Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and walks in Wickham Market
The Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape begins 2.1 mi from the village’s edge. 15 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 1.7 for every square kilometre. 64% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Wickham Market grades C for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Wickham Market?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Wickham Market’s strongest suit is the Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Wickham Market grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Wickham Market, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
100
100
100
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.
Wickham Market is 37th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,100 to 2,300 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Wickham Market stands out most for park space per resident: only 21 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 41 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brockham Surrey | A+ | 7.4 | 94% | 4.4 | 38% |
| 2 | Limpsfield Surrey | A+ | 2.9 | 100% | 3.7 | 41% |
| 3 | Tanyfron Clwyd | A | 7.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 13% |
| 4 | Berry Hill Gloucestershire | A | 2.9 | 79% | 4.7 | 55% |
| 5 | Elstead Surrey | A | 2.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 82% |
| 6 | Westcott Surrey | A | 1.8 | 86% | 5.5 | 78% |
| 7 | Hapton Lancashire | A | 2.6 | 87% | 6.1 | 2% |
| 8 | Severn Beach Gloucestershire | A− | 5.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Great Horkesley Essex | A− | 4.7 | 78% | 3.3 | 25% |
| 10 | Arnside Cumbria | A− | 1.3 | 65% | 4.1 | 75% |
| 11 | Smalley Derbyshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 12 | Merlin's Bridge Dyfed | A− | 3.3 | 100% | 2 | 11% |
| 13 | Berrow and Brean Somerset | A− | 3.6 | 75% | 1.7 | 1% |
| 14 | Newstead Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Woodcote Oxfordshire | B+ | 1.6 | 84% | 3.5 | 99% |
| 16 | Acle Norfolk | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3.1 | 43% |
| 17 | Brimscombe and Thrupp Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 12% | 5.9 | 89% |
| 18 | Tisbury Wiltshire | B+ | 1.5 | 86% | 2.9 | 100% |
| 19 | Woodford Greater Manchester | B+ | 5.9 | 80% | 2.3 | 5% |
| 20 | Steventon Oxfordshire | B+ | 2 | 100% | 2 | 17% |
| 21 | Crick Northamptonshire | B | 3.8 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Mayfield East Sussex | B− | 3.3 | 61% | 1.9 | 99% |
| 23 | Loddon Norfolk | B− | 2.4 | 77% | 2.5 | 18% |
| 24 | Park Street and Frogmore Hertfordshire | B− | 4.5 | 63% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 25 | Bickershaw Greater Manchester | B− | 5 | 13% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 26 | Lechlade-on-Thames Gloucestershire | B− | 6.7 | 66% | 1.5 | 6% |
| 27 | Bere Alston Devon | C+ | 1.4 | 64% | 1.3 | 93% |
| 28 | Hermitage Berkshire | C+ | 0.6 | 58% | 3.4 | 82% |
| 29 | Boughton under Blean Kent | C+ | 2.7 | 24% | 2.5 | 18% |
| 30 | Hook Norton Oxfordshire | C+ | 2 | 70% | 2 | 28% |
| 31 | Cold Ash Berkshire | C+ | 1.5 | 7% | 3.1 | 60% |
| 32 | Berkeley Gloucestershire | C+ | 0.9 | 49% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 33 | Farndon Cheshire | C+ | 1.2 | 82% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 34 | East Bergholt Suffolk | C | 1.9 | 26% | 2.4 | 46% |
| 35 | Trimsaran Dyfed | C | 2.4 | 31% | 1 | 2% |
| 36 | Bishopsteignton Devon | C | 3 | 62% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Wickham Market Suffolk | C | 2.5 | 64% | 1.7 | 7% |
| 38 | Llanidloes Powys | C | 2.4 | 89% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 39 | Eye Suffolk | C | 2 | 66% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Wateringbury Kent | C− | 2.4 | 73% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Great Blakenham Suffolk | C− | 3.6 | 70% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Stoke Prior Worcestershire | C− | 2.6 | 67% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Coleford Somerset | C− | 1.2 | 51% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Coltishall and Horstead Norfolk | C− | 2.1 | 57% | 1.3 | 8% |
| 45 | Meriden West Midlands | C− | 1.8 | 70% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Woldingham Surrey | C− | 0.2 | 25% | 3.1 | 20% |
| 47 | Hatfield Woodhouse South Yorkshire | C− | 0.6 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 48 | St Osyth Essex | C− | 1.5 | 54% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 49 | Scholes (Leeds) West Yorkshire | D | 0 | 0% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Comberton Cambridgeshire | D | 1.6 | 71% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Duxford Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Kineton Warwickshire | D | 0.2 | 0% | 1.8 | 5% |
| 53 | Great Barford Bedfordshire | D− | 1.4 | 45% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Leconfield East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.6 | 51% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Bettws Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.7 | 71% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Mattishall Norfolk | D− | 1.4 | 58% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Misterton Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 47% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Billinghay Lincolnshire | D− | 1.8 | 41% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 59 | Shenstone Staffordshire | D− | 1 | 55% | 1 | 0% |
| 60 | Puriton Somerset | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.4 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Wickham Market’s built-up area.
6 in 10 Wickham Market 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 800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 6 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 372 residents.
The Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape is 2.1 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.
Suffolk Coast & Heaths
7% of the land within 5 km of Wickham Market is National Park or National Landscape, more than 68% of UK towns.
Footpaths in and around Wickham Market
15 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Wickham Market and the kilometre around it, 1.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Wickham Market; its footpaths are on the map above.
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 Wickham Market: 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 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 51 | 43 | 40 | 35 | 45 | 51 | 53 | 55 | 51 | 61 | 64 | 60 |
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 64 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 36 nights a year. The climate in Wickham Market →
6 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
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.
The nearest beaches
Wickham Market is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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 6
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wickham Market | C | 2.5 | 64% | 7% |
| Rendlesham 2.8 mi | C− | 0.8 | 52% | 59% |
| Melton 3.6 mi | A+ | 6.5 | 100% | 33% |
| Framlingham 4.7 mi | B | 3.7 | 73% | 0% |
| Woodbridge 4.7 mi | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 30% |
| Sutton Common 5.0 mi | C+ | 0.8 | 51% | 85% |
| Grundisburgh 5.7 mi | B+ | 2.2 | 100% | 3% |
Melton, 3.6 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Melton has at least twice Wickham Market’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Wickham Market
Is Wickham Market near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Suffolk Coast & Heaths National Landscape, 2.1 mi south-east of the village’s edge. It covers 443 km² and was designated in 1970.
What is the nearest beach to Wickham Market?
Honolulu Beach, 3.6 mi from the edge of the village, then Trimley Shores (11 mi). Wickham Market itself is inland.
How many people in Wickham Market live near a park?
64% 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 Wickham Market?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Wickham Market good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.7 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 23% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 59% (2.5 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 Wickham Market’s overall grade.
Where Wickham Market’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.