Glemsford’s biggest
Schoolfield
Playing field
0.6 ha (1 acres)
Centralin the middle of Glemsford
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Park Farmhouse · Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Glemsford · parks, paths & countryside
84% of Glemsford’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Glemsford add up to 1.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 29 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.0 for every square kilometre. Glemsford grades C− for the outdoors: #27 of 34 in Suffolk. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
29 km
3.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Dedham Vale National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Glemsford grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Glemsford, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C−
Better than 24% of UK towns#27 of 34 in Suffolk · 40th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
15out of
100
100
A park within a walk84%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
55out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
58out 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
Glemsford is 40th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 3,500 to 3,900 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
Glemsford3.0
Towns its size2.5
Suffolk towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Glemsford1.1
Towns its size1.8
Suffolk towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Glemsford84%
Towns its size77%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Glemsford stands out most for path per km²: only 21 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 49 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trimley St Mary Suffolk | A+ | 2.3 | 100% | 3.8 | 34% |
| 2 | Tutshill and Sedbury Gloucestershire | A+ | 2.5 | 87% | 4.5 | 32% |
| 3 | Marsden West Yorkshire | A | 1.9 | 100% | 6.5 | 33% |
| 4 | Leonard Stanley and King's Stanley Gloucestershire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 51% |
| 5 | Cuckfield West Sussex | A | 6.7 | 70% | 4.9 | 49% |
| 6 | Lingfield Surrey | A | 3.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 16% |
| 7 | Bethesda Gwynedd | A | 2.5 | 90% | 3.2 | 49% |
| 8 | Mulbarton Norfolk | A− | 7 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 9 | Kingswood Surrey | A− | 4.6 | 27% | 6.3 | 17% |
| 10 | Stanstead Abbotts Hertfordshire | B+ | 2.5 | 92% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 11 | Keresley Newlands Warwickshire | B+ | 4.4 | 89% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 12 | Harriseahead, Mow Cop and Newchapel Staffordshire | B+ | 4.2 | 86% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 13 | Watchet Somerset | B+ | 1.3 | 86% | 2 | 18% |
| 14 | Lyme Regis Dorset | B | 1.4 | 60% | 2.5 | 56% |
| 15 | Mayland Essex | B | 2.6 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Martham Norfolk | B | 1.7 | 74% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 17 | Belton Norfolk | B− | 1.5 | 77% | 1.5 | 48% |
| 18 | Whitwell Derbyshire | B− | 1.7 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 19 | Rhuddlan Clwyd | B− | 1.8 | 85% | 0.9 | 8% |
| 20 | Cholsey Oxfordshire | B− | 2.3 | 55% | 2.5 | 81% |
| 21 | Lower Nazeing Essex | B− | 23.8 | 58% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 22 | Worlingham Suffolk | B− | 1.5 | 100% | 1.4 | 24% |
| 23 | Pulborough West Sussex | B− | 1.4 | 77% | 2.7 | 50% |
| 24 | Penllergaer West Glamorgan | B− | 21 | 83% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 25 | Langport Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 94% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 26 | Cardigan Dyfed | B− | 1.9 | 69% | 1.4 | 13% |
| 27 | Kingskerswell Devon | C+ | 3.5 | 76% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 28 | Oakworth West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.3 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 29 | Fradley Staffordshire | C+ | 2.7 | 82% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Tutbury Staffordshire | C+ | 2.5 | 90% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 31 | Pewsey Wiltshire | C+ | 1 | 64% | 3 | 91% |
| 32 | Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach Mid Glamorgan | C+ | 2.5 | 84% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Great Lumley County Durham | C+ | 1.4 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 34 | Norton Fitzwarren Somerset | C+ | 1.3 | 35% | 5.2 | 6% |
| 35 | Hatfield Peverel Essex | C | 2 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Coggeshall Essex | C | 2.1 | 84% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Bransgore Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 71% | 1.2 | 49% |
| 38 | Cowbridge South Glamorgan | C | 1.2 | 86% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Haltwhistle Northumberland | C | 1.5 | 59% | 2.3 | 31% |
| 40 | Glemsford Suffolk | C− | 1.1 | 84% | 3 | 0% |
| 41 | Bramhope West Yorkshire | C− | 1.8 | 0% | 2.7 | 2% |
| 42 | Hawkhurst Kent | C− | 1.1 | 60% | 1.4 | 100% |
| 43 | Fulbourn Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.7 | 74% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Pwllheli Gwynedd | C− | 0.1 | 23% | 1.3 | 2% |
| 45 | West Parley Dorset | C− | 1.6 | 20% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Bloxham Oxfordshire | C− | 2.6 | 71% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Kempsey Worcestershire | D | 0.9 | 40% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Windlesham Surrey | D | 2 | 57% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Hoveton and Wroxham Norfolk | D | 1.4 | 65% | 0.8 | 18% |
| 50 | Pen-pedair-heol Gwent | D | 0.9 | 80% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 51 | Langford Bedfordshire | D | 1.4 | 63% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Spilsby Lincolnshire | D | 0 | 0% | 2.2 | 23% |
| 53 | Wilsden West Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 61% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | St Columb Major Cornwall | D | 1 | 89% | 1 | 0% |
| 55 | Willaston (Cheshire East) Cheshire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Bilton East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1.3 | 66% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Llanbradach Gwent | D− | 1.2 | 52% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Upwell and Outwell Norfolk | D− | 1.8 | 43% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Llanharry Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.6 | 50% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Copmanthorpe North Yorkshire | D− | 0.7 | 38% | 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 Glemsford’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 Glemsford
The biggest is Schoolfield, 0.6 ha (1 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Glemsford’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 (84%)Further (16%)
Glemsford84%
Towns its size77%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 739 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Dedham Vale National Landscape is 9.0 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
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Glemsford
29 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Glemsford 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.
RegionalLocal
Stour Valley Path part 26.4 km
Windmill Hill Walk, Melford Hall2.0 km
The regional route here is the Stour Valley Path part 2.
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 Glemsford: 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 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 44 | 39 | 39 | 45 | 51 | 51 | 65 | 52 | 60 | 61 | 57 |
March is the driest month (39 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 65 mm of rain falls in August, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 50 nights a year. The climate in Glemsford →
Things to do
5 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
Glemsford is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
The Beach20 mi from Glemsford’s edge
DirectionsMill Beach25 mi from Glemsford’s edge
DirectionsWeymarks Beach26 mi from Glemsford’s edge
DirectionsSt Osyth Naturist Beach28 mi from Glemsford’s edge
DirectionsBrooklands Beach29 mi from Glemsford’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.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds 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.
Long MelfordClareActonSudburyLavenhamGreat WaldingfieldGlemsford
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glemsford | C− | 1.1 | 84% | 0% |
| Long Melford 2.6 mi | B+ | 6.9 | 87% | 0% |
| Clare 4.0 mi | A− | 7.7 | 100% | 0% |
| Acton 4.6 mi | C | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Sudbury 5.3 mi | B | 3.8 | 77% | 0% |
| Lavenham 5.4 mi | C | 4.2 | 59% | 0% |
| Great Waldingfield 5.6 mi | C | 2.0 | 100% | 0% |
Clare, 4 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Long Melford, Clare and Sudbury have at least twice Glemsford’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Glemsford
What is the biggest park in Glemsford?
Schoolfield, 0.6 ha (1 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Glemsford near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Dedham Vale National Landscape, 9.0 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 91 km² and was designated in 1970.
What are the best walks near Glemsford?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Stour Valley Path part 2 and Windmill Hill Walk, Melford Hall.
What is the nearest beach to Glemsford?
The Beach, 20 mi from the edge of the town, then Mill Beach (25 mi). Glemsford itself is inland.
How many people in Glemsford live near a park?
84% 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 Glemsford?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Glemsford good for walking?
About average for paths: 3.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 58% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 15% (1.1 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 Glemsford’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Glemsford’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.