Gorseinon’s biggest
Stafford Common
Park or garden
20 ha (49 acres)
28 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Gorseinon · parks, paths & countryside
83% of Gorseinon’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Gower National Landscape begins 2.3 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in Gorseinon add up to 3.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 21 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 1.3 for every square kilometre. Gorseinon grades B− for the outdoors: #4 of 19 in West Glamorgan. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
83%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
21 km
1.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
2%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Gower National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Gorseinon?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam3.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 79% of UK towns.Countryside close byThe Gower National Landscape starts 2.3 mi south-west.Few mapped footpaths1.3 km of path per km²; the typical UK town has 3.0.
Gorseinon’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Gower National Landscape close by. Where it falls short is footpaths.
Outdoors grade
Gorseinon grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Gorseinon, 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 49% of UK towns#4 of 19 in West Glamorgan · 38th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
79out of
100
100
A park within a walk83%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
54out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape2%of the land within 5 km
65out of
100
100
Footpaths1.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
12out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland: 4.9% sea, under the 5% that counts
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
Gorseinon is 38th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 13,400 to 14,900 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
Gorseinon1.3
Towns its size3.5
West Glamorgan towns1.2
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Gorseinon3.7
Towns its size2.5
West Glamorgan towns2.3
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Gorseinon83%
Towns its size81%
West Glamorgan towns79%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Gorseinon stands out most for park space per resident: only 17 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 56 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hythe Kent | A+ | 3.7 | 76% | 4 | 31% |
| 2 | Otley West Yorkshire | A+ | 5.8 | 93% | 4.4 | 26% |
| 3 | Tadley Hampshire | A+ | 11.4 | 96% | 4.2 | 9% |
| 4 | Llandudno Clwyd | A+ | 2.1 | 83% | 4.9 | 3% |
| 5 | Yeadon West Yorkshire | A | 3.5 | 94% | 4.6 | 2% |
| 6 | Cheadle Greater Manchester | A | 6.5 | 96% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 7 | Abergavenny Gwent | A | 3.2 | 83% | 3.1 | 60% |
| 8 | Wellington Somerset | A | 2.2 | 99% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 9 | Stoke Gifford Gloucestershire | A− | 5.7 | 87% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 10 | Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint West Sussex | A− | 1.9 | 84% | 4.7 | 42% |
| 11 | Yateley Hampshire | A− | 14.9 | 85% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 12 | Addlestone Surrey | A− | 4.3 | 90% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 13 | Honley West Yorkshire | A− | 2.1 | 87% | 5.1 | 8% |
| 14 | Blaydon Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.9 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 15 | Tredegar Gwent | A− | 6.9 | 78% | 2.8 | 20% |
| 16 | Churchdown Gloucestershire | A− | 2.2 | 92% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 17 | Thornbury Gloucestershire | A− | 2.5 | 97% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 18 | Chertsey Surrey | A− | 6.2 | 84% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 19 | Bacup Lancashire | A− | 2.5 | 94% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 20 | Birstall Leicestershire | A− | 6 | 80% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 21 | Tewkesbury Gloucestershire | B+ | 2.2 | 84% | 4 | 6% |
| 22 | Ilkley West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.6 | 76% | 5.7 | 37% |
| 23 | Verwood Dorset | B+ | 5.7 | 41% | 3.9 | 13% |
| 24 | Buckingham Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.4 | 96% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Chalfont St Peter Buckinghamshire | B+ | 2.2 | 80% | 3.5 | 18% |
| 26 | Marlow Buckinghamshire | B+ | 1.9 | 73% | 4 | 39% |
| 27 | Ashtead Surrey | B+ | 2.7 | 62% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 28 | Armthorpe South Yorkshire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Humberston and New Waltham Lincolnshire | B+ | 4.1 | 44% | 2.2 | 1% |
| 30 | Tilbury Essex | B | 1.4 | 98% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 31 | Morpeth Northumberland | B | 3.7 | 80% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 32 | Gomersal and Birkenshaw West Yorkshire | B | 3.2 | 83% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 33 | Blaby and Whetstone Leicestershire | B | 3 | 79% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 34 | Catterick Garrison North Yorkshire | B− | 4.9 | 78% | 1.8 | 6% |
| 35 | Newport Shropshire | B− | 3.3 | 95% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 36 | Hawarden Clwyd | B− | 3.7 | 81% | 3 | 0% |
| 37 | Chard Somerset | B− | 1.6 | 94% | 1.9 | 34% |
| 38 | Gorseinon West Glamorgan | B− | 3.7 | 83% | 1.3 | 2% |
| 39 | Midsomer Norton Somerset | B− | 1.9 | 90% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 40 | Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe Leicestershire | B− | 3.4 | 73% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Davenham Cheshire | B− | 1.3 | 88% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Aberystwyth Dyfed | B− | 1.8 | 51% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 43 | Cowes Isle of Wight | C+ | 1.1 | 50% | 2.2 | 15% |
| 44 | Beaconsfield Buckinghamshire | C+ | 1.9 | 57% | 2.6 | 31% |
| 45 | Byfleet Surrey | C+ | 3.1 | 59% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Buckley Clwyd | C+ | 2.6 | 82% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Dunscroft and Hatfield South Yorkshire | C+ | 4 | 91% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Kidlington Oxfordshire | C+ | 0.9 | 81% | 3 | 2% |
| 49 | Milford Haven Dyfed | C | 0.8 | 70% | 0.9 | 30% |
| 50 | Birtley Tyne and Wear | C | 1.4 | 71% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Flitwick Bedfordshire | C | 0.8 | 59% | 3.9 | 3% |
| 52 | Syston Leicestershire | C | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Pyle Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1 | 78% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 54 | Uttoxeter Staffordshire | C− | 1.1 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Cottingham East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 2.1 | 73% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Middlewich Cheshire | D | 1.4 | 81% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Halstead Essex | D | 0.6 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 58 | New Rossington and Rossington South Yorkshire | D | 0.8 | 50% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 59 | Whittlesey Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 73% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Church Village Mid Glamorgan | D | 0.7 | 72% | 1.7 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Gorseinon’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 Gorseinon
The biggest is Stafford Common, 20 ha (49 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Argyle Gardens
Park or garden
0.9 ha (2 acres)0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gorseinon
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Gorseinon’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 (83%)Further (17%)
Gorseinon83%
Towns its size81%
West Glamorgan towns79%
All UK towns83%
About 2,300 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 830 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Gower National Landscape is 2.3 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
National Landscape
Gower
2.3 mi south-west187 km²since 19562% of the land within 5 km
National Park
Brecon Beacons
10 mi north-east1,350 km²since 1955
2% of the land within 5 km of Gorseinon is National Park or National Landscape, more than 65% of UK towns. Brecon Beacons National Park covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Gorseinon
21 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Gorseinon and the kilometre around it, 1.3 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
The Gower Way8.0 km
Heart of Wales Line Trail6.3 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the The Gower Way and Heart of Wales Line Trail.
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 Gorseinon: 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 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 150 | 101 | 92 | 77 | 80 | 81 | 94 | 110 | 102 | 152 | 157 | 151 |
April is the driest month (77 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 157 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 26 nights a year. The climate in Gorseinon →
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
Gorseinon is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Swansea Beach4.2 mi from Gorseinon’s edge
DirectionsABCC Meeting Point4.7 mi from Gorseinon’s edge
DirectionsSwansea Bay5.0 mi from Gorseinon’s edge
DirectionsCaswell Bay Beach6.1 mi from Gorseinon’s edge
DirectionsBrandy Cove6.2 mi from Gorseinon’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. Natural Resources Wales tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Bryn-Dafydd, at 91 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Gorseinon.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Bryn-Dafydd91 m (299 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 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.
LoughorGrovesendPenllergaerGowertonLlangennechBrynGorseinon
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorseinon | B− | 3.7 | 83% | 2% |
| Loughor 1.0 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 70% | 6% |
| Grovesend 1.4 mi | C+ | 3.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Penllergaer 1.8 mi | B− | 21.0 | 83% | 0% |
| Gowerton 1.9 mi | B+ | 3.2 | 79% | 14% |
| Llangennech 2.5 mi | C | 1.6 | 82% | 0% |
| Bryn 2.6 mi | B− | 2.9 | 67% | 1% |
Gowerton, 1.9 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 79% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Penllergaer has at least twice Gorseinon’s green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in Gorseinon
What is the biggest park in Gorseinon?
Stafford Common, 20 ha (49 acres). Argyle Gardens (0.9 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Gorseinon near a National Park?
Yes. Brecon Beacons National Park begins 10 mi north-east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,350 km² and has been a National Park since 1955. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Gower National Landscape, 2.3 mi away.
What are the best walks near Gorseinon?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the The Gower Way and Heart of Wales Line Trail.
What is the nearest beach to Gorseinon?
Swansea Beach, 4.2 mi from the edge of the town, then ABCC Meeting Point (4.7 mi). Gorseinon itself is inland.
How many people in Gorseinon live near a park?
83% 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 Gorseinon?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Gorseinon good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 1.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 12% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 79% (3.7 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 Gorseinon’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Gorseinon’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.