Oxted’s biggest
Mill Lane Playing Field
Playing field
6.0 ha (15 acres)1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.5 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
The Old Bell Inn · Photo: Simon Burchell · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Oxted · parks, paths & countryside
28% of the land within 5 km of Oxted is National Park or National Landscape
The Surrey Hills National Landscape reaches the edge of Oxted. 84% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Parks and playing fields in Oxted add up to 2.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Oxted grades B for the outdoors: #38 of 65 in Surrey. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.1 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
56 km
2.8 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
28%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Surrey Hills National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Oxted?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Protected countryside28% of the land within 5 km is Surrey Hills National Landscape.On a National TrailThe North Downs Way passes through.
Oxted’s strongest suit is protected countryside on the doorstep, followed by the North Downs Way.
Outdoors grade
Oxted grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Oxted, 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 65% of UK towns#38 of 65 in Surrey · 28th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
47out 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 Landscape28%of the land within 5 km
83out of
100
100
Footpaths2.8 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
54out 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
Oxted is 28th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 10,900 to 12,100 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
Oxted2.8
Towns its size3.0
Surrey towns4.3
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Oxted2.1
Towns its size1.9
Surrey towns3.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Oxted84%
Towns its size84%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tring Hertfordshire | A+ | 5.7 | 95% | 4.8 | 57% |
| 2 | Snodland Kent | A+ | 7.7 | 97% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 3 | Chepstow Gwent | A+ | 1.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 30% |
| 4 | Minehead Somerset | A+ | 1.4 | 95% | 4.3 | 47% |
| 5 | Weybourne Surrey | A+ | 7.1 | 86% | 6.1 | 14% |
| 6 | Brockworth Gloucestershire | A+ | 2.5 | 95% | 5.1 | 46% |
| 7 | Waltham Cross Hertfordshire | A | 10.6 | 100% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 8 | Holyhead Gwynedd | A | 3.4 | 78% | 2.3 | 31% |
| 9 | Penryn Cornwall | A | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 31% |
| 10 | Emsworth Hampshire | A | 2.3 | 56% | 3.7 | 51% |
| 11 | Sandown Isle of Wight | A | 1.4 | 74% | 4.5 | 28% |
| 12 | Great Harwood Lancashire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.3 | 4% |
| 13 | Dawlish Devon | A | 2.1 | 93% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Bradwell Norfolk | A− | 2 | 80% | 2.7 | 31% |
| 15 | Matlock Derbyshire | A− | 2.9 | 76% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 16 | Conisbrough South Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 99% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Southwater West Sussex | A− | 3.4 | 82% | 3.7 | 3% |
| 18 | Barton-upon-Humber Lincolnshire | A− | 5.9 | 97% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Uppermill Greater Manchester | A− | 2.4 | 70% | 4.8 | 27% |
| 20 | Kearsley Greater Manchester | A− | 3.4 | 91% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Cleckheaton West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 98% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 22 | New Milton Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 1.9 | 38% |
| 23 | Blandford Forum Dorset | B+ | 2.1 | 90% | 2.2 | 72% |
| 24 | Haslemere Surrey | B+ | 1 | 78% | 5.1 | 80% |
| 25 | Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire | B+ | 1.9 | 76% | 3.4 | 56% |
| 26 | Worsley Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.7 | 86% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 27 | South Elmsall West Yorkshire | B+ | 9 | 92% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 28 | Oxted Surrey | B | 2.1 | 84% | 2.8 | 28% |
| 29 | Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.4 | 70% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 30 | Buckhurst Hill Essex | B | 4.5 | 64% | 6.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Warmsworth South Yorkshire | B | 2.7 | 79% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 32 | Gillingham Dorset | B | 1.9 | 91% | 2.6 | 3% |
| 33 | Shirebrook Derbyshire | B | 1.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Sandbach Cheshire | B− | 2.5 | 87% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 35 | Helston Cornwall | B− | 1.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 21% |
| 36 | Ystrad Mynach Gwent | B− | 5.4 | 85% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 37 | Mossley Greater Manchester | B− | 0.9 | 74% | 4.5 | 14% |
| 38 | Lymm Cheshire | B− | 3.6 | 89% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Leatherhead Surrey | B− | 1 | 72% | 3.9 | 24% |
| 40 | Cambourne Cambridgeshire | B− | 0.7 | 91% | 7.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Kingsteignton Devon | B− | 1.9 | 95% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Bolsover Derbyshire | C+ | 1.9 | 85% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Stanwell Surrey | C+ | 1.4 | 93% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Sandy Bedfordshire | C | 0.9 | 76% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Brimington Derbyshire | C | 1.2 | 72% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 46 | Ulverston Cumbria | C | 0.7 | 60% | 1.8 | 8% |
| 47 | Towcester Northamptonshire | C | 1.3 | 77% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Featherstone West Yorkshire | C | 2 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Attleborough Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 50 | Cleveleys Lancashire | C− | 0.8 | 71% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Downham Market Norfolk | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Chatteris Cambridgeshire | C− | 1.4 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Cheadle Staffordshire | C− | 1.7 | 90% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 54 | Codsall Staffordshire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Leominster Herefordshire | C− | 1.1 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Sarn Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 75% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Desborough Northamptonshire | D | 0.6 | 69% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 58 | Wetherby West Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 14% | 3 | 0% |
| 59 | Tonyrefail Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.7 | 48% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Watton Norfolk | D− | 0.5 | 28% | 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 Oxted’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 Oxted
The biggest is Mill Lane Playing Field, 6.0 ha (15 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 6 named parks by size: 22 ha (53 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 0.9 haPlaying fields 21 ha
The two biggest, Mill Lane Playing Field and Limpsfield, are 48% of the named green space and carry 2 km of path between them.
Limpsfield
Playing field · 360 m outside town
4.3 ha (11 acres)0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Master Park
Playing field
5.4 ha (13 acres)0.5 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi north-westfrom the centre
St Mary's Church
Directionsto the nearest entrance
King George's Field
Playing field
3.8 ha (9 acres)0.2 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hurst Green
Park or garden
0.9 ha (2 acres)0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Oxted
Directionsto the nearest entrance
King George's Field
Playing field
1.2 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Oxted 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 (84%)Further (16%)
Oxted84%
Towns its size84%
Surrey towns75%
All UK towns83%
About 1,800 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 17 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 676 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Oxted
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
National Landscape
Surrey Hills
At the edge north-east422 km²since 195818% of the land within 5 km
Official siteNational Landscape
Kent Downs
1.2 mi south-east879 km²since 196810% of the land within 5 km
Official site28% of the land within 5 km of Oxted is National Park or National Landscape, more than 82% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Oxted is on the North Downs Way
56 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Oxted and the kilometre around it, 2.8 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocal
Greenwich Meridian Trail10.7 km
Greensand Way7.9 km
Vanguard Way7.0 km
Over the Downs to Oxted Mill walk (SCC)6.1 km
Limpsfield common and the Carpenters Arms Walk, Harewoods5.7 km
North Downs Way (Eastern)5.5 km
Greensand way (Oxted Spur)3.7 km
Tandridge Border Path3.1 km
Woldingham Countryside Walk2.7 km
Ridlands Grove short spring walk at Limpsfield Common, Harewoods0.7 km
The North Downs Way, a national route, passes Oxted. Close to home, the Over the Downs to Oxted Mill walk (SCC) has 6 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 5 regional routes pass through, including the Greenwich Meridian Trail, Greensand Way, Vanguard Way and Greensand way (Oxted Spur).
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 Oxted: 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 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 61 | 49 | 51 | 52 | 50 | 52 | 64 | 60 | 86 | 86 | 87 |
March is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 87 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Oxted →
Things to do
17 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
Oxted is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Kelson Beach16 mi from Oxted’s edge
DirectionsDock Beach17 mi from Oxted’s edge
DirectionsThe Hollows19 mi from Oxted’s edge
DirectionsHog Hole19 mi from Oxted’s edge
DirectionsNorthfleet Beach19 mi from Oxted’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
Hills and peaks 3
Paines Hill0.4 mi from town
DirectionsBotley Hill270 m (885 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsTandridge Hill0.9 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 1
Marden Park21 ha · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 17
Plus 17 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.
LimpsfieldWoldinghamGodstoneSouth GodstoneWesterhamTatsfieldOxted
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxted | B | 2.1 | 84% | 28% |
| Limpsfield 0.8 mi | A+ | 2.9 | 100% | 41% |
| Woldingham 2.9 mi | C− | 0.2 | 25% | 20% |
| Godstone 3.0 mi | C+ | 1.7 | 52% | 18% |
| South Godstone 3.0 mi | B | 2.0 | 100% | 5% |
| Westerham 3.3 mi | B | 1.9 | 61% | 66% |
| Tatsfield 3.4 mi | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 34% |
Tatsfield, 3.4 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Tatsfield has at least twice Oxted’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Oxted
What is the biggest park in Oxted?
Mill Lane Playing Field, 6.0 ha (15 acres), with 1.3 km of path. Limpsfield (4.3 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Oxted near a National Park?
It covers 422 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Oxted?
10 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Greenwich Meridian Trail, Greensand Way and Vanguard Way.
What is the nearest beach to Oxted?
Kelson Beach, 16 mi from the edge of the town, then Dock Beach (17 mi). Oxted itself is inland.
How many people in Oxted 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 Oxted?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Oxted good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.8 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 54% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 47% (2.1 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 Oxted’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Oxted’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.