Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Howard Hudson · CC BY 2.5Footpaths add up to 74 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.4 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Walton-on-Thames add up to 1.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Walton-on-Thames grades C for the outdoors: #59 of 65 in Surrey. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Walton-on-Thames’ strongest suit is the Thames Path. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Walton-on-Thames, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
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.
Walton-on-Thames falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 49 of the 59 others do better.
| 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% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Walton-on-Thames’ built-up area.
The biggest is Coronation Recreation Ground, 7.7 ha (19 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The two biggest, Coronation Recreation Ground and Thames Meadow, are 65% of the named green space.
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 5,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 41 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 659 residents.
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.
74 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Walton-on-Thames 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.
The Thames Path, a national route, passes Walton-on-Thames. The regional route here is the Thames Path - alternate.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
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 32 nights a year. The climate in Walton-on-Thames →
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.
Walton-on-Thames is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Plus 40 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walton-on-Thames | C | 1.6 | 81% | 0% |
| Hersham 1.2 mi | C | 2.5 | 73% | 0% |
| Upper Halliford 1.7 mi | B− | 5.1 | 44% | 0% |
| Shepperton 1.8 mi | A | 8.7 | 89% | 0% |
| Weybridge 2.0 mi | B+ | 3.9 | 80% | 0% |
| Esher 2.2 mi | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 0% |
| Sunbury-on-Thames 2.2 mi | C+ | 2.0 | 79% | 0% |
Shepperton, 1.8 miles away, grades A, the best next door: 89% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Upper Halliford, Shepperton and Weybridge have at least twice Walton-on-Thames’ green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Coronation Recreation Ground, 7.7 ha (19 acres), with 1.8 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Thames Meadow (7.2 ha) is second. 6 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
The nearest protected landscape is the Surrey Hills National Landscape, 6.5 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 422 km² and was designated in 1958.
5 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Thames Path, Thames Path - alternate and Weybridge to New Haw Lock Walk, River Wey Navigations.
Amity Beach, 3.8 mi from the edge of the town, then Hog Hole (7.6 mi). Walton-on-Thames itself is inland.
81% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
For paths, yes: 3.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 69% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 30% (1.6 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Walton-on-Thames’ overall grade.
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.