Paulton’s biggest
Paulton Memorial Park
Park or garden
1.6 ha (4 acres)0.4 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Paulton
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Rodw at English Wikipedia Rod Ward · Public domainA−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Paulton · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Paulton lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 96% of residents. The Mendip Hills National Landscape begins 2.9 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 43 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.1 for every square kilometre. Paulton grades A− for the outdoors: #10 of 49 in Somerset. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
96%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
43 km
4.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Mendip Hills starts 2.9 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Paulton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep96% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.A town of footpaths4.1 km of path per km², more than 82% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside both waysMendip Hills starts 2.9 mi west, Cotswolds 4.6 mi east.
Paulton’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Paulton grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Paulton, 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 80% of UK towns#10 of 49 in Somerset · 15th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
47out of
100
100
A park within a walk96%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
76out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Mendip Hills begins just past 5 km
62out of
100
100
Footpaths4.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
83out 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
Paulton is 15th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 6,200 to 6,800 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
Paulton4.1
Towns its size3.0
Somerset towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Paulton2.1
Towns its size2.0
Somerset towns2.0
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Paulton96%
Towns its size81%
Somerset towns83%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Paulton stands out most for path per km²: only 15 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netley Hampshire | A+ | 16.3 | 100% | 4.1 | 4% |
| 2 | Stone Kent | A+ | 3.1 | 100% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 3 | Filey North Yorkshire | A | 5.9 | 89% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 4 | Chalford Gloucestershire | A | 1.6 | 96% | 4.7 | 94% |
| 5 | Wingerworth Derbyshire | A | 9 | 86% | 4 | 0% |
| 6 | Shotton Clwyd | A | 4.5 | 100% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 7 | Bedwas Gwent | A | 4.4 | 100% | 4 | 0% |
| 8 | Broad Blunsdon Wiltshire | A− | 5.2 | 93% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 9 | St Blazey Cornwall | A− | 2.4 | 78% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 10 | Marston Moretaine Bedfordshire | A− | 17.4 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 11 | Olney Buckinghamshire | A− | 6.3 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 12 | Alcester Warwickshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 13 | Ackworth Moor Top West Yorkshire | A− | 4.6 | 91% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 14 | Whitfield Kent | A− | 2.3 | 79% | 2.5 | 32% |
| 15 | Paulton Somerset | A− | 2.1 | 96% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitworth Lancashire | B+ | 2.5 | 96% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 17 | Broadbridge Heath West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 95% | 4.3 | 3% |
| 18 | Lightwater Surrey | B+ | 9.2 | 72% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 19 | Milford and Witley Surrey | B+ | 2.6 | 54% | 3.7 | 78% |
| 20 | Cawston Warwickshire | B+ | 3.6 | 98% | 3 | 0% |
| 21 | North Anston South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 22 | Cleator Moor Cumbria | B+ | 3.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 11% |
| 23 | Little Chalfont Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 3.6 | 45% |
| 24 | Groby Leicestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 96% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 25 | Peasedown St John Somerset | B+ | 1.5 | 88% | 4 | 9% |
| 26 | Hindhead Surrey | B | 1.7 | 37% | 5.9 | 66% |
| 27 | Braunton Devon | B | 1.6 | 78% | 2.1 | 24% |
| 28 | Galleywood Essex | B | 10.3 | 61% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 29 | Hartford Cheshire | B | 2.2 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Rishton Lancashire | B− | 2.2 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 31 | Yapton West Sussex | B− | 1.8 | 63% | 2 | 15% |
| 32 | Wincanton Somerset | B− | 1.4 | 88% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 33 | Upton West Yorkshire | B− | 2.2 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Crigglestone and Durkar West Yorkshire | B− | 4.4 | 45% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Ushaw Moor and Bearpark County Durham | C+ | 1.6 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Chiswell Green Hertfordshire | C+ | 4 | 54% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Denmead Hampshire | C+ | 1.4 | 72% | 2.8 | 35% |
| 38 | Tetbury Gloucestershire | C+ | 1.2 | 66% | 2.6 | 88% |
| 39 | Malton North Yorkshire | C+ | 2.3 | 43% | 2.4 | 24% |
| 40 | Rawdon West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.7 | 67% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Bolton-le-Sands Lancashire | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 1.6 | 23% |
| 42 | Brampton Cambridgeshire | C | 3.2 | 61% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Market Deeping Lincolnshire | C | 1.5 | 96% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Farnham Common and Farnham Royal Buckinghamshire | C | 1 | 55% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 45 | Cross Hands and Pen-y-groes Dyfed | C | 9.7 | 70% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Lydiate Merseyside | C− | 1.5 | 90% | 2 | 0% |
| 47 | Gildersome West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 81% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Ashingdon Essex | C− | 1.3 | 61% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Weaverham Cheshire | C− | 0.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 50 | Culcheth Cheshire | C− | 1.7 | 67% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Boston Spa West Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 86% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Washingborough and Heighington Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 66% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Wem Shropshire | D | 1.2 | 77% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Holmes Chapel Cheshire | D | 0.8 | 72% | 2 | 0% |
| 55 | Pontarddulais West Glamorgan | D | 1.9 | 67% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Coleshill Warwickshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Selston Nottinghamshire | D | 0.9 | 61% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Broughton Clwyd | D− | 0.8 | 80% | 1 | 0% |
| 59 | Abercynon Mid Glamorgan | D− | 1.1 | 55% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Tadcaster North Yorkshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 1.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Paulton’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 Paulton
The biggest is Paulton Memorial Park, 1.6 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Paulton’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 (96%)Further (5%)
Paulton96%
Towns its size81%
Somerset towns83%
All UK towns83%
About 300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 20 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 325 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
Mendip Hills and Cotswolds both start about 5 miles from Paulton
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
Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
11 mi south-east986 km²since 1983
Official siteProtected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Paulton scores 0% on it even though the Mendip Hills National Landscape is 2.9 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Paulton
43 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Paulton and the kilometre around it, 4.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Limestone Link6.2 km
The regional route here is the Limestone Link.
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 Paulton: 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 108 | 83 | 70 | 66 | 71 | 65 | 67 | 86 | 72 | 110 | 113 | 117 |
June is the driest month (65 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 117 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Paulton →
Things to do
20 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.
The nearest beaches
Paulton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Sugar Loaf Beach17 mi from Paulton’s edge
DirectionsClevedon Beach18 mi from Paulton’s edge
DirectionsLadye Bay18 mi from Paulton’s edge
DirectionsBerrow Sands22 mi from Paulton’s edge
DirectionsFossil Beach23 mi from Paulton’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. Welton Hill, at 142 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Paulton.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Welton Hill142 m (466 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsFolly Hill156 m (512 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 20
West Clewes Playground0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Old Mills Campsite0.3 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.
High LittletonMidsomer NortonTimsburyTemple CloudCluttonRadstockPaulton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulton | A− | 2.1 | 96% | 0% |
| High Littleton 1.2 mi | C+ | 1.0 | 58% | 1% |
| Midsomer Norton 1.8 mi | B− | 1.9 | 90% | 0% |
| Timsbury 1.8 mi | B− | 2.7 | 68% | 0% |
| Temple Cloud 1.9 mi | B+ | 2.6 | 77% | 15% |
| Clutton 2.2 mi | C+ | 0.9 | 74% | 11% |
| Radstock 2.4 mi | B− | 1.1 | 93% | 1% |
Paulton grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Questions about the outdoors in Paulton
What is the biggest park in Paulton?
Paulton Memorial Park, 1.6 ha (4 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Paulton near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Mendip Hills National Landscape, 2.9 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 198 km² and was designated in 1989.
What are the best walks near Paulton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Limestone Link.
What is the nearest beach to Paulton?
Sugar Loaf Beach, 17 mi from the edge of the town, then Clevedon Beach (18 mi). Paulton itself is inland.
How many people in Paulton 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 Paulton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Paulton good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 83% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 47% (2.1 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 Paulton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Paulton’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.