Horley’s biggest
Riverside Garden Park
Park or garden
13 ha (32 acres)2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
18 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Wayland Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Horley · parks, paths & countryside
84% of Horley’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The High Weald National Landscape and the Surrey Hills National Landscape both begin about 4 miles from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 85 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.4 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Horley add up to 1.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Horley grades C+ for the outdoors: #52 of 65 in Surrey. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.9 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
85 km
3.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
High Weald starts 3.1 mi out, past the 5 km
Outdoors grade
Horley grades C+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Horley, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C+
Better than 42% of UK towns#52 of 65 in Surrey · 51st of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
43out of
100
100
A park within a walk84%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
55out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · High Weald begins just past 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
68out 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
Horley is 51st of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 25,100 to 29,300 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
Horley3.4
Towns its size3.8
Surrey towns4.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Horley1.9
Towns its size2.4
Surrey towns3.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Horley84%
Towns its size83%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
Horley falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 38 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yate Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.3 | 99% | 6.8 | 11% |
| 2 | Stroud Gloucestershire | A+ | 4.6 | 79% | 5.8 | 70% |
| 3 | Sevenoaks Kent | A | 8.1 | 76% | 3.8 | 70% |
| 4 | Stalybridge Greater Manchester | A | 5 | 82% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 5 | Ashington Northumberland | A | 5.6 | 83% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 6 | Penarth South Glamorgan | A | 3.5 | 83% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 7 | Newport Isle of Wight | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 8 | Huntingdon Cambridgeshire | A | 5.7 | 99% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 9 | Woodley Berkshire | A | 5 | 81% | 4.3 | 1% |
| 10 | Lancing and Sompting West Sussex | A | 1.8 | 80% | 3 | 37% |
| 11 | Totton Hampshire | A | 1.6 | 94% | 4.4 | 50% |
| 12 | Burntwood Staffordshire | A− | 5.3 | 81% | 3.4 | 12% |
| 13 | Larkfield Kent | A− | 5.6 | 75% | 3.4 | 27% |
| 14 | Ewell Surrey | A− | 7.5 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Rickmansworth Hertfordshire | A− | 2.9 | 81% | 4.4 | 11% |
| 16 | Stretford Greater Manchester | A− | 3.7 | 92% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 17 | Tadworth and Epsom Downs Surrey | A− | 3.4 | 65% | 5.3 | 16% |
| 18 | Great Yarmouth Norfolk | A− | 1.7 | 73% | 3.2 | 18% |
| 19 | Little Hulton Greater Manchester | A− | 8.6 | 87% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 20 | East Grinstead West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 87% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 21 | Wilmslow Cheshire | A− | 4.4 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 22 | Daventry Northamptonshire | A− | 4.1 | 99% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 23 | Cramlington Northumberland | B+ | 2.3 | 91% | 6.6 | 0% |
| 24 | Portishead Somerset | B+ | 2 | 82% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Haverhill Suffolk | B+ | 2.4 | 91% | 5 | 0% |
| 26 | Longbenton Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.3 | 80% | 6.2 | 0% |
| 27 | Thatcham Berkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 87% | 3.1 | 27% |
| 28 | Fleetwood Lancashire | B+ | 2.7 | 92% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 29 | Deal Kent | B+ | 1 | 86% | 2.7 | 6% |
| 30 | Farnworth Greater Manchester | B+ | 3 | 85% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 31 | Pontypool Gwent | B+ | 3.6 | 93% | 1.8 | 7% |
| 32 | Bradley Stoke Gloucestershire | B+ | 2 | 93% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 33 | Colwyn Bay Clwyd | B+ | 1.9 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 34 | Shipley West Yorkshire | B | 2.1 | 87% | 6 | 0% |
| 35 | Darwen Lancashire | B | 2.2 | 89% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Newton Aycliffe County Durham | B | 2.1 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 37 | Rugeley Staffordshire | B | 1.2 | 94% | 2.7 | 37% |
| 38 | Witham Essex | B | 1.9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Egham Surrey | B | 4.1 | 63% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Broadstairs Kent | B | 1.7 | 76% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Atherton Greater Manchester | B | 3.8 | 83% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 42 | Bushey Hertfordshire | B | 3.1 | 77% | 4 | 0% |
| 43 | Rhyl Clwyd | B | 1 | 84% | 2.2 | 7% |
| 44 | Droitwich Spa Worcestershire | B | 2.5 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Evesham Worcestershire | B− | 1.7 | 80% | 3.5 | 4% |
| 46 | Thetford Norfolk | B− | 2.9 | 65% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 47 | Ashton-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 93% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 48 | Melton Mowbray Leicestershire | B− | 3.3 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Kendal Cumbria | C+ | 0.9 | 67% | 4 | 33% |
| 50 | Coseley West Midlands | C+ | 1.4 | 84% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 51 | Horley Surrey | C+ | 1.9 | 84% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Stratford-upon-Avon Warwickshire | C | 1.6 | 84% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 53 | Walton-on-Thames Surrey | C | 1.6 | 81% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Golborne Greater Manchester | C | 3 | 66% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 55 | Frome Somerset | C | 1.3 | 78% | 2.4 | 9% |
| 56 | Wickford Essex | C | 2.4 | 59% | 3 | 0% |
| 57 | Hertford Hertfordshire | C | 0.9 | 65% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Heswall Merseyside | C− | 1.1 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Ormskirk Lancashire | D | 1.5 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Wisbech Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 79% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Horley’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 Horley
The biggest is Riverside Garden Park, 13 ha (32 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 5 named parks by size: 14 ha (36 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 14 haPlay spaces 0.1 ha
The two biggest, Riverside Garden Park and Church Meadow, are 99% of the named green space and carry 3 km of path between them. 4 of the 5 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Church Meadow
Park or garden
1.2 ha (3 acres)0.5 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hoadley Road Play Area
Play space
0.1 ha (0 acres)
1 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Webber Street Playground
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
0.7 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Nurses Corner Play Area
Play space
0.0 ha (0 acres)
0.9 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Horley’s homes are to 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 (84%)Further (16%)
Horley84%
Towns its size83%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
About 4,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 37 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 732 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
High Weald and Surrey Hills both start about 4 miles from Horley
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 Horley scores 0% on it even though the High Weald National Landscape is 3.1 mi away. South Downs National Park covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Horley
85 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Horley and the kilometre around it, 3.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Sussex Border Path9.2 km
Reigate and Banstead Millennium Trail7.8 km
Tandridge Border Path4.4 km
3 regional routes pass through, including the Sussex Border Path, Reigate and Banstead Millennium Trail and Tandridge Border Path.
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 Horley: 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 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) | 87 | 61 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 49 | 53 | 58 | 58 | 89 | 92 | 89 |
June is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 23 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 92 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 53 nights a year. The climate in Horley →
Things to do
37 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
Horley is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Amity Beach20 mi from Horley’s edge
DirectionsHog Hole21 mi from Horley’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows21 mi from Horley’s edge
DirectionsKelson Beach22 mi from Horley’s edge
DirectionsKingston Beach23 mi from Horley’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
Playgrounds 37
Rathbone playgroundin town
DirectionsKids Zone0.4 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 35 playgrounds 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.
SalfordsSmallfieldCopthorneSouth NutfieldRedhillReigateHorley
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horley | C+ | 1.9 | 84% | 0% |
| Salfords 1.7 mi | D | 1.3 | 12% | 0% |
| Smallfield 2.0 mi | C | 1.6 | 70% | 1% |
| Copthorne 3.4 mi | C | 1.2 | 62% | 13% |
| South Nutfield 3.7 mi | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 11% |
| Redhill 3.9 mi | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 14% |
| Reigate 4.1 mi | A− | 5.5 | 58% | 20% |
Redhill, 3.9 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 91% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Reigate has at least twice Horley’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Horley
What is the biggest park in Horley?
Riverside Garden Park, 13 ha (32 acres), with 2.7 km of path. Church Meadow (1.2 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Horley near a National Park?
Yes. South Downs National Park begins 15 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 1,653 km² and has been a National Park since 2010. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the High Weald National Landscape, 3.1 mi away.
What are the best walks near Horley?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Sussex Border Path, Reigate and Banstead Millennium Trail and Tandridge Border Path. Riverside Garden Park alone has 2.7 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Horley?
Amity Beach, 20 mi from the edge of the town, then Hog Hole (21 mi). Horley itself is inland.
How many people in Horley live near a park?
84% 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 Horley?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Horley good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 68% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 43% (1.9 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 Horley’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Horley’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.