Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Hassocks5489 · CC0Parks and playing fields in Badshot Lea add up to 25.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 100% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Footpaths add up to 40 km in the village and the kilometre around it, 5.2 for every square kilometre. Badshot Lea grades A+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Badshot Lea’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by dense footpaths.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Badshot Lea, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,800 to 2,000 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Badshot Lea stands out most for park space per resident: none of the other 59 has more.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badshot Lea Surrey | A+ | 25.9 | 100% | 5.2 | 25% |
| 2 | Kirkby Stephen Cumbria | A+ | 4.9 | 100% | 3.7 | 65% |
| 3 | Southwick Wiltshire | A+ | 22.2 | 100% | 5.2 | 1% |
| 4 | Brading Isle of Wight | A+ | 2.9 | 84% | 4.2 | 21% |
| 5 | Scholes (near Hade Edge) West Yorkshire | A+ | 3.8 | 100% | 4.7 | 16% |
| 6 | Chilworth Surrey | A+ | 10.8 | 80% | 6.1 | 59% |
| 7 | Hayfield Derbyshire | A+ | 2.2 | 100% | 4.1 | 62% |
| 8 | Colwall Stone Herefordshire | A | 4.5 | 67% | 5.5 | 64% |
| 9 | Bagworth Leicestershire | A | 11 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 10 | Newell Green Berkshire | A | 22.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Ravenstone Leicestershire | A− | 5.3 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Lower Broadheath Worcestershire | A− | 6 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 13 | Goosnargh Lancashire | A− | 2.4 | 100% | 2.5 | 6% |
| 14 | Lyminge Kent | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.1 | 90% |
| 15 | Flamborough East Riding of Yorkshire | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Waddesdon Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 17 | Mevagissey Cornwall | B+ | 1.3 | 87% | 1.9 | 29% |
| 18 | Bishop's Castle Shropshire | B+ | 2 | 100% | 1.3 | 53% |
| 19 | Chinley Derbyshire | B+ | 1.2 | 78% | 4.4 | 53% |
| 20 | Hathersage Derbyshire | B | 1.6 | 58% | 4.5 | 100% |
| 21 | Partridge Green West Sussex | B | 2.1 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 22 | Westham East Sussex | B | 3.8 | 18% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Little Eaton Derbyshire | B | 4.6 | 85% | 3 | 0% |
| 24 | Shurdington Gloucestershire | B | 2.7 | 47% | 3.3 | 42% |
| 25 | Horrabridge Devon | B | 1.4 | 83% | 2.7 | 92% |
| 26 | Campsall South Yorkshire | B | 14.8 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Chilcompton Somerset | B− | 6.5 | 40% | 2.9 | 1% |
| 28 | Yelverton Devon | B− | 3.6 | 72% | 1.1 | 85% |
| 29 | Stanwick Northamptonshire | B− | 7.9 | 82% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Ingrave and Herongate Essex | B− | 5 | 51% | 4 | 0% |
| 31 | Wrea Green Lancashire | B− | 3.5 | 100% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 32 | Whitland Dyfed | B− | 4.4 | 100% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 33 | Stow-on-the-Wold Gloucestershire | B− | 3.4 | 64% | 1.2 | 88% |
| 34 | Oxenhope West Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 80% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Barnburgh and Harlington South Yorkshire | B− | 1.8 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Houghton Conquest Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.8 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Hockley Heath West Midlands | C+ | 2.6 | 86% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 38 | Northiam East Sussex | C+ | 2.2 | 76% | 0.8 | 100% |
| 39 | Milnthorpe Cumbria | C | 2.2 | 49% | 2 | 39% |
| 40 | Rode Heath Cheshire | C | 0.9 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Newton Poppleford Devon | C | 1.4 | 44% | 2.3 | 60% |
| 42 | Toft Hill and High Etherley County Durham | C− | 2.5 | 83% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Hemingbrough North Yorkshire | C− | 1.3 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Littlethorpe Leicestershire | C− | 0.4 | 57% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 45 | Thornton-le-Dale North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 58% | 1.1 | 29% |
| 46 | Brompton-on-Swale North Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 71% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Manby Lincolnshire | D | 1.4 | 68% | 0.8 | 2% |
| 48 | Cropwell Bishop Nottinghamshire | D | 0.7 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Newton Longville Buckinghamshire | D | 2.9 | 18% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Dunholme Lincolnshire | D | 1.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 51 | Salfords Surrey | D | 1.3 | 12% | 3 | 0% |
| 52 | Little Plumstead Norfolk | D | 0.6 | 64% | 1 | 16% |
| 53 | Wragby Lincolnshire | D | 1.3 | 69% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Hampton in Arden West Midlands | D− | 0.1 | 44% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Weeting Norfolk | D− | 1.2 | 68% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Colnbrook Berkshire | D− | 0.6 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Great Gonerby Lincolnshire | D− | 0.7 | 56% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Great Barton Suffolk | D− | 1.6 | 19% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Shippon Oxfordshire | D− | 0.4 | 0% | 2 | 0% |
| 60 | Burstwick East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Badshot Lea’s built-up area.
The biggest is Tices Meadow Nature Rerserve, 55 ha (136 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
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).
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 55 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 34 residents.
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.
25% of the land within 5 km of Badshot Lea is National Park or National Landscape, more than 81% of UK towns. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
40 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Badshot Lea and the kilometre around it, 5.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
The North Downs Way, a national route, passes Badshot Lea. The regional route here is the Blackwater Valley Path.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 79 | 58 | 50 | 54 | 46 | 49 | 50 | 60 | 57 | 86 | 88 | 80 |
May is the driest month (46 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 88 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 51 nights a year. The climate in Badshot Lea →
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.
Badshot Lea 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.
Plus 5 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Plus 47 playgrounds without a name on the map.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badshot Lea | A+ | 25.9 | 100% | 25% |
| Aldershot 1.0 mi | A | 3.4 | 77% | 17% |
| Weybourne 1.3 mi | A+ | 7.1 | 86% | 14% |
| Farnham 2.1 mi | A | 5.1 | 73% | 35% |
| Ash and Ash Vale 2.5 mi | A | 4.3 | 72% | 20% |
| Wrecclesham 3.5 mi | C+ | 1.2 | 50% | 37% |
| Elstead 4.1 mi | A | 2.5 | 100% | 82% |
Badshot Lea grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table.
Tices Meadow Nature Rerserve, 55 ha (136 acres), with 3.6 km of path. Brickfields Park (3.2 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 3.7 mi south-west of the village’s edge. It covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 0.3 mi away.
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Blackwater Valley Path and North Downs Way (Western). Tices Meadow Nature Rerserve alone has 3.6 km of path.
Penguin Beach, 4.4 mi from the edge of the village, then Amity Beach (16 mi). Badshot Lea itself is inland.
100% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
For paths, yes: 5.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 94% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 100% (25.9 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Badshot Lea’s overall grade.
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.