Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Manor Arms Public House · Photo: Derek Bennett · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Rushall and Shelfield add up to 4.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. The Cannock Chase National Landscape begins 4.8 mi from the town’s edge. 88% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Rushall and Shelfield grades B for the outdoors: #7 of 35 in West Midlands. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Rushall and Shelfield’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by the Cannock Chase National Landscape close by.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Rushall and Shelfield, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 12,100 to 13,500 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Rushall and Shelfield stands out most for park space per resident: only 6 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 43 of the others do better.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitby North Yorkshire | A+ | 4 | 100% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 2 | Farncombe Surrey | A+ | 5.7 | 92% | 3.8 | 54% |
| 3 | Sidmouth Devon | A | 2.6 | 73% | 2.9 | 60% |
| 4 | Newhaven East Sussex | A | 1.9 | 84% | 2.9 | 50% |
| 5 | Rhosllannerchrugog Clwyd | A | 3.5 | 98% | 2.8 | 31% |
| 6 | Southwick West Sussex | A | 1.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 34% |
| 7 | Houghton-le-Spring Tyne and Wear | A | 4.8 | 100% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 8 | Little Lever Greater Manchester | A | 4.5 | 97% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 9 | Wick West Sussex | A | 1.3 | 91% | 3 | 25% |
| 10 | Stoke Gifford Gloucestershire | A− | 5.7 | 87% | 5.9 | 0% |
| 11 | Blackwood Gwent | A− | 3.6 | 97% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Heckmondwike West Yorkshire | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Bridport Dorset | A− | 0.9 | 75% | 3.7 | 71% |
| 14 | Churchdown Gloucestershire | A− | 2.2 | 92% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 15 | Flackwell Heath and Wooburn Green Buckinghamshire | A− | 1.7 | 90% | 3.9 | 30% |
| 16 | Guiseley West Yorkshire | A− | 2.5 | 75% | 5.7 | 6% |
| 17 | Wantage Oxfordshire | A− | 2.5 | 71% | 3.9 | 47% |
| 18 | Lees Greater Manchester | A− | 2.5 | 80% | 4.4 | 4% |
| 19 | Tavistock Devon | A− | 5.9 | 83% | 1.6 | 72% |
| 20 | Audenshaw Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.6 | 93% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 21 | Ivybridge Devon | B+ | 1.8 | 86% | 3.4 | 38% |
| 22 | Berwick-upon-Tweed Northumberland | B+ | 2.5 | 62% | 2.7 | 1% |
| 23 | Ringwood Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 78% | 3.2 | 43% |
| 24 | Chorleywood Hertfordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 37% | 5.7 | 22% |
| 25 | Poulton-le-Fylde Lancashire | B+ | 3.6 | 85% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Marple Greater Manchester | B+ | 3.4 | 64% | 3.8 | 5% |
| 27 | Poynton Cheshire | B+ | 2.2 | 79% | 3.7 | 14% |
| 28 | Royal Wootton Bassett Wiltshire | B+ | 1.6 | 98% | 3.1 | 10% |
| 29 | Cudworth and Shafton South Yorkshire | B | 3.1 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Stotfold Bedfordshire | B | 2.1 | 96% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 31 | Enderby and Narborough Leicestershire | B | 1.9 | 89% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 32 | West Kirby Merseyside | B | 1.9 | 68% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 33 | Rushall and Shelfield West Midlands | B | 4.3 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Scawthorpe and Cusworth South Yorkshire | B− | 3.1 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Standish Greater Manchester | B− | 2.6 | 84% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 36 | Chigwell Essex | B− | 2.9 | 64% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 37 | Sheerness Kent | B− | 3 | 68% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 38 | Ince-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2 | 74% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Rochford Essex | B− | 2 | 71% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 40 | Knutsford Cheshire | C+ | 2.6 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Thame Oxfordshire | C+ | 2.9 | 91% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Huntington North Yorkshire | C+ | 2 | 72% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Street Somerset | C+ | 0.7 | 96% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Todmorden West Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 72% | 6.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Hersham Surrey | C | 2.5 | 73% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Ferndown Dorset | C | 0.7 | 13% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 47 | Rhondda Mid Glamorgan | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Brough East Riding of Yorkshire | C− | 1.4 | 74% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 49 | North Walsham Norfolk | C− | 1.3 | 69% | 2 | 10% |
| 50 | Porth Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 63% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe South Yorkshire | D | 2 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 52 | Amesbury Wiltshire | D | 1.8 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Northallerton North Yorkshire | D | 1.1 | 70% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 54 | Driffield East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 2.1 | 75% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Mountsorrel Leicestershire | D | 0.9 | 56% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 56 | Flint Clwyd | D | 1 | 56% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Mountain Ash Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.4 | 56% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 58 | Wombourne Staffordshire | D | 0.8 | 78% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 59 | Balderton Nottinghamshire | D | 1.4 | 64% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 60 | Thorne South Yorkshire | D− | 1.6 | 65% | 0.6 | 0% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Rushall and Shelfield’s built-up area.
The biggest is Pelsall Common, 18 ha (45 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The two biggest, Pelsall Common and Pelsall Common, are 65% of the named green space and carry 3 km of path between them.
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).
About 1,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 36 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 357 residents.
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.
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Rushall and Shelfield scores 0% on it even though the Cannock Chase National Landscape is 4.8 mi away.
39 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Rushall and Shelfield and the kilometre around it, 2.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Close to home, the Forest of Mercia Timberland Trail (Long Route) has 7 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Beacon Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
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) | 8.1 | 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 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 49 | 50 | 56 | 56 | 77 | 62 | 64 | 61 | 79 | 70 | 72 |
February 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 40 nights a year. The climate in Rushall and Shelfield →
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.
Rushall and Shelfield is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
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. Church Hill, at 151 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Rushall and Shelfield.
Plus 1 nature reserve more.
Plus 30 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushall and Shelfield | B | 4.3 | 88% | 0% |
| Pelsall 1.2 mi | B+ | 6.1 | 95% | 0% |
| Aldridge 1.5 mi | C+ | 3.0 | 83% | 0% |
| Bloxwich 1.7 mi | B− | 3.6 | 74% | 0% |
| Clayhanger 2.0 mi | A− | 17.4 | 100% | 0% |
| Brownhills 2.3 mi | B | 11.0 | 80% | 2% |
| Walsall 2.6 mi | C+ | 2.5 | 75% | 0% |
Clayhanger, 2 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Clayhanger and Brownhills have at least twice Rushall and Shelfield’s green space per resident.
Pelsall Common, 18 ha (45 acres), with 1.4 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Pelsall Common (18 ha) is second. 5 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
The nearest protected landscape is the Cannock Chase National Landscape, 4.8 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 69 km² and was designated in 1958.
6 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Beacon Way, Forest of Mercia Timberland Trail (Long Route) and Forest of Mercia Timberland Trail (Short Route).
library, 21 mi from the edge of the town. Rushall and Shelfield itself is inland.
88% 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%.
May and July to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
About average for paths: 2.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 45% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 84% (4.3 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Rushall and Shelfield’s overall grade.
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.