Polbeth’s biggest
Limefield Recreation Park
Park or garden
10 ha (25 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
14 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Polbeth
Waterfall
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Thomas Nugent · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Polbeth · parks, paths & countryside
86% of Polbeth’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Polbeth add up to 4.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. 38 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 4.1 for every square kilometre. Polbeth has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
4.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
86%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
38 km
4.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Polbeth’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Polbeth
The biggest is Limefield Recreation Park, 10 ha (25 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Ennis Neighbourhood Park
Park or garden
1.0 ha (2 acres)0.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Polbeth
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Polbeth’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 (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (86%)Further (14%)
Polbeth86%
West Lothian towns90%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 28 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 93 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area is 16 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
National Scenic Area
Upper Tweeddale
16 mi south-east128 km²since 1980
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Polbeth
38 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Polbeth and the kilometre around it, 4.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Local
Green Path1.4 km
Red Walk1.0 km
Yellow Walk0.6 km
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Polbeth: June 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) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.5 | 17.0 | 15.0 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 7.0 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 113 | 84 | 77 | 59 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 81 | 71 | 107 | 96 | 103 |
April is the driest month (59 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 113 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 71 nights a year. The climate in Polbeth →
Things to do
28 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Polbeth is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Drum Sands12 mi from Polbeth’s edge
DirectionsRoyston Beach14 mi from Polbeth’s edge
DirectionsWardie Bay Beach15 mi from Polbeth’s edge
DirectionsBlack Sands16 mi from Polbeth’s edge
DirectionsSilver Sands16 mi from Polbeth’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. SEPA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 5
Plus 5 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 28
Plus 28 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Murieston Castle Dog Park0.6 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
West CalderLivingstonBlackburnMid CalderBathgateEast CalderPolbeth
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polbeth | – | 4.7 | 86% | 0% |
| West Calder 1.0 mi | – | 2.1 | 85% | 0% |
| Livingston 2.5 mi | – | 4.6 | 95% | 0% |
| Blackburn 2.9 mi | – | 1.1 | 97% | 0% |
| Mid Calder 3.1 mi | – | 32.5 | 96% | 0% |
| Bathgate 4.2 mi | – | 2.3 | 84% | 0% |
| East Calder 4.4 mi | – | 13.6 | 90% | 0% |
Mid Calder and East Calder have at least twice Polbeth’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Polbeth
What is the biggest park in Polbeth?
Limefield Recreation Park, 10 ha (25 acres), with 1.6 km of path. Ennis Neighbourhood Park (1.0 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Polbeth near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Upper Tweeddale National Scenic Area, 16 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 128 km² and was designated in 1980.
What are the best walks near Polbeth?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Green Path, Red Walk and Yellow Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Polbeth?
Drum Sands, 12 mi from the edge of the town, then Royston Beach (14 mi). Polbeth itself is inland.
How many people in Polbeth live near a park?
86% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Polbeth?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
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 Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Polbeth’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Polbeth’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 Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, 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: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
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.