Egham has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
133 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 4.9 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Egham add up to 4.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 63% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Egham grades B for the outdoors: #42 of 65 in Surrey. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Egham’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.
Outdoors grade
Egham grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Egham, 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 59% of UK towns#42 of 65 in Surrey · 38th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space4.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
82out of 100
A park within a walk63%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
23out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths4.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
92out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of 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
Egham is 38th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 26,000 to 30,200 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
Egham4.9
Towns its size3.4
Surrey towns4.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Egham4.1
Towns its size2.5
Surrey towns3.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Egham63%
Towns its size83%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Egham stands out most for park space per resident: only 11 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 56 of the others do better.
6 in 10 Egham 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 (63%)Further (37%)
Egham63%
Towns its size83%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
About 10,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 34 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 824 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Surrey Hills National Landscape is 11 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
133 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Egham and the kilometre around it, 4.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalLocal
Thames Path9.7 km
European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England9.3 km
Egham to Runnymede Countryside Circular Walk, Runnymede4.8 km
Memorial Route, Runnymede4.0 km
Summer Route, Runnymede3.1 km
Views Route, Runnymede2.5 km
Colne Valley Way2.5 km
The Park Circular Walk at Ankerwycke1.9 km
Accessible Route, Runnymede1.7 km
Walk at Ankerwycke1.6 km
Circular Route0.4 km
The Thames Path, a national route, passes Egham.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
A historic park in the middle of Egham
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Egham’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade I
Windsor Great Park
1,171 ha. Part of The Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Great Park, a registered historic park (Grade I). 0 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Egham: 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
9
11
14
18
20
23
22
19
15
11
8
Rain (mm)
64
52
44
49
48
51
47
61
56
75
76
67
March is the driest month (44 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 38 nights a year. The climate in Egham →
The coast
Beaches near Egham
0% of the area within 5 km of Egham is sea, so the Outdoors Grade counts it as inland. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
5 viewpoints and 34 playgrounds
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.
Thorpe, 1.6 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Virginia Water and Laleham have at least twice Egham’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Egham
What is the biggest park in Egham?
Windsor Great Park, 1,171 ha (2,893 acres), with 94 km of path. Windsor Great Park (1,171 ha) is second. 10 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Egham near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 11 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 422 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Egham?
11 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Thames Path, European walking route E2 west, UK, South East England and Egham to Runnymede Countryside Circular Walk, Runnymede. Windsor Great Park alone has 94 km of path.
How many people in Egham live near a park?
63% 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 Egham?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Egham are historic?
The Royal Estate, Windsor: Windsor Great Park (Grade I) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Egham good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 92% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 82% (4.1 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 Egham’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: David Kemp · CC BY-SA 2.0