Balsall Common’s biggest
Willow Park
Playing field
1.8 ha (4 acres)0.3 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Necrothesp at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Balsall Common · parks, paths & countryside
81% of Balsall Common’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Balsall Common add up to 3.7 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 59 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.6 for every square kilometre. Balsall Common grades B− for the outdoors: #14 of 35 in West Midlands. 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
81%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
59 km
2.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cotswolds National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Balsall Common?
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.On a National TrailThe E2 hiking trail Birmingham passes through.
Balsall Common’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the E2 hiking trail Birmingham.
Outdoors grade
Balsall Common grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Balsall Common, 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 47% of UK towns#14 of 35 in West Midlands · 27th 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 walk81%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
48out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
48out 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
Balsall Common is 27th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 6,800 to 7,400 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
Balsall Common2.6
Towns its size3.0
West Midlands towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Balsall Common3.7
Towns its size2.1
West Midlands towns2.7
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Balsall Common81%
Towns its size78%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Balsall Common stands out most for park space per resident: only 10 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 36 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holbury Hampshire | A+ | 5.5 | 89% | 3.1 | 42% |
| 2 | Sheringham Norfolk | A+ | 11.6 | 74% | 3.4 | 32% |
| 3 | Stocksbridge South Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 100% | 4.4 | 30% |
| 4 | Acrefair and Cefn-mawr Clwyd | A | 6.5 | 96% | 2.9 | 36% |
| 5 | Bude Cornwall | A | 3.1 | 78% | 3.3 | 9% |
| 6 | Anstey Leicestershire | A | 12.9 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 7 | Liphook Hampshire | A | 3.1 | 86% | 3.8 | 64% |
| 8 | Bishop's Waltham Hampshire | A | 2.6 | 93% | 3.4 | 55% |
| 9 | Bourne End Buckinghamshire | A | 2.9 | 87% | 4 | 19% |
| 10 | Gwersyllt Clwyd | A | 14.6 | 96% | 2.5 | 2% |
| 11 | Ashley Heath Dorset | A | 24.2 | 68% | 4 | 15% |
| 12 | Darfield South Yorkshire | A | 4 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 13 | Easington County Durham | A− | 5 | 94% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Walton-on-the-Naze Essex | A− | 3.2 | 96% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 15 | Shiremoor Tyne and Wear | A− | 2.5 | 76% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Otford and Kemsing Kent | A− | 3.3 | 53% | 3.6 | 73% |
| 17 | Torpoint Cornwall | A− | 2.2 | 84% | 1.6 | 26% |
| 18 | Blackwater Hampshire | B+ | 10.6 | 74% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 19 | Chinnor Oxfordshire | B+ | 1.5 | 88% | 3.7 | 37% |
| 20 | Kiveton Park South Yorkshire | B+ | 2.8 | 100% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 21 | Fence Houses Tyne and Wear | B+ | 3.8 | 81% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 22 | Skelton (Redcar and Cleveland) North Yorkshire | B+ | 1.7 | 82% | 2.2 | 9% |
| 23 | Malmesbury Wiltshire | B | 2 | 86% | 2.5 | 26% |
| 24 | Wroughton Wiltshire | B | 1.1 | 78% | 3.9 | 52% |
| 25 | Chapel-en-le-Frith Derbyshire | B− | 1 | 75% | 3.8 | 58% |
| 26 | Woodville Derbyshire | B− | 3.7 | 78% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 27 | Balsall Common West Midlands | B− | 3.7 | 81% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 28 | Cranfield Bedfordshire | B− | 2.3 | 72% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 29 | Borrowash Derbyshire | B− | 2.8 | 85% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Bollington Cheshire | B− | 1.3 | 56% | 4.1 | 31% |
| 31 | Blackheath West Midlands | C+ | 2.5 | 57% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 32 | Allerton Bywater West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.1 | 78% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 33 | North Baddesley Hampshire | C+ | 1.7 | 91% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Chipping Norton Oxfordshire | C+ | 1.5 | 67% | 2.4 | 73% |
| 35 | Wrecclesham Surrey | C+ | 1.2 | 50% | 3.8 | 37% |
| 36 | Poringland Norfolk | C+ | 1.3 | 91% | 2.1 | 5% |
| 37 | Pelton and Ouston County Durham | C+ | 2 | 64% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Murton County Durham | C+ | 2.1 | 54% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 39 | West Mersea Essex | C+ | 1.9 | 69% | 2 | 0% |
| 40 | Thrapston Northamptonshire | C | 1.2 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Caerleon Gwent | C | 1.9 | 64% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 42 | Horncastle Lincolnshire | C | 0.6 | 60% | 3.9 | 10% |
| 43 | Radcliffe on Trent Nottinghamshire | C | 2.5 | 76% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Hattersley Greater Manchester | C | 0.9 | 52% | 3.9 | 7% |
| 45 | Sawston Cambridgeshire | C | 1.4 | 97% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Hagley Worcestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 47 | Castle Donington Leicestershire | C | 1.8 | 85% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Crewkerne Somerset | C | 0.5 | 66% | 2.8 | 21% |
| 49 | Aylsham Norfolk | C | 2.6 | 74% | 2 | 0% |
| 50 | Hethersett Norfolk | C | 2.1 | 65% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Market Warsop Nottinghamshire | C | 2.1 | 67% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 52 | Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt Leicestershire | C− | 2.1 | 82% | 2 | 0% |
| 53 | Calverton Nottinghamshire | C− | 1.7 | 62% | 3 | 0% |
| 54 | Hollywood Worcestershire | C− | 2.4 | 54% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 55 | Pickering North Yorkshire | C− | 1.7 | 39% | 1.7 | 19% |
| 56 | Shefford Bedfordshire | D | 1.1 | 67% | 3 | 0% |
| 57 | Wellesbourne Warwickshire | D | 1.1 | 88% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Deeping St James Lincolnshire | D | 0.5 | 73% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 59 | Featherstone Staffordshire | D− | 1.2 | 52% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Albrighton Shropshire | D− | 0.8 | 32% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Balsall Common’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 Balsall Common
The biggest is Willow Park, 1.8 ha (4 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
How close Balsall Common’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 (81%)Further (20%)
Balsall Common81%
Towns its size78%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 5 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,419 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cotswolds National Landscape is 18 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
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Balsall Common is on the E2 hiking trail Birmingham
59 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Balsall Common and the kilometre around it, 2.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocalOther waymarked
Millennium Way (Warks)18.1 km
ACW Circular Walk 028.9 km
ACW Circular Walk 038.7 km
E2 hiking trail Birmingham8.4 km
Heart of England Way8.4 km
ACW Circular Walk 02A (short-cut for C02)7.6 km
Rail Trail: Hampton-in-Arden Circular7.5 km
Rail Trail: Berkswell Circular6.6 km
A Coventry Way6.0 km
ACW Circular Walk 03A (short-cut for C03)5.9 km
ACW Circular Walk 02T (short-cut for C02)3.3 km
ACW Circular Walk 02U (short-cut for C02)2.9 km
ACW Circular Walk 04A (short-cut for C04)2.6 km
ACW Circular Walk 042.6 km
ACW Circular Walk 012.2 km
ACW Circular Walk 02S (short-cut for C02)2.1 km
Plus 5 more waymarked walks on the map.
The E2 hiking trail Birmingham, a national route, passes Balsall Common. Close to home, the ACW Circular Walk 02 has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 3 regional routes pass through, including the Millennium Way (Warks), Heart of England Way and A Coventry Way.
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 Balsall Common: 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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 72 | 49 | 46 | 46 | 64 | 54 | 60 | 70 | 60 | 74 | 73 | 69 |
March is the driest month (46 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 74 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 51 nights a year. The climate in Balsall Common →
Things to do
5 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
Balsall Common is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
library11 mi from Balsall Common’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
Nature reserves 4
Marsh Lane Nature Reserve44 ha · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPackhorse Bridge Nature Reserve0.9 ha · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 2 nature reserves without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 5
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 6
Habbits Field1.1 mi from town
DirectionsMa Williams Cub Field1.1 mi from town
DirectionsScout Training Field1.1 mi from town
DirectionsCaterer Field1.2 mi from town
DirectionsGuild Field1.2 mi from town
DirectionsRough Close Scout Camp1.2 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.
Burton GreenMeridenHampton in ArdenKnowle and DorridgeKenilworthKingswoodBalsall Common
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balsall Common | B− | 3.7 | 81% | 0% |
| Burton Green 2.1 mi | D− | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
| Meriden 3.3 mi | C− | 1.8 | 70% | 0% |
| Hampton in Arden 3.3 mi | D− | 0.1 | 44% | 0% |
| Knowle and Dorridge 4.3 mi | C+ | 2.7 | 82% | 0% |
| Kenilworth 4.5 mi | C+ | 2.7 | 75% | 0% |
| Kingswood 5.0 mi | D | 1.7 | 42% | 0% |
Balsall Common grades higher for the outdoors than every neighbour in the table. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Balsall Common
What is the biggest park in Balsall Common?
Willow Park, 1.8 ha (4 acres). 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Balsall Common near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cotswolds National Landscape, 18 mi south of the town’s edge. It covers 2,041 km² and was designated in 1966.
What are the best walks near Balsall Common?
21 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Millennium Way (Warks), ACW Circular Walk 02 and ACW Circular Walk 03.
What is the nearest beach to Balsall Common?
library, 11 mi from the edge of the town. Balsall Common itself is inland.
How many people in Balsall Common live near a park?
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%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Balsall Common?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Balsall Common good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 48% 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 Balsall Common’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Balsall Common’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.