Banstead’s biggest
Park Downs
Park or garden · 270 m outside town
38 ha (95 acres)7.5 km of path
1 h 40 minto walk all 7.5 km of path
54 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Banstead · parks, paths & countryside
Banstead has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
85 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 5.2 for every square kilometre. The Surrey Hills National Landscape begins 2.1 mi from the town’s edge. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 66% of residents. Banstead grades B+ for the outdoors: #36 of 65 in Surrey. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
66%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
85 km
5.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
3%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Surrey Hills National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Banstead?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths5.2 km of path per km², more than 94% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Surrey Hills National Landscape starts 2.1 mi south-east.Parks can be a walk away35% of residents live more than 400 m from a park or playing field.
Banstead’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by the Surrey Hills National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Outdoors grade
Banstead grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Banstead, 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 towns#36 of 65 in Surrey · 24th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
57out of
100
100
A park within a walk66%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
25out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape3%of the land within 5 km
66out of
100
100
Footpaths5.2 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
94out 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
Banstead is 24th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,600 to 9,300 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
Banstead5.2
Towns its size3.1
Surrey towns4.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Banstead2.4
Towns its size2.5
Surrey towns3.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Banstead66%
Towns its size84%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Banstead stands out most for path per km²: only 3 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 49 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 3 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 4 | Storrington West Sussex | A | 5.5 | 85% | 3.2 | 54% |
| 5 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 6 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 7 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 8 | Warlingham Surrey | A | 4.2 | 81% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 9 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 10 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 11 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 12 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 13 | Ryton Tyne and Wear | A− | 5.5 | 85% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 14 | Brightlingsea Essex | A− | 3 | 97% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 17 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 18 | Alfreton Derbyshire | B+ | 4.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Longridge Lancashire | B+ | 1.9 | 89% | 3 | 32% |
| 20 | Winnersh Berkshire | B+ | 9.6 | 80% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Higham Ferrers Northamptonshire | B+ | 3.5 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 24 | Banstead Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 5.2 | 3% |
| 25 | Cinderford Gloucestershire | B+ | 1.7 | 80% | 4.7 | 4% |
| 26 | Ashbourne Derbyshire | B | 1.9 | 92% | 2.7 | 14% |
| 27 | Cockermouth Cumbria | B | 2.6 | 81% | 2.2 | 42% |
| 28 | Ampthill Bedfordshire | B | 6.8 | 71% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 29 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Clay Cross Derbyshire | B | 2.6 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 32 | South Kirkby West Yorkshire | B | 3 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 33 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 34 | Wendover Buckinghamshire | B | 1 | 58% | 5.6 | 60% |
| 35 | Hornsea East Riding of Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 90% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Whitnash Warwickshire | B− | 2 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Cullompton Devon | B− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 39 | West End and Chobham Surrey | B− | 3.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 40 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 41 | Hoo St Werburgh Kent | C+ | 1.4 | 92% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 44 | Atherstone Warwickshire | C+ | 2.7 | 88% | 2 | 0% |
| 45 | Brinsworth South Yorkshire | C | 1.3 | 76% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 47 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 49 | Burscough Lancashire | C | 2.6 | 76% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 50 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Adlington Lancashire | C− | 1.3 | 64% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 56 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 57 | Harworth and Bircotes Nottinghamshire | D | 1.9 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 58 | Holbeach Lincolnshire | D | 1 | 91% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Tarleton and Hesketh Bank Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 63% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Banstead’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 Banstead
The biggest is Park Downs, 38 ha (95 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 54 ha (133 acres) and 9 km of path
Parks & gardens 39 haPlaying fields 15 ha
The two biggest, Park Downs and Tattenham Way Recreation Ground, are 84% of the named green space and carry 8 km of path between them.
Tattenham Way Recreation Ground
Playing field · 60 m outside town
6.7 ha (16 acres)0.4 km of path
9 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi south-westfrom the centre
Church Lane
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Lady Neville Recreation Ground
Playing field
3.9 ha (10 acres)0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Banstead
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Gartons Recreation Ground
Playing field
2.6 ha (6 acres)0.5 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Banstead
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Beechholme Recreation Ground
Playing field · 350 m outside town
1.6 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Banstead Wildlife Field
Park or garden
0.7 ha (2 acres)
Centralin the middle of Banstead
Nature reserve
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
7 in 10 Banstead 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 (66%)Further (35%)
Banstead66%
Towns its size84%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
About 3,100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 13 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 687 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Surrey Hills 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.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
National Landscape
Surrey Hills
2.1 mi south-east422 km²since 19583% of the land within 5 km
Official site3% of the land within 5 km of Banstead is National Park or National Landscape, more than 65% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
8 waymarked walks pass through or near Banstead
85 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Banstead 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 town.
RegionalLocal
Banstead Countryside Walk10.5 km
Town and Down Circular Walk8.9 km
Sutton Countryside Walk7.9 km
London LOOP (Section 6)6.5 km
Reigate and Banstead Millennium Trail6.3 km
London LOOP (Section 7)1.9 km
Wandle-Oaks Link1.7 km
LOOP link to Banstead station0.5 km
Close to home, the Banstead Countryside Walk has 10 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 4 regional routes pass through, including the London LOOP (Section 6), Reigate and Banstead Millennium Trail, London LOOP (Section 7) and LOOP link to Banstead station.
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 Banstead: 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 75 | 57 | 44 | 49 | 50 | 49 | 49 | 58 | 57 | 83 | 85 | 79 |
March is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 85 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Banstead →
Things to do
13 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
Banstead is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Hog Hole11 mi from Banstead’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows11 mi from Banstead’s edge
DirectionsKelson Beach13 mi from Banstead’s edge
DirectionsAmity Beach14 mi from Banstead’s edge
DirectionsDock Beach14 mi from Banstead’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
Nature reserves 5
Banstead Wildlife Field0.7 ha · in town
DirectionsThe Pastures1.4 ha · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsHowell Hill Nature Reserve4.6 ha · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 2 nature reserves without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 13
Lakers Rise Playground0.4 mi from town
DirectionsNork park playground0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Banstead & District Scout Campsite0.6 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Chipstead and WoodmansterneTadworth and Epsom DownsKingswoodHooleyLangley ValeSuttonBanstead
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banstead | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 3% |
| Chipstead and Woodmansterne 1.6 mi | A+ | 10.3 | 92% | 12% |
| Tadworth and Epsom Downs 1.7 mi | A− | 3.4 | 65% | 16% |
| Kingswood 2.3 mi | A− | 4.6 | 27% | 17% |
| Hooley 2.9 mi | B− | 1.7 | 67% | 18% |
| Langley Vale 3.0 mi | C+ | 0.8 | 53% | 7% |
| Sutton 3.1 mi | A− | 2.9 | 85% | 1% |
Chipstead and Woodmansterne, 1.6 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: 92% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Chipstead and Woodmansterne has at least twice Banstead’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Banstead
What is the biggest park in Banstead?
Park Downs, 38 ha (95 acres), with 7.5 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Tattenham Way Recreation Ground (6.7 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Banstead near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 2.1 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 422 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Banstead?
8 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Banstead Countryside Walk, Town and Down Circular Walk and Sutton Countryside Walk. Park Downs alone has 7.5 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Banstead?
Hog Hole, 11 mi from the edge of the town, then The Hollows (11 mi). Banstead itself is inland.
How many people in Banstead live near a park?
66% 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 Banstead?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Banstead good for walking?
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 57% (2.4 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 Banstead’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Banstead’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.