Sudbury’s biggest
Shalford Meadow
Park or garden · 20 m outside town
36 ha (88 acres)1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
50 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.6 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Sudbury · parks, paths & countryside
Sudbury has more park space per resident than 8 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Sudbury add up to 3.8 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Dedham Vale National Landscape begins 2.9 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 106 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.5 for every square kilometre. Sudbury grades B for the outdoors: #17 of 34 in Suffolk. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.8 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
77%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
106 km
3.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Dedham Vale starts 2.9 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Sudbury?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam3.8 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 80% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe Dedham Vale National Landscape starts 2.9 mi south-east.
Sudbury’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Dedham Vale National Landscape close by.
Outdoors grade
Sudbury grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Sudbury, 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 56% of UK towns#17 of 34 in Suffolk · 39th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.8 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
81out of
100
100
A park within a walk77%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
41out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Dedham Vale begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
70out 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
Sudbury is 39th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 22,100 to 25,900 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
Sudbury3.5
Towns its size3.7
Suffolk towns2.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Sudbury3.8
Towns its size2.6
Suffolk towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Sudbury77%
Towns its size83%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Sudbury stands out most for park space per resident: only 19 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire | A+ | 5.7 | 96% | 3.7 | 1% |
| 2 | Chapeltown and High Green South Yorkshire | A+ | 4.9 | 94% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Falmouth Cornwall | A | 1.3 | 96% | 3.5 | 41% |
| 4 | Reddish Greater Manchester | A | 6.7 | 100% | 5 | 0% |
| 5 | Caterham Surrey | A | 4.3 | 84% | 4.3 | 17% |
| 6 | Newport Isle of Wight | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 7 | Ash and Ash Vale Surrey | A | 4.3 | 72% | 5.4 | 20% |
| 8 | Huntingdon Cambridgeshire | A | 5.7 | 99% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Thornaby-on-Tees North Yorkshire | A | 5.4 | 92% | 5.2 | 0% |
| 10 | South Ockendon Essex | A− | 2.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 11 | Droylsden Greater Manchester | A− | 5.2 | 95% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 12 | Reigate Surrey | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 13 | Felixstowe Suffolk | A− | 2 | 88% | 1.9 | 28% |
| 14 | Heanor Derbyshire | A− | 4.2 | 92% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Gorleston-on-Sea Norfolk | A− | 1.4 | 81% | 3.2 | 17% |
| 16 | Hedge End Hampshire | A− | 5.5 | 87% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Little Hulton Greater Manchester | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Wilmslow Cheshire | A− | 4.4 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 19 | Kempston Bedfordshire | A− | 4.9 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 20 | Newton-le-Willows Merseyside | A− | 5.2 | 99% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 21 | Ryde Isle of Wight | A− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.6 | 19% |
| 22 | Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 74% | 2.7 | 35% |
| 23 | Whitefield Greater Manchester | A− | 4.7 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 24 | Ingleby Barwick North Yorkshire | B+ | 2.9 | 87% | 6.1 | 0% |
| 25 | Maldon Essex | B+ | 2.8 | 82% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Whitehaven Cumbria | B+ | 1.8 | 91% | 2 | 1% |
| 27 | Chesham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 64% |
| 28 | Herne Bay Kent | B+ | 2.3 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Thatcham Berkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 87% | 3.1 | 27% |
| 30 | Cheadle Hulme Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Chafford Hundred and West Thurrock Essex | B+ | 2.2 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Oadby Leicestershire | B+ | 3.7 | 92% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 33 | Bradley Stoke Gloucestershire | B+ | 2 | 93% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Seaford East Sussex | B+ | 0.8 | 73% | 2.8 | 52% |
| 35 | Orrell Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.1 | 77% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Swinton Greater Manchester | B | 3.9 | 81% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Newton Aycliffe County Durham | B | 2.1 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 38 | Broadstairs Kent | B | 1.7 | 76% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Sudbury Suffolk | B | 3.8 | 77% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Truro Cornwall | B | 1.6 | 84% | 2.9 | 21% |
| 41 | Hailsham East Sussex | B | 1.4 | 87% | 3.2 | 12% |
| 42 | Rawtenstall Lancashire | B | 1.9 | 83% | 6.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Royton Greater Manchester | B− | 2.8 | 71% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Thetford Norfolk | B− | 2.9 | 65% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 45 | St Austell Cornwall | B− | 1.2 | 71% | 2.5 | 7% |
| 46 | Bishop Auckland County Durham | B− | 2.7 | 85% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 47 | Chester-le-Street County Durham | C+ | 1.7 | 75% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Hindley Greater Manchester | C+ | 2.5 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Coseley West Midlands | C+ | 1.4 | 84% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Newquay Cornwall | C+ | 1.6 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Ashford Surrey | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 52 | Clifton Nottinghamshire | C+ | 1.5 | 76% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Kenilworth Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 75% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Market Harborough Leicestershire | C+ | 1.9 | 94% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Formby Merseyside | C+ | 1.4 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Ascot Berkshire | C+ | 3.6 | 56% | 3 | 0% |
| 57 | Potters Bar Hertfordshire | C | 1.6 | 71% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Golborne Greater Manchester | C | 3 | 66% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Wickersley and Bramley South Yorkshire | C | 1.7 | 77% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Retford Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 76% | 2.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Sudbury’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 Sudbury
The biggest is Shalford Meadow, 36 ha (88 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 11 named parks by size: 113 ha (280 acres) and 17 km of path
Parks & gardens 111 haPlaying fields 2.8 ha
The two biggest, Shalford Meadow and North Meadow Common, are 47% of the named green space and carry 5 km of path between them.
North Meadow Common
Park or garden
17 ha (43 acres)3.6 km of path
50 minto walk all 3.6 km of path
24 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi north-westfrom the centre
Nature reserve
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Great Cornard
Park or garden
14 ha (36 acres)3.1 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.1 km of path
20 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.2 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Little Fullingpit Meadow
Park or garden
9.4 ha (23 acres)2.0 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
13 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi north-westfrom the centre
Waterfall Picnic site
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Melford Country Park
Park or garden · 340 m outside town
7.6 ha (19 acres)2.8 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.8 km of path
11 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
2.1 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Great Fullingpit Meadow
Park or garden
8.8 ha (22 acres)1.7 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
12 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi westfrom the centre
Waterfall Picnic site
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Freemen's Great Common
Park or garden
6.2 ha (15 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.8 mi westfrom the centre
Waterfall
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Friar's Meadow
Park or garden
6.6 ha (16 acres)0.2 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Sudbury
Picnic site
Directionsto the nearest entrance
All 11 named parks and green spaces
Shalford MeadowPark or garden · 36 ha · 1.5 km of path · just outside town
DirectionsNorth Meadow CommonPark or garden · 17 ha · 3.6 km of path
DirectionsGreat CornardPark or garden · 14 ha · 3.1 km of path
DirectionsLittle Fullingpit MeadowPark or garden · 9.4 ha · 2.0 km of path
DirectionsMelford Country ParkPark or garden · 7.6 ha · 2.8 km of path · just outside town
DirectionsGreat Fullingpit MeadowPark or garden · 8.8 ha · 1.7 km of path
DirectionsFreemen's Great CommonPark or garden · 6.2 ha · 1.0 km of path
DirectionsFriar's MeadowPark or garden · 6.6 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsBelle Vue ParkPark or garden · 2.1 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsFreemen's Little CommonPark or garden · 2.6 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSudbury Rugby Union Football ClubPlaying field · 2.8 ha
DirectionsClose to home
8 in 10 Sudbury 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 (77%)Further (23%)
Sudbury77%
Towns its size83%
Suffolk towns80%
All UK towns83%
About 5,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 41 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 583 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Dedham Vale National Landscape is 2.9 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Sudbury scores 0% on it even though the Dedham Vale National Landscape is 2.9 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
4 waymarked walks pass through or near Sudbury
106 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Sudbury and the kilometre around it, 3.5 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
St Edmund Way11.7 km
Stour Valley Path part 210.9 km
Melford Hall to Sudbury Mill Walk, Melford Hall7.4 km
Gainsborough Trail Meadow Walk1.0 km
Close to home, the Melford Hall to Sudbury Mill Walk, Melford Hall has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the St Edmund Way and 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 Sudbury: 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) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 45 | 39 | 40 | 47 | 52 | 51 | 65 | 49 | 65 | 65 | 60 |
March is the driest month (39 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 43 nights a year. The climate in Sudbury →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 41 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.
2Viewpoints3Waterfalls2Nature reserves2Picnic sites41Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size1Campsites1Slipways
The nearest beaches
Sudbury is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Mill Beach19 mi from Sudbury’s edge
DirectionsWeymarks Beach20 mi from Sudbury’s edge
DirectionsEast Point Beach20 mi from Sudbury’s edge
DirectionsSt Osyth Naturist Beach22 mi from Sudbury’s edge
DirectionsTrimley Shores22 mi from Sudbury’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
Viewpoints 2
Bay Horse Gardensin town
DirectionsKeddington Hill0.3 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 2
Eden-Rose Coppice0.6 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsNorth Meadow Common17 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Friars Meadow0.0 mi from town
DirectionsThe Croft0.0 mi from town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Willowmere Camp. Parkin town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Plus 1 slipway 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.
Great WaldingfieldActonLong MelfordBuresGlemsfordLavenhamSudbury
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sudbury | B | 3.8 | 77% | 0% |
| Great Waldingfield 2.1 mi | C | 2.0 | 100% | 0% |
| Acton 2.3 mi | C | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Long Melford 2.9 mi | B+ | 6.9 | 87% | 0% |
| Bures 4.7 mi | A | 5.4 | 100% | 14% |
| Glemsford 5.3 mi | C− | 1.1 | 84% | 0% |
| Lavenham 5.4 mi | C | 4.2 | 59% | 0% |
Bures, 4.7 miles away, grades A, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Sudbury
What is the biggest park in Sudbury?
Shalford Meadow, 36 ha (88 acres), with 1.5 km of path, just outside the built-up area. North Meadow Common (17 ha) is second. 11 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Sudbury near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Dedham Vale National Landscape, 2.9 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 91 km² and was designated in 1970.
What are the best walks near Sudbury?
4 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the St Edmund Way, Stour Valley Path part 2 and Melford Hall to Sudbury Mill Walk, Melford Hall.
What is the nearest beach to Sudbury?
Mill Beach, 19 mi from the edge of the town, then Weymarks Beach (20 mi). Sudbury itself is inland.
How many people in Sudbury live near a park?
77% 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 Sudbury?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Sudbury good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 70% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 81% (3.8 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 Sudbury’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Sudbury’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.