Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Paul E Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Brockham add up to 7.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Surrey Hills National Landscape reaches the edge of Brockham. 54 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 4.4 for every square kilometre. Brockham 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.
Brockham’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 Brockham, 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 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, Brockham stands out most for park space per resident: only 4 of the other 59 have more.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broughton Buckinghamshire | A+ | 8 | 100% | 6.5 | 0% |
| 2 | Brockham Surrey | A+ | 7.4 | 94% | 4.4 | 38% |
| 3 | Limpsfield Surrey | A+ | 2.9 | 100% | 3.7 | 41% |
| 4 | Tanyfron Clwyd | A | 7.4 | 100% | 2.6 | 13% |
| 5 | Berry Hill Gloucestershire | A | 2.9 | 79% | 4.7 | 55% |
| 6 | Hapton Lancashire | A | 2.6 | 87% | 6.1 | 2% |
| 7 | Severn Beach Gloucestershire | A− | 5.8 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 8 | Great Horkesley Essex | A− | 4.7 | 78% | 3.3 | 25% |
| 9 | Arnside Cumbria | A− | 1.3 | 65% | 4.1 | 75% |
| 10 | Smalley Derbyshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 11 | Streethay Staffordshire | A− | 10.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 12 | Merlin's Bridge Dyfed | A− | 3.3 | 100% | 2 | 11% |
| 13 | Gilwern Gwent | A− | 1.9 | 100% | 2 | 83% |
| 14 | Newstead Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 15 | Woodcote Oxfordshire | B+ | 1.6 | 84% | 3.5 | 99% |
| 16 | Charing Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 85% | 2.1 | 56% |
| 17 | Brimscombe and Thrupp Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.1 | 12% | 5.9 | 89% |
| 18 | Gamston (Rushcliffe) Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.7 | 86% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Woodford Greater Manchester | B+ | 5.9 | 80% | 2.3 | 5% |
| 20 | Banwell Somerset | B+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2 | 38% |
| 21 | Steventon Oxfordshire | B+ | 2 | 100% | 2 | 17% |
| 22 | Longtown Cumbria | B | 4.3 | 100% | 0.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Trowell Nottinghamshire | B | 7.7 | 56% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Crick Northamptonshire | B | 3.8 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 25 | Evercreech Somerset | B | 3.5 | 100% | 2 | 0% |
| 26 | Rayne Essex | B− | 4.3 | 64% | 4 | 0% |
| 27 | Loddon Norfolk | B− | 2.4 | 77% | 2.5 | 18% |
| 28 | Lechlade-on-Thames Gloucestershire | B− | 6.7 | 66% | 1.5 | 6% |
| 29 | Swanton Morley Norfolk | C+ | 3.5 | 94% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 30 | Hermitage Berkshire | C+ | 0.6 | 58% | 3.4 | 82% |
| 31 | Hook Norton Oxfordshire | C+ | 2 | 70% | 2 | 28% |
| 32 | Huncote Leicestershire | C+ | 0.8 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 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 | Wickham Market Suffolk | C | 2.5 | 64% | 1.7 | 7% |
| 37 | Llanidloes Powys | C | 2.4 | 89% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 38 | Barwick in Elmet West Yorkshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Eye Suffolk | C | 2 | 66% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Aspatria Cumbria | C− | 3.1 | 60% | 0.8 | 1% |
| 41 | Wateringbury Kent | C− | 2.4 | 73% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Great Blakenham Suffolk | C− | 3.6 | 70% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 43 | Stoke Prior Worcestershire | C− | 2.6 | 67% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Coleford Somerset | C− | 1.2 | 51% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 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 | Duxford Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Wickham Hampshire | D | 0.8 | 26% | 2 | 13% |
| 50 | Morton Lincolnshire | D | 0.2 | 28% | 3 | 0% |
| 51 | Kineton Warwickshire | D | 0.2 | 0% | 1.8 | 5% |
| 52 | Leconfield East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.6 | 51% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 53 | Mattishall Norfolk | D− | 1.4 | 58% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Bettws Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.7 | 71% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Misterton Nottinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 47% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 56 | Billinghay Lincolnshire | D− | 1.8 | 41% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Bozeat Northamptonshire | D− | 1.3 | 13% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Shenstone Staffordshire | D− | 1 | 55% | 1 | 0% |
| 59 | Cilfrew West Glamorgan | D− | 0.8 | 44% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 60 | Aslockton Nottinghamshire | D− | 1 | 11% | 1.4 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Brockham’s built-up area.
The biggest is Box Hill, 265 ha (655 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).
About 100 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 9 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 245 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.
38% of the land within 5 km of Brockham is National Park or National Landscape, more than 87% of UK towns. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
54 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Brockham and the kilometre around it, 4.4 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 Brockham. Close to home, the The Box Hill Hike, Box Hill has 5 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. The regional route here is the Greensand Way.
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 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 88 | 65 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 48 | 53 | 62 | 64 | 88 | 94 | 90 |
June is the driest month (48 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 94 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 61 nights a year. The climate in Brockham →
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.
Brockham 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.
Up high. Flint Hill, at 190 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Brockham.
Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Plus 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brockham | A+ | 7.4 | 94% | 38% |
| Box Hill 1.7 mi | A | 35.9 | 12% | 39% |
| Dorking 2.0 mi | A | 4.4 | 75% | 57% |
| Reigate 3.6 mi | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 20% |
| Westcott 3.7 mi | A | 1.8 | 86% | 78% |
| Beare Green 3.9 mi | B | 1.6 | 70% | 30% |
| Lower Kingswood 4.1 mi | A | 4.7 | 75% | 22% |
Brockham grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. Box Hill has at least twice Brockham’s green space per resident.
Box Hill, 265 ha (655 acres), with 35.9 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Brockham Green (0.8 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the village or within 400 m of it.
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 17 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, at the edge of the village.
16 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Greensand Way, North Downs Way (Eastern) and The Box Hill Hike, Box Hill. Box Hill alone has 35.9 km of path.
Amity Beach, 15 mi from the edge of the village, then Hog Hole (17 mi). Brockham itself is inland.
94% 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: 4.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 86% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 93% (7.4 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 Brockham’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.