Esher’s biggest
Ditton Common
Park or garden
31 ha (76 acres)4.5 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.5 km of path
43 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Esher · parks, paths & countryside
Esher has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Esher add up to 6.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 113 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.8 for every square kilometre. The Surrey Hills National Landscape begins 4.7 mi from the town’s edge. Esher grades A− for the outdoors: #23 of 65 in Surrey. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
6.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
86%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
113 km
4.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Surrey Hills starts 4.7 mi out, past the 5 km
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Esher?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam6.9 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 92% of UK towns.A town of footpaths4.8 km of path per km², more than 91% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Countryside close byThe Surrey Hills National Landscape starts 4.7 mi south.On a National TrailThe Thames Path passes through.
Esher’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by dense footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Esher grades A− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Esher, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A−
Better than 82% of UK towns#23 of 65 in Surrey · 16th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space6.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
92out of
100
100
A park within a walk86%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
59out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · Surrey Hills begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths4.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
91out 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
Esher is 16th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 9,000 to 9,900 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
Esher4.8
Towns its size3.2
Surrey towns4.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Esher6.9
Towns its size2.6
Surrey towns3.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Esher86%
Towns its size86%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Esher stands out most for park space per resident: only 6 of the other 59 have more.
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 | Caldicot Gwent | A+ | 4.2 | 92% | 3 | 2% |
| 3 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 4 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 5 | Bordon Hampshire | A | 8.6 | 54% | 6.7 | 49% |
| 6 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 7 | Linthwaite and Slaithwaite West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 8 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 9 | Beccles Suffolk | A | 4.5 | 87% | 3.2 | 20% |
| 10 | Nuthall and Watnall Nottinghamshire | A | 6.3 | 97% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 11 | Bradford-on-Avon Wiltshire | A | 2.8 | 88% | 3.7 | 21% |
| 12 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 13 | Southborough Kent | A− | 2.8 | 94% | 2.5 | 57% |
| 14 | Whiteley Hampshire | A− | 3 | 52% | 4.4 | 2% |
| 15 | Thurmaston Leicestershire | A− | 10.4 | 89% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 16 | Esher Surrey | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 19 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 20 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 21 | Aveley Essex | A− | 3.4 | 84% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 23 | Irthlingborough Northamptonshire | A− | 4.7 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Yarm North Yorkshire | A− | 3.3 | 96% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Sandiacre Derbyshire | B+ | 2.6 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Pontllanfraith Gwent | B | 3.7 | 93% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 28 | Shildon County Durham | B | 2.8 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 30 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 31 | North Wingfield and Holmewood Derbyshire | B | 2.7 | 84% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 32 | Queensbury West Yorkshire | B | 2.6 | 91% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Tiptree Essex | B | 2.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 34 | Immingham Lincolnshire | B | 2 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Perton Staffordshire | B | 2.4 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 36 | Yaxley Cambridgeshire | B− | 2.6 | 90% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Pembroke Dock Dyfed | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 1.1 | 25% |
| 38 | Caernarfon Gwynedd | B− | 1.7 | 83% | 1.4 | 14% |
| 39 | Horbury West Yorkshire | B− | 2.5 | 75% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 40 | Mildenhall Suffolk | B− | 2.1 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 41 | Knottingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Whitchurch Shropshire | B− | 2.7 | 86% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 45 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Mold Clwyd | C+ | 1.9 | 86% | 1.6 | 17% |
| 47 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 48 | Brandon County Durham | C+ | 2.2 | 72% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Crook County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 85% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 50 | Lydney Gloucestershire | C+ | 2.1 | 52% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 51 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Diss Norfolk | C | 1.5 | 80% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Milnrow Greater Manchester | C | 2.9 | 58% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Shepton Mallet Somerset | C | 1.2 | 70% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 55 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 56 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 57 | Broughton Astley Leicestershire | D | 1 | 82% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 58 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Pheasey West Midlands | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 2.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Esher’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 Esher
The biggest is Ditton Common, 31 ha (76 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 63 ha (155 acres) and 9 km of path
Parks & gardens 55 haPlaying fields 7.6 ha
The two biggest, Ditton Common and Claremont Landscape Garden, are 82% of the named green space and carry 7 km of path between them. 3 of the 6 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Claremont Landscape Garden
Park or garden
21 ha (51 acres)2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
29 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.3 mi south-westfrom the centre
2 playgrounds
Directionsto the nearest entrance
West End Recreation Ground
Playing field
7.6 ha (19 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
11 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hare Lane Green
Park or garden
1.4 ha (4 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hare Lane Green
Park or garden
1.4 ha (4 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Esher Green
Park or garden
0.9 ha (2 acres)
Centralin the middle of Esher
2 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Esher 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 (86%)Further (14%)
Esher86%
Towns its size86%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
About 1,300 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 35 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 271 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Surrey Hills National Landscape is 4.7 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
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Esher scores 0% on it even though the Surrey Hills National Landscape is 4.7 mi away.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Esher is on the Thames Path
113 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Esher and the kilometre around it, 4.8 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 Path3.8 km
Views Walk, Claremont2.0 km
Lake Walk, Claremont0.8 km
The Thames Path, a national route, passes Esher.
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 registered historic park in Esher
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Esher’s named parks.
Registered · Grade IClaremont40 ha
Listed buildings insideEsher GreenEast and West Lodges to Esher Place and Esher Memorial Cross
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 Esher: 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 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 62 | 46 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 49 | 46 | 56 | 53 | 70 | 71 | 63 |
March is the driest month (40 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 71 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. The climate in Esher →
Things to do
2 viewpoints, 35 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
Esher is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Amity Beach6.1 mi from Esher’s edge
DirectionsHog Hole6.9 mi from Esher’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows7.0 mi from Esher’s edge
DirectionsKelson Beach16 mi from Esher’s edge
DirectionsDock Beach18 mi from Esher’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
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Telegraph Hill0.5 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 1
Esher Common100 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 4
Plus 4 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 35
Badgers Basecamp den building area0.0 mi from town
DirectionsChildren's Play Area0.1 mi from town
DirectionsClaygate Recreation Ground0.7 mi from town
DirectionsThe Magic Garden1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 31 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
West MoleseyHershamWalton-on-ThamesCobhamKingston upon ThamesWeybridgeEsher
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esher | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 0% |
| West Molesey 1.5 mi | B+ | 4.4 | 80% | 0% |
| Hersham 1.9 mi | C | 2.5 | 73% | 0% |
| Walton-on-Thames 2.2 mi | C | 1.6 | 81% | 0% |
| Cobham 2.9 mi | B | 3.1 | 49% | 1% |
| Kingston upon Thames 3.7 mi | B | 3.3 | 71% | 0% |
| Weybridge 3.8 mi | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 0% |
Esher grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Esher
What is the biggest park in Esher?
Ditton Common, 31 ha (76 acres), with 4.5 km of path. Claremont Landscape Garden (21 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Esher near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 4.7 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 422 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Esher?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Thames Path, Views Walk, Claremont and Lake Walk, Claremont. Ditton Common alone has 4.5 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Esher?
Amity Beach, 6.1 mi from the edge of the town, then Hog Hole (6.9 mi). Esher itself is inland.
How many people in Esher live near a park?
86% 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 Esher?
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 Esher are historic?
Claremont (Grade I) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Esher good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 91% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 92% (6.9 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 Esher’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Esher’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.