Photo: Chris Andrews · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and walks in Somerton
Parks and playing fields in Somerton add up to 0.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 13 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.0 for every square kilometre. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 48% of residents. Somerton grades D− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Somerton grades D− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Somerton, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
How Somerton compares with UK towns of 4,900 to 5,300
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,900 to 5,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Somerton falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 55 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cookham Berkshire | A+ | 8.3 | 96% | 4.3 | 19% |
| 2 | Pill Somerset | A+ | 5.2 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Weston Dorset | A+ | 2.5 | 95% | 7.6 | 0% |
| 4 | Whitehill Hampshire | A+ | 10.2 | 74% | 5.1 | 58% |
| 5 | Hungerford Berkshire | A+ | 9.1 | 85% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 6 | Burry Port Dyfed | A+ | 11.8 | 75% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 7 | Moreton-in-Marsh Gloucestershire | A | 5 | 100% | 1.8 | 55% |
| 8 | Rhymney Gwent | A | 2.9 | 97% | 3.8 | 6% |
| 9 | Meols Merseyside | A | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Holmfirth West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 88% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 11 | Fitzwilliam and Kinsley West Yorkshire | A− | 11.5 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 12 | Budleigh Salterton Devon | A− | 2.7 | 70% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 13 | Coleford Gloucestershire | A− | 2.8 | 66% | 4.3 | 48% |
| 14 | Needham Market Suffolk | A− | 7.2 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 15 | Overseal and Castle Gresley Derbyshire | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Northam Devon | A− | 6.8 | 43% | 2 | 16% |
| 17 | Huthwaite Nottinghamshire | B+ | 8.1 | 75% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 18 | Sonning Common Oxfordshire | B+ | 2.6 | 60% | 3.7 | 74% |
| 19 | Seaton Cumbria | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 20 | Long Ashton Somerset | B+ | 10.2 | 66% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Dartmouth Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 71% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 22 | Fremington Devon | B+ | 1.4 | 88% | 2.1 | 10% |
| 23 | Stone Cross East Sussex | B+ | 1.4 | 86% | 2.3 | 9% |
| 24 | Easingwold North Yorkshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 1.5 | 14% |
| 25 | Grimethorpe South Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 26 | Benson Oxfordshire | B | 6 | 44% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 27 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | B | 2.6 | 94% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 28 | Sedgefield County Durham | B | 6.2 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 29 | Rowlands Gill Tyne and Wear | B | 4.9 | 84% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Redbourn Hertfordshire | B | 2.4 | 70% | 3.2 | 11% |
| 31 | Iver Heath Buckinghamshire | B | 28.9 | 53% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Virginia Water Surrey | B | 14.5 | 72% | 3 | 0% |
| 33 | Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire | B− | 1.6 | 84% | 7.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Abercarn Gwent | B− | 3 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Whitburn Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.5 | 46% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Wotton-under-Edge Gloucestershire | C+ | 0.4 | 32% | 5.4 | 60% |
| 37 | Wool Dorset | C+ | 2.3 | 51% | 2.5 | 33% |
| 38 | Brynmawr Gwent | C+ | 1.2 | 68% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 39 | Sacriston County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 72% | 4 | 0% |
| 40 | Steeton West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 41 | Moulton Northamptonshire | C+ | 3.3 | 88% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 42 | Church Lancashire | C | 1.5 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Billinge Merseyside | C | 0.9 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 44 | Treharris Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.6 | 72% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 45 | Bungay Suffolk | C | 0.5 | 78% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 46 | Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe Lincolnshire | C | 1.8 | 67% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Havercroft and Ryhill West Yorkshire | C | 1.6 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Odiham Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Long Stratton Norfolk | C− | 1 | 89% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Jaywick Essex | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Bayston Hill Shropshire | C− | 1.8 | 70% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Shavington Cheshire | C− | 1.1 | 87% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Potton Bedfordshire | D | 1.3 | 77% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Haslington Cheshire | D | 1.8 | 41% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Moorends South Yorkshire | D | 2.2 | 39% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Winslow Buckinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 59% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Wingate County Durham | D− | 1 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Harleston Norfolk | D− | 0.2 | 42% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 59 | Appley Bridge Greater Manchester | D− | 0.5 | 44% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Somerton Somerset | D− | 0.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Somerton’s built-up area.
5 in 10 Somerton 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).
About 2,700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 7 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 729 residents.
The Mendip Hills National Landscape is 11 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.
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Somerton
13 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Somerton and the kilometre around it, 1.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The regional route here is the Macmillan Way West.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Somerton: 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 48 | 49 | 48 | 50 | 57 | 55 | 66 | 55 | 81 | 78 | 72 |
April is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 81 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Somerton →
7 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
Somerton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 3
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Walton, 4.9 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Langport, Ilchester and Keinton Mandeville have at least twice Somerton’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Somerton
Is Somerton near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Mendip Hills National Landscape, 11 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 198 km² and was designated in 1989.
What are the best walks near Somerton?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Macmillan Way West.
What is the nearest beach to Somerton?
Berrow Sands, 16 mi from the edge of the town, then Seatown Beach (23 mi). Somerton itself is inland.
How many people in Somerton live near a park?
48% 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 Somerton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Somerton good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 8% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 5% (0.6 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 Somerton’s overall grade.
Where Somerton’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.