Bilston’s biggest
East Park
Park or garden
19 ha (47 acres)4.7 km of path
1 h 5 minto walk all 4.7 km of path
26 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.4 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Roger D Kidd · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Bilston · parks, paths & countryside
76% of Bilston’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Bilston add up to 1.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 75 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.9 for every square kilometre. Bilston grades C− for the outdoors: #32 of 35 in West Midlands. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
76%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
75 km
2.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cannock Chase National Landscape
Outdoors grade
Bilston grades C− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Bilston, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
C−
Better than 23% of UK towns#32 of 35 in West Midlands
Public green space1.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
28out of
100
100
A park within a walk76%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
39out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths2.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
56out 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
How Bilston compares with UK towns of 31,800 to 37,900
The 60 UK towns and cities of 31,800 to 37,900 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
Bilston2.9
Towns its size3.9
West Midlands towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Bilston1.5
Towns its size2.3
West Midlands towns2.7
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Bilston76%
Towns its size84%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
Bilston falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 49 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locks Heath Hampshire | A+ | 3.5 | 91% | 3.7 | 4% |
| 2 | Great Malvern Worcestershire | A+ | 3.9 | 90% | 6 | 38% |
| 3 | Dover Kent | A+ | 3 | 86% | 2.9 | 29% |
| 4 | Hyde Greater Manchester | A | 4.3 | 91% | 3.9 | 1% |
| 5 | Epsom Surrey | A | 5.7 | 80% | 4.8 | 2% |
| 6 | Burgess Hill West Sussex | A | 2.4 | 87% | 5 | 27% |
| 7 | Skelmersdale Lancashire | A | 7.8 | 91% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 8 | Redhill Surrey | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 4.3 | 14% |
| 9 | Rustington West Sussex | A− | 2.1 | 78% | 2.7 | 25% |
| 10 | Chandler's Ford Hampshire | A− | 2.7 | 80% | 5.3 | 6% |
| 11 | Dunstable Bedfordshire | A− | 2 | 78% | 8 | 29% |
| 12 | Caversham Berkshire | A− | 2.5 | 77% | 4.3 | 32% |
| 13 | Sutton in Ashfield Nottinghamshire | A− | 4.3 | 94% | 4 | 0% |
| 14 | Accrington Lancashire | A− | 2.6 | 79% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 15 | Nelson Lancashire | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 5.2 | 15% |
| 16 | St Neots Cambridgeshire | A− | 3.5 | 91% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Didcot Oxfordshire | A− | 1.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 39% |
| 18 | Exmouth Devon | A− | 1.4 | 82% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 19 | Waterlooville Hampshire | B+ | 1 | 66% | 5.2 | 18% |
| 20 | Chippenham Wiltshire | B+ | 2.8 | 76% | 3.9 | 7% |
| 21 | Fulwood Lancashire | B+ | 3.5 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Swadlincote Derbyshire | B+ | 4.1 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 23 | Fleet Hampshire | B+ | 3.3 | 79% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 24 | Lichfield Staffordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 82% | 3.1 | 2% |
| 25 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | B+ | 3.1 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 26 | Pudsey West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 94% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 27 | Hucknall Nottinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 28 | Aberdare Mid Glamorgan | B+ | 4.6 | 84% | 1.8 | 19% |
| 29 | Hitchin Hertfordshire | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 4.4 | 10% |
| 30 | West Bridgford Nottinghamshire | B+ | 2.2 | 86% | 7.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Wigston Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Billingham County Durham | B | 4.7 | 86% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Whitley Bay Tyne and Wear | B | 1.9 | 82% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Warwick Warwickshire | B | 3 | 85% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Denton Greater Manchester | B | 2.4 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Letchworth Hertfordshire | B | 2.2 | 85% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 38 | Loughton Essex | B | 2.9 | 74% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 39 | Abingdon-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 40 | Bicester Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 99% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Caerphilly Gwent | B | 2.6 | 82% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Chadderton Greater Manchester | B | 1.9 | 87% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 43 | Morecambe Lancashire | B− | 0.8 | 84% | 2.2 | 2% |
| 44 | Redcar North Yorkshire | B− | 2.6 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Tonbridge Kent | B− | 2.1 | 65% | 2.6 | 38% |
| 46 | Whitstable Kent | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 47 | Camberley Surrey | C+ | 2 | 73% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 48 | Billericay Essex | C+ | 4.1 | 70% | 3 | 0% |
| 49 | Winsford Cheshire | C+ | 1.3 | 92% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 51 | New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater Surrey | C+ | 2.2 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Morley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Horndean Hampshire | C+ | 0.9 | 57% | 3.3 | 53% |
| 54 | Long Eaton Derbyshire | C | 1.8 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Rayleigh Essex | C | 2 | 71% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Sedgley West Midlands | C | 1.5 | 65% | 4 | 0% |
| 57 | Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Bilston West Midlands | C− | 1.5 | 76% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 59 | Bromsgrove Worcestershire | C− | 1.4 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 60 | Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.5 | 70% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Bilston’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 Bilston
The biggest is East Park, 19 ha (47 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 43 ha (106 acres) and 10 km of path
Parks & gardens 40 haPlaying fields 3.2 ha
The two biggest, East Park and Stowheath Lane Open Space, are 70% of the named green space and carry 7 km of path between them. 3 of the 7 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
Stowheath Lane Open Space
Park or garden
11 ha (27 acres)2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
15 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi north-westfrom the centre
Burseldon Walk
Directionsto the nearest entrance
George Rose Park
Park or garden · 330 m outside town
4.5 ha (11 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hickman Park
Park or garden
5.2 ha (13 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Coronation Park
Playing field
1.7 ha (4 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Greenway Road Playing Fields
Playing field
1.5 ha (4 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Bilston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
God's Acre
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Bilston
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Bilston’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 (76%)Further (25%)
Bilston76%
Towns its size84%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 8,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 60 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 577 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cannock Chase National Landscape is 7.7 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
14 waymarked walks pass through or near Bilston
75 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Bilston and the kilometre around it, 2.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocal
Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring8.9 km
Monarch's Way6.7 km
Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail6.0 km
ABCD Pub Heritage Trail5.8 km
ABCD War Heritage Trail4.4 km
All Saints' Trail4.1 km
Walk Tipton Heritage Trail3.8 km
Bilston to Loxdale Health Walk2.9 km
The Limestone Way2.6 km
The Blakenhall Trail2.5 km
Moorcroft Wood/ Walsall Canal Health Walk2.5 km
Weddell Wynd Circular Health Walk1.6 km
Neptune Health Park Walk1.0 km
Sedgley Heritage Trail 20.7 km
Close to home, the Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail has 6 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring and Monarch's 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 Bilston: 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 | 13.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 65 | 49 | 49 | 50 | 57 | 67 | 59 | 65 | 62 | 79 | 72 | 73 |
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 79 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Bilston →
Things to do
60 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.
1Viewpoints3Hills and peaks3.1× towns its size5Nature reserves2.4× towns its size2Picnic sites60Playgrounds1.5× towns its size1Dog parks
The nearest beaches
Bilston is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
library24 mi from Bilston’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.
Up high. Wednesbury Church Hill, at 164 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Bilston.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Bilston Castle Mound0.0 mi from town
DirectionsHills and peaks 3
Wednesbury Church Hill164 m (538 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsCinder Hill226 m (741 ft) · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsSedgley Beacon238 m (779 ft) · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 5
Bilston Urban Village Nature Reserve1.9 ha · in town
DirectionsCosely Canal Cut & Tunnel SINC Black Country Geosite1.5 ha · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsCinder Hill SINC Black Country Geosite3.0 ha · 0.9 mi from town
DirectionsSedgley Beacon & Beacon Hill Quarries SINC Black Country Geosite21 ha · 1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 60
Brunswick Park Play Area1.1 mi from town
DirectionsHeath Town Park1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 58 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park 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.
DarlastonCoseleyTiptonWednesburyWillenhallWolverhamptonBilston
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilston | C− | 1.5 | 76% | 0% |
| Darlaston 1.4 mi | D | 1.3 | 78% | 0% |
| Coseley 2.0 mi | C+ | 1.4 | 84% | 0% |
| Tipton 2.2 mi | B− | 1.9 | 79% | 0% |
| Wednesbury 2.5 mi | B− | 2.7 | 93% | 0% |
| Willenhall 2.5 mi | C+ | 3.4 | 66% | 0% |
| Wolverhampton 2.8 mi | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0% |
Wednesbury, 2.5 miles away, grades B−, the best next door: 93% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Willenhall has at least twice Bilston’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Bilston
What is the biggest park in Bilston?
East Park, 19 ha (47 acres), with 4.7 km of path. Stowheath Lane Open Space (11 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Bilston near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cannock Chase National Landscape, 7.7 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 69 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Bilston?
14 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring, Monarch's Way and Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail. East Park alone has 4.7 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Bilston?
library, 24 mi from the edge of the town. Bilston itself is inland.
How many people in Bilston live near a park?
76% 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 Bilston?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Bilston good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 56% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 28% (1.5 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 Bilston’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Bilston’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.