Photo: SuzanneKn at English Wikipedia · Public domainBrookwood has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
47 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 6.2 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Brookwood add up to 8.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Surrey Hills National Landscape begins 4.9 mi from the village’s edge. Brookwood grades B+ for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
What kind of outdoors village is Brookwood?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Brookwood’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by plenty of park space. Where it falls short is how far some homes are from a park.
Brookwood grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Brookwood, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
Brookwood is 19th of 60 UK villages its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,400 to 1,500 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Brookwood stands out most for park space per resident: only 2 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 46 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trull Somerset | A+ | 5.9 | 100% | 3.9 | 20% |
| 2 | Kingswood Gloucestershire | A | 2.1 | 100% | 3.7 | 45% |
| 3 | Tir-y-berth and Glan-y-nant Gwent | A | 22.1 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 4 | Whiteshill and Randwick Gloucestershire | A | 4.5 | 60% | 7 | 64% |
| 5 | New Houghton Derbyshire | A | 33.8 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 6 | Balcombe West Sussex | A | 2.9 | 100% | 2.2 | 90% |
| 7 | Jump South Yorkshire | A | 5.1 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 8 | Sedbergh Cumbria | A | 1.9 | 83% | 5 | 92% |
| 9 | St Day Cornwall | A | 3.2 | 100% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 10 | Chaldon Surrey | A− | 7.4 | 50% | 4.9 | 24% |
| 11 | Heath and Reach Bedfordshire | A− | 3.3 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 12 | Five Oak Green Kent | A− | 3 | 100% | 2 | 30% |
| 13 | Hallow Worcestershire | A− | 3.7 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 14 | Wigginton North Yorkshire | A− | 4.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Shotley Gate Suffolk | A− | 1 | 100% | 1.5 | 34% |
| 16 | Grundisburgh Suffolk | B+ | 2.2 | 100% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 17 | Princetown Devon | B+ | 1.4 | 100% | 2.3 | 100% |
| 18 | Stanwell Moor Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 19 | Brookwood Surrey | B+ | 8.5 | 59% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 20 | Emley West Yorkshire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 21 | Cowling North Yorkshire | B | 1.3 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 22 | Wedmore Somerset | B | 4.7 | 60% | 3.1 | 1% |
| 23 | Kelloe County Durham | B | 5.6 | 42% | 6 | 0% |
| 24 | Woolmer Green Hertfordshire | B | 1.3 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Tye Green Essex | B | 2 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 26 | Bentley Hampshire | B | 1.3 | 100% | 2.1 | 22% |
| 27 | Calvert Buckinghamshire | B | 3.3 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Abertysswg Gwent | B | 2.5 | 85% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 29 | Little Hallingbury Essex | B− | 1 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Brigstock Northamptonshire | B− | 8.2 | 84% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 31 | Warkworth Northumberland | B− | 1.8 | 76% | 1.3 | 9% |
| 32 | Bishop Sutton Somerset | B− | 2.3 | 64% | 2.5 | 36% |
| 33 | Orsett Essex | B− | 4.4 | 100% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Ashton Keynes Wiltshire | C+ | 1.7 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 35 | Robertsbridge East Sussex | C+ | 2 | 38% | 2.7 | 100% |
| 36 | Gelligaer Gwent | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Shortlanesend Cornwall | C+ | 1 | 100% | 1.7 | 2% |
| 38 | Benenden Kent | C | 2 | 57% | 1.7 | 83% |
| 39 | Barlaston Staffordshire | C | 2.7 | 80% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 40 | Ryhall Rutland | C | 1.9 | 100% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Slip End Bedfordshire | C | 1.9 | 22% | 2.3 | 28% |
| 42 | Stewkley Buckinghamshire | C | 4.2 | 74% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 43 | Hurley Warwickshire | C | 2.8 | 75% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 44 | Salhouse Norfolk | C− | 1.9 | 71% | 1 | 17% |
| 45 | Blofield Heath Norfolk | C− | 2.5 | 43% | 0.9 | 17% |
| 46 | Mid Lavant West Sussex | C− | 1.3 | 33% | 1.8 | 62% |
| 47 | Newton Flotman Norfolk | C− | 2.5 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Thorrington Essex | C− | 1.2 | 65% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Shipton Bellinger Hampshire | D | 1.5 | 79% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 50 | Ranskill Nottinghamshire | D | 0.4 | 100% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 51 | Keadby Lincolnshire | D | 1.7 | 84% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Blakedown Worcestershire | D | 0.8 | 79% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Meon Vale Warwickshire | D | 0.4 | 50% | 1.4 | 19% |
| 54 | Byram North Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 19% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Stillington County Durham | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Barford Warwickshire | D | 2.1 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Friday Bridge Cambridgeshire | D− | 1 | 79% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Markham Gwent | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Shadwell West Yorkshire | D− | 0.3 | 25% | 2 | 0% |
| 60 | Easton Norfolk | D− | 1 | 0% | 1.2 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Brookwood’s built-up area.
Parks to walk in, in and around Brookwood
The biggest is Brookwood Country Park, 18 ha (46 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
6 in 10 Brookwood 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 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 24 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 60 residents.
The Surrey Hills National Landscape is 4.9 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.
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Brookwood scores 0% on it even though the Surrey Hills National Landscape is 4.9 mi away. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Brookwood
47 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Brookwood and the kilometre around it, 6.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Close to home, the Pirbright walk (SCC) has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the village. The regional route here is the Basingstoke Canal.
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 Brookwood: 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) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 72 | 51 | 43 | 48 | 46 | 49 | 49 | 55 | 54 | 75 | 76 | 68 |
March is the driest month (43 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 76 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Brookwood →
24 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
Brookwood 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
Hills and peaks 5
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 24
Plus 23 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 5
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Fairlands, 3 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Brookwood
What is the biggest park in Brookwood?
Brookwood Country Park, 18 ha (46 acres), with 4.7 km of path, just outside the built-up area. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the village or within 400 m of it.
Is Brookwood near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 11 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, 4.9 mi away.
What are the best walks near Brookwood?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Pirbright walk (SCC) and Basingstoke Canal. Brookwood Country Park alone has 4.7 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Brookwood?
Amity Beach, 8.4 mi from the edge of the village, then Penguin Beach (12 mi). Brookwood itself is inland.
How many people in Brookwood live near a park?
59% 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 Brookwood?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Brookwood good for walking?
For paths, yes: 6.2 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 98% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 94% (8.5 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 Brookwood’s overall grade.
Where Brookwood’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.