheddar grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Cheddar, 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 52% of UK towns#27 of 49 in Somerset · 32nd 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 walk41%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
9out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape56%of the land within 5 km
93out of
100
100
Footpaths3.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
59out 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
Cheddar is 32nd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,600 to 6,100 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
Cheddar3.0
Towns its size2.6
Somerset towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Cheddar2.3
Towns its size2.2
Somerset towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Cheddar41%
Towns its size82%
Somerset towns83%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Cheddar stands out most for path per km²: only 20 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 58 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackfield and Langley Hampshire | A+ | 28.1 | 95% | 4.2 | 48% |
| 2 | Saltburn-by-the-Sea North Yorkshire | A | 4.7 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 3 | Bagshot Surrey | A | 10.5 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 4 | Barrowford Lancashire | A | 4.2 | 82% | 5 | 22% |
| 5 | Wareham Dorset | A | 1.9 | 83% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 6 | Leiston Suffolk | A | 1.7 | 95% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 7 | Amble Northumberland | A | 2 | 100% | 2.2 | 5% |
| 8 | West Hallam Derbyshire | A | 4.8 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Haworth West Yorkshire | A | 4.1 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Millom Cumbria | A | 2 | 82% | 3.2 | 13% |
| 11 | Menston West Yorkshire | A | 2.4 | 90% | 4.1 | 18% |
| 12 | Shepperton Surrey | A | 8.7 | 89% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 13 | Carnforth Lancashire | A− | 1.2 | 89% | 3 | 39% |
| 14 | Barnard Castle County Durham | A− | 2.2 | 100% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 15 | Nailsworth Gloucestershire | A− | 1.3 | 86% | 5.9 | 88% |
| 16 | Botley Hampshire | A− | 14.6 | 70% | 3.6 | 2% |
| 17 | East Horsley Surrey | A− | 3.5 | 55% | 4.5 | 33% |
| 18 | Dodworth South Yorkshire | A− | 2.3 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Kingsbridge Devon | B+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.6 | 67% |
| 20 | Marchwood Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 87% | 1.3 | 38% |
| 21 | Moor Park Hertfordshire | B+ | 4.5 | 46% | 4.5 | 1% |
| 22 | Creswell Derbyshire | B+ | 2.7 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 23 | Thrybergh and Dalton South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 4 | 0% |
| 24 | Willington County Durham | B+ | 4.7 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Garstang Lancashire | B | 2.4 | 89% | 2.3 | 15% |
| 26 | East Tilbury Essex | B | 2.3 | 92% | 2 | 0% |
| 27 | Shipston-on-Stour Warwickshire | B | 2.3 | 94% | 1.6 | 20% |
| 28 | Brixworth Northamptonshire | B | 3.8 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Northumberland | B | 2.2 | 77% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 30 | Hemsby Norfolk | B | 2.5 | 51% | 1.4 | 22% |
| 31 | Bidford-on-Avon Warwickshire | B | 3.4 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Cheddar Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 41% | 3 | 56% |
| 33 | Thirsk North Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Great Torrington Devon | B− | 2.6 | 88% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Hullbridge Essex | C+ | 5.7 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 36 | Kirby Cross Essex | C+ | 2.4 | 44% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Aylesham Kent | C+ | 0.3 | 76% | 3.4 | 33% |
| 38 | Bagillt Clwyd | C+ | 1.3 | 87% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Crawley Down West Sussex | C+ | 1.2 | 80% | 2.2 | 40% |
| 40 | Pontyclun Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.4 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Ruthin Clwyd | C | 2.7 | 51% | 1.5 | 31% |
| 42 | Egremont Cumbria | C | 1.1 | 63% | 1.8 | 11% |
| 43 | Bracebridge Heath Lincolnshire | C | 1.1 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Undy and Magor Gwent | C | 0.9 | 86% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Durrington Wiltshire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 46 | Red Lodge Suffolk | C | 1.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Ramsey Cambridgeshire | C | 2.5 | 72% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 48 | Ilminster Somerset | C− | 2.3 | 61% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Pembury Kent | C− | 1.1 | 45% | 2 | 58% |
| 50 | Stainforth South Yorkshire | C− | 2.2 | 80% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 51 | Purfleet-on-Thames Essex | C− | 0.9 | 64% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Cuddington Cheshire | C− | 1.5 | 66% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Withernsea East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.9 | 60% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Arlesey Bedfordshire | D | 0.9 | 51% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 55 | Finningley South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 65% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Werrington Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 42% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 57 | Ruskington Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 70% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Bulkington Warwickshire | D | 0.9 | 76% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Sawtry Cambridgeshire | D | 1.3 | 40% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 60 | Burwell Cambridgeshire | D− | 1.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Cheddar’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 Cheddar
The biggest is Cheddar Valley Rugby Football Club, 8.1 ha (20 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Peregrine View Play Area
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
0.6 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
4 in 10 Cheddar 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 (41%)Further (59%)
Cheddar41%
Towns its size82%
Somerset towns83%
All UK towns83%
About 3,400 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 730 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Cheddar
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
Mendip Hills
At the edge north-east198 km²since 198956% of the land within 5 km
Official site56% of the land within 5 km of Cheddar is National Park or National Landscape, more than 93% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Cheddar
45 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Cheddar and the kilometre around it, 3.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
West Mendip Way8.3 km
The Butcombe Trail8.0 km
The Mendip Trail7.3 km
Samaritans Way South West7.0 km
4 regional routes pass through, including the West Mendip Way, The Butcombe Trail, The Mendip Trail and Samaritans Way South West.
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 Cheddar: May to July and 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 88 | 75 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 72 | 85 | 98 | 80 | 115 | 113 | 112 |
May is the driest month (67 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 115 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 32 nights a year. The climate in Cheddar →
Things to do
7 viewpoints, 8 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
7Viewpoints3Hills and peaks1Nature reserves1Picnic sites8Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size3Campsites3× towns its size
The nearest beaches
Cheddar is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Berrow Sands9.1 mi from Cheddar’s edge
DirectionsClevedon Beach11 mi from Cheddar’s edge
DirectionsLadye Bay11 mi from Cheddar’s edge
DirectionsSugar Loaf Beach13 mi from Cheddar’s edge
DirectionsThe Bendricks20 mi from Cheddar’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Shute Shelve Hill, at 232 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Cheddar.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 7
Cheddar Viewing Tower0.0 mi from town
DirectionsCastle Rock0.4 mi from town
DirectionsTop of the Gorge1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Shute Shelve Hill232 m (761 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsNyland Hill77 m (253 ft) · 1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Middledown Nature Reserve41 ha · 1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
Cheddar Bridge Touring Park0.0 mi from town
DirectionsPetruth Paddocks0.1 mi from town
DirectionsOwley Woods Glamping0.2 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
AxbridgeDraycottShiphamWinscombe and SandfordWedmoreChurchillCheddar
ABCDOutdoors Grade
Churchill, 4.2 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 84% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Wedmore has at least twice Cheddar’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Cheddar
What is the biggest park in Cheddar?
Cheddar Valley Rugby Football Club, 8.1 ha (20 acres). Peregrine View Play Area (0.0 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Cheddar near a National Park?
It covers 198 km² and was designated in 1989.
What are the best walks near Cheddar?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the West Mendip Way, The Butcombe Trail and The Mendip Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Cheddar?
Berrow Sands, 9.1 mi from the edge of the town, then Clevedon Beach (11 mi). Cheddar itself is inland.
How many people in Cheddar live near a park?
41% 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 Cheddar?
May to July and September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Cheddar good for walking?
About average for paths: 3.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 59% 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 Cheddar’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Cheddar’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.