Kesgrave’s biggest
Ipswich Town Training Centre
Playing field
13 ha (33 acres)0.1 km of path
19 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.3 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Geographer · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Kesgrave · parks, paths & countryside
Almost everyone in Kesgrave lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 97% of residents. 81 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 4.7 for every square kilometre. The Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape begins 1.1 mi from the town’s edge. Kesgrave grades A for the outdoors: #2 of 34 in Suffolk. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
97%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
81 km
4.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
14%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Kesgrave?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A park on every doorstep97% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.A town of footpaths4.7 km of path per km², more than 90% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape starts 1.1 mi north-east.
Kesgrave’s strongest suit is parks close to every home, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Kesgrave grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Kesgrave, 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 95% of UK towns#2 of 34 in Suffolk · 8th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
74out of
100
100
A park within a walk97%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
77out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape14%of the land within 5 km
74out of
100
100
Footpaths4.7 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
91out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 3% sea, under the 5% that counts
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
Kesgrave is 8th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 14,200 to 15,600 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
Kesgrave4.7
Towns its size3.6
Suffolk towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Kesgrave3.3
Towns its size2.6
Suffolk towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Kesgrave97%
Towns its size85%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Kesgrave stands out most for path per km²: only 9 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lymington Hampshire | A+ | 2.8 | 89% | 3.3 | 56% |
| 2 | Saltash Cornwall | A+ | 2.4 | 96% | 3.6 | 44% |
| 3 | Hythe Kent | A+ | 3.7 | 76% | 4 | 31% |
| 4 | Otley West Yorkshire | A+ | 5.8 | 93% | 4.4 | 26% |
| 5 | Tadley Hampshire | A+ | 11.4 | 96% | 4.2 | 9% |
| 6 | Llandudno Clwyd | A+ | 2.1 | 83% | 4.9 | 3% |
| 7 | Swanscombe Kent | A+ | 3.3 | 90% | 8.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Kesgrave Suffolk | A | 3.3 | 97% | 4.7 | 14% |
| 9 | Petersfield Hampshire | A | 3.2 | 93% | 3.2 | 100% |
| 10 | Yeadon West Yorkshire | A | 3.5 | 94% | 4.6 | 2% |
| 11 | Staveley Derbyshire | A | 6.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Penzance Cornwall | A | 1.6 | 96% | 2.3 | 34% |
| 13 | Cheadle Greater Manchester | A | 6.5 | 96% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 14 | Stapleford Nottinghamshire | A | 3.5 | 95% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Skipton North Yorkshire | A | 1.7 | 99% | 4.2 | 25% |
| 16 | Yateley Hampshire | A− | 14.9 | 85% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 17 | Honley West Yorkshire | A− | 2.1 | 87% | 5.1 | 8% |
| 18 | Kidsgrove Staffordshire | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Frimley Surrey | A− | 2.9 | 99% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 20 | Tredegar Gwent | A− | 6.9 | 78% | 2.8 | 20% |
| 21 | Hessle East Riding of Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 96% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 22 | Risca Gwent | A− | 6.9 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 23 | Thornbury Gloucestershire | A− | 2.5 | 97% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 24 | Chertsey Surrey | A− | 6.2 | 84% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 25 | Birstall Leicestershire | A− | 6 | 80% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 26 | Tewkesbury Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.2 | 84% | 4 | 6% |
| 27 | Ilkley West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.6 | 76% | 5.7 | 37% |
| 28 | Uckfield East Sussex | B+ | 2.9 | 47% | 4.9 | 22% |
| 29 | Neston Cheshire | B+ | 2.7 | 91% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 30 | Buckingham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.4 | 96% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Somercotes and Swanwick Derbyshire | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Marlow Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 39% |
| 33 | Ashtead Surrey | B+ | 2.7 | 62% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 34 | Newport Pagnell Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 95% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Humberston and New Waltham Lincolnshire | B+ | 4.1 | 44% | 2.2 | 1% |
| 36 | Crowthorne Berkshire | B | 4.7 | 60% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Morpeth Northumberland | B | 3.7 | 80% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 38 | Chard Somerset | B− | 1.6 | 94% | 1.9 | 34% |
| 39 | Hawarden Clwyd | B− | 3.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Redruth Cornwall | B− | 1.5 | 78% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 41 | Hoyland South Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Mexborough South Yorkshire | B− | 2 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Aberystwyth Dyfed | B− | 1.8 | 51% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 44 | Teignmouth Devon | B− | 1.7 | 82% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 45 | East Ardsley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.8 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Cowes Isle of Wight | C+ | 1.1 | 50% | 2.2 | 15% |
| 47 | Herne Kent | C+ | 1.2 | 54% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Frampton Cotterell and Winterbourne Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.2 | 78% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Darton South Yorkshire | C+ | 2.5 | 86% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 50 | South Hayling Hampshire | C+ | 1 | 65% | 1.4 | 26% |
| 51 | Hockley and Hawkwell Essex | C+ | 1.6 | 85% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 52 | Kidlington Oxfordshire | C+ | 0.9 | 81% | 3 | 2% |
| 53 | Garforth West Yorkshire | C | 1.2 | 88% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire | C | 1.1 | 90% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Alsager Cheshire | C | 1.2 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 56 | Swallownest and Aston South Yorkshire | C− | 1.2 | 73% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Taverham and Drayton Norfolk | C− | 1.9 | 67% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Cottingham East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 73% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Middlewich Cheshire | D | 1.4 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Shepshed Leicestershire | D | 1.1 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Kesgrave’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 Kesgrave
The biggest is Ipswich Town Training Centre, 13 ha (33 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 21 ha (52 acres) and 2 km of path
Parks & gardens 7.6 haPlaying fields 13 ha
The two biggest, Ipswich Town Training Centre and Grange Meadow, are 80% of the named green space. 4 of the 6 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Grange Meadow
Park or garden
3.4 ha (8 acres)1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Kesgrave
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Oaks Meadow
Park or garden
1.9 ha (5 acres)0.4 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Kesgrave
Playground
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Ashdale Green
Park or garden
1.2 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Kesgrave
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Legion Green
Park or garden
0.8 ha (2 acres)
0.4 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
St Lawrence Green
Park or garden
0.2 ha (1 acres)0.1 km of path
0.5 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Kesgrave’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 (97%)Further (3%)
Kesgrave97%
Towns its size85%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 29 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 515 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape is 1.1 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
National Landscape
Suffolk Coast & Heaths
1.1 mi north-east443 km²since 197014% of the land within 5 km
Official site14% of the land within 5 km of Kesgrave is National Park or National Landscape, more than 73% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Kesgrave
81 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Kesgrave and the kilometre around it, 4.7 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
Sandlings Walk7.6 km
Fynn Valley Walk6.6 km
Sandlings Walk (St Augustine's route)4.2 km
Sandlings Walk (Heath Road route)1.0 km
Close to home, the Fynn Valley Walk has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 3 regional routes pass through, including the Sandlings Walk, Sandlings Walk (St Augustine's route) and Sandlings Walk (Heath Road route).
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 Kesgrave: 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 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 46 | 40 | 38 | 44 | 47 | 58 | 52 | 51 | 66 | 66 | 64 |
April is the driest month (38 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 66 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. The climate in Kesgrave →
Things to do
29 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
Kesgrave is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Honolulu Beach3.5 mi from Kesgrave’s edge
DirectionsTrimley Shores4.9 mi from Kesgrave’s edge
DirectionsBorrow Pit Bay17 mi from Kesgrave’s edge
DirectionsBiana Bay17 mi from Kesgrave’s edge
DirectionsSmugglers Bay17 mi from Kesgrave’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 29
Grange Meadow playgroundin town
DirectionsKWMCC Play Areain town
DirectionsNock Gardensin town
DirectionsOaks Meadow Play Areain town
DirectionsCherry Lane Playground0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 24 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.
Martlesham HeathMartleshamGrundisburghIpswichWoodbridgeMeltonKesgrave
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kesgrave | A | 3.3 | 97% | 14% |
| Martlesham Heath 1.3 mi | A− | 3.5 | 68% | 25% |
| Martlesham 1.7 mi | B | 2.1 | 69% | 24% |
| Grundisburgh 3.5 mi | B+ | 2.2 | 100% | 3% |
| Ipswich 3.6 mi | A− | 2.6 | 79% | 12% |
| Woodbridge 3.7 mi | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 30% |
| Melton 4.8 mi | A+ | 6.5 | 100% | 33% |
Melton, 4.8 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Kesgrave
What is the biggest park in Kesgrave?
Ipswich Town Training Centre, 13 ha (33 acres). Grange Meadow (3.4 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Kesgrave near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape, 1.1 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 443 km² and was designated in 1970.
What are the best walks near Kesgrave?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Sandlings Walk, Fynn Valley Walk and Sandlings Walk (St Augustine's route).
What is the nearest beach to Kesgrave?
Honolulu Beach, 3.5 mi from the edge of the town, then Trimley Shores (4.9 mi). Kesgrave itself is inland.
How many people in Kesgrave live near a park?
97% 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 Kesgrave?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Kesgrave good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 91% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 74% (3.3 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 Kesgrave’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Kesgrave’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.