Outdoors in Rowley Regis · parks, paths & countryside
Rowley Regis has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 147 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 5.5 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Rowley Regis add up to 4.1 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 71% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Rowley Regis grades B+ for the outdoors: #4 of 35 in West Midlands. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Rowley Regis’ strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by plenty of park space.
Outdoors grade
Rowley Regis grades B+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Rowley Regis, 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 66% of UK towns#4 of 35 in West Midlands · 30th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space4.1 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
82out of 100
A park within a walk71%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
32out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths5.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
96out of 100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of 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
Rowley Regis is 30th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 34,600 to 43,800 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
Rowley Regis5.5
Towns its size3.8
West Midlands towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Rowley Regis4.1
Towns its size2.4
West Midlands towns2.7
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Rowley Regis71%
Towns its size84%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Rowley Regis stands out most for park space per resident: only 10 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 56 of the others do better.
7 in 10 Rowley Regis residents live within a 5-minute walk of 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 (71%)Further (29%)
Rowley Regis71%
Towns its size84%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 11,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 170 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 230 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cannock Chase National Landscape is 12 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
23 waymarked walks pass through or near Rowley Regis
147 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Rowley Regis and the kilometre around it, 5.5 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
Monarch's Way14.7 km
Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring8.9 km
Walk Tipton Heritage Trail6.9 km
Neptune Health Park Walk5.8 km
Rowley Hills Geology Trail4.7 km
BCN Walks- Titford Canal3.5 km
West Bromwich to Oldbury Health Walk3.3 km
Walk Rowley Regis Heritage Trail3.1 km
Sheepwash Park Circular Health Walk2.5 km
Dudley Public Art Heritage Trail (Wolverton Road Trail)2.4 km
Dudley Architectural Heritage Trail2.2 km
Murray Gray Trail (Saltwells LNR)2.1 km
Dudley Time Trail1.9 km
Dudley Geological Heritage Trail1.6 km
The Limestone Way1.5 km
Dudley Public Art Heritage Trail (Priory Park Trail)1.4 km
Plus 7 more waymarked walks on the map.
Close to home, the Walk Tipton Heritage Trail has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Monarch's Way and Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring.
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 Rowley Regis: 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
10
13
16
19
22
21
18
14
10
7
Rain (mm)
70
50
50
58
63
73
69
69
65
81
76
75
March is the driest month (50 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 81 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Rowley Regis →
Things to do
12 viewpoints, 170 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.
Dudley, 2 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 91% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Rowley Regis
What is the biggest park in Rowley Regis?
Bury Hill Park, 38 ha (94 acres), with 11 km of path. Warrens Hall Park (41 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Rowley Regis near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cannock Chase National Landscape, 12 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 69 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Rowley Regis?
23 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Monarch's Way, Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring and Walk Tipton Heritage Trail. Bury Hill Park alone has 11 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Rowley Regis?
library, 24 mi from the edge of the town. Rowley Regis itself is inland.
How many people in Rowley Regis live near a park?
71% 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 Rowley Regis?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Rowley Regis good for walking?
For paths, yes: 5.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 96% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 82% (4.1 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 Rowley Regis’ overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
War memorial outside St Giles' Church, Rowley Regis · Photo: AtticTapestry · CC BY-SA 4.0