Holbrook’s biggest
Reade Playing Field
Playing field
2.0 ha (5 acres)
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Holbrook
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Royal Hospital School, Main Range Including Assembly Hall, Dining Room, Gymnasium, Administration and Teaching Accommodation · Photo: Walker44 · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Holbrook · parks, paths & countryside
Holbrook is inside the Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape
The sea makes up 20% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Holbrook add up to 1.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Holbrook grades B+ for the outdoors. 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
74%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
35 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
52%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape
The sea
20%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors village is Holbrook?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Inside the Suffolk Coast & Heaths National LandscapeHolbrook sits inside it: 443 km² of protected landscape.On the coast20% of the area within 5 km is sea; 4 beaches mapped.On a National TrailThe King Charles III England Coast Path passes through.Less park per person1.1 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Holbrook’s strongest suit is a protected landscape all round, followed by the sea. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Holbrook grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Holbrook, 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 67% of UK towns21st of 60 UK villages its size
Public green space1.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
15out of
100
100
A park within a walk74%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
36out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape52%of the land within 5 km
92out of
100
100
Footpaths2.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
51out of
100
100
The sea20%of the area within 5 km
89out 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.
Villages its size
Holbrook is 21st of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,100 to 2,200 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
Holbrook2.7
Villages its size2.4
Suffolk towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Holbrook1.1
Villages its size2.3
Suffolk towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Holbrook74%
Villages its size86%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against villages its size, Holbrook stands out most for path per km²: only 24 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 48 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mullion Cornwall | A+ | 3.7 | 100% | 2.5 | 64% |
| 2 | Broughton Buckinghamshire | A+ | 8 | 100% | 6.5 | 0% |
| 3 | Crickhowell Powys | A+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 4 | Charlton Hampshire | A+ | 5.6 | 87% | 5.2 | 19% |
| 5 | Bestwood Village Nottinghamshire | A | 43.8 | 100% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 6 | Deepcut Surrey | A | 8.4 | 100% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 7 | Chigwell Row Essex | A | 30.3 | 100% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 8 | Springwell Tyne and Wear | A | 5 | 100% | 6.7 | 0% |
| 9 | Eton Wick Berkshire | A | 17.4 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 10 | Carlton South Yorkshire | A | 23.1 | 87% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Streethay Staffordshire | A− | 10.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 12 | Chipping Campden Gloucestershire | A− | 2.1 | 100% | 2 | 74% |
| 13 | Gilwern Gwent | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 2 | 83% |
| 14 | Church Warsop Nottinghamshire | B+ | 4.1 | 85% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 15 | Hanslope Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 100% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 16 | Chiddingfold Surrey | B+ | 2.2 | 87% | 2.5 | 68% |
| 17 | Wells-next-the-Sea Norfolk | B+ | 2 | 70% | 1.9 | 65% |
| 18 | Charing Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 85% | 2.1 | 56% |
| 19 | Sharlston West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.9 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 20 | Gamston (Rushcliffe) Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.7 | 86% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Holbrook Suffolk | B+ | 1.1 | 74% | 2.7 | 52% |
| 22 | Banwell Somerset | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 38% |
| 23 | Carnon Downs and Devoran Cornwall | B+ | 0.3 | 87% | 2.5 | 36% |
| 24 | Yarnfield Staffordshire | B | 6.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Longtown Cumbria | B | 4.3 | 100% | 0.1 | 0% |
| 26 | Wheelock Cheshire | B | 2.4 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Ellington Northumberland | B | 2.5 | 86% | 2 | 0% |
| 28 | Trowell Nottinghamshire | B | 7.7 | 56% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Evercreech Somerset | B | 3.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 30 | Rayne Essex | B− | 4.3 | 64% | 4 | 0% |
| 31 | Resolven West Glamorgan | B− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 32 | East Peckham Kent | B− | 14.5 | 66% | 2 | 1% |
| 33 | Hutton Lancashire | B− | 6.6 | 90% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Wardle Greater Manchester | B− | 1 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Aspley Guise Bedfordshire | B− | 2.2 | 69% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 36 | Swanton Morley Norfolk | C+ | 3.5 | 94% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 37 | Burgh le Marsh Lincolnshire | C+ | 3.2 | 74% | 1.3 | 7% |
| 38 | Luddenden Foot West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.2 | 68% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Machynlleth Powys | C+ | 2.6 | 45% | 2 | 29% |
| 40 | Huncote Leicestershire | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Linton Derbyshire | C | 1.8 | 76% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Mitcheldean Gloucestershire | C | 1.5 | 80% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 43 | Barwick in Elmet West Yorkshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Aspatria Cumbria | C− | 3.1 | 60% | 0.8 | 1% |
| 45 | Rudgwick West Sussex | C− | 2.5 | 16% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 46 | Seamer (Scarborough) North Yorkshire | C− | 2.2 | 58% | 1 | 18% |
| 47 | Lanner Cornwall | C− | 1.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Stainburn Cumbria | C− | 0.1 | 72% | 2 | 0% |
| 49 | Long Bennington Lincolnshire | C− | 1.6 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Underwood Gwent | C− | 1.9 | 87% | 1 | 0% |
| 51 | Wickham Hampshire | D | 0.8 | 26% | 2 | 13% |
| 52 | Hersden Kent | D | 2 | 63% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Thurlby Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 54% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Preston East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 0.6 | 52% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Morton Lincolnshire | D | 0.2 | 28% | 3 | 0% |
| 56 | West Hill Devon | D | 0 | 0% | 1.2 | 27% |
| 57 | Bozeat Northamptonshire | D− | 1.3 | 13% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Cilfrew West Glamorgan | D− | 0.8 | 44% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Aslockton Nottinghamshire | D− | 1 | 11% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Ipplepen Devon | D− | 0.8 | 42% | 1.1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Holbrook’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 Holbrook
The biggest is Reade Playing Field, 2.0 ha (5 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
7 in 10 Holbrook 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 (74%)Further (26%)
Holbrook74%
Villages its size86%
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 village, about one for every 429 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Holbrook
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
Suffolk Coast & Heaths
Holbrook is inside it443 km²since 197052% of the land within 5 km
Official site52% of the land within 5 km of Holbrook is National Park or National Landscape, more than 92% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Holbrook is on the King Charles III England Coast Path
35 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Holbrook and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
NationalRegionalLocal
Stour & Orwell Walk8.8 km
Alton Water Red Route1.1 km
King Charles III England Coast Path: Shotley Gate to Felixstowe Ferry0.9 km
The King Charles III England Coast Path, a national route, passes Holbrook. The regional route here is the Stour & Orwell Walk.
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 Holbrook: May to September
The village’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 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 42 | 37 | 35 | 44 | 52 | 49 | 49 | 48 | 65 | 61 | 62 |
April is the driest month (35 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 65 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Holbrook →
The coast
Holbrook is a coastal town
20% of the area within 5 km of Holbrook is sea. 4 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
The King Charles III England Coast Path passes the town.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
5 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Alton Water Campsite0.4 mi from town
DirectionsSlipways 2
Plus 2 slipways 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.
MistleyBranthamBradfieldManningtreeShotley GateCapel St MaryHolbrook
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holbrook | B+ | 1.1 | 74% | 52% |
| Mistley 4.1 mi | A | 4.3 | 86% | 41% |
| Brantham 4.2 mi | C+ | 1.0 | 27% | 42% |
| Bradfield 4.5 mi | C | 1.4 | 27% | 35% |
| Manningtree 4.8 mi | A+ | 5.6 | 100% | 43% |
| Shotley Gate 4.9 mi | A− | 1.0 | 100% | 34% |
| Capel St Mary 4.9 mi | C+ | 1.5 | 59% | 24% |
Manningtree, 4.8 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Mistley and Manningtree have at least twice Holbrook’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Holbrook
What is the biggest park in Holbrook?
Reade Playing Field, 2.0 ha (5 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
What are the best walks near Holbrook?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Stour & Orwell Walk, Alton Water Red Route and King Charles III England Coast Path: Shotley Gate to Felixstowe Ferry.
How many people in Holbrook live near a park?
74% 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 Holbrook?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Holbrook good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 51% 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 Holbrook’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Holbrook’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.