A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 54% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Solihull add up to 2.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 222 km of footpaths run through the city and the kilometre around it, 3.1 for every square kilometre. Solihull grades C for the outdoors: #27 of 35 in West Midlands. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Solihull, 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 32% of UK towns#27 of 35 in West Midlands
Public green space2.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
68out of 100
A park within a walk54%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
16out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
61out 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.
Cities its size
How Solihull compares with UK cities of 78,200 to 143,400
The 60 UK towns and cities of 78,200 to 143,400 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
Solihull3.1
Cities its size4.1
West Midlands towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Solihull2.9
Cities its size2.4
West Midlands towns2.7
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Solihull54%
Cities its size86%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
Against cities its size, Solihull stands out most for park space per resident: only 17 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 59 of the others do better.
5 in 10 Solihull 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 (54%)Further (46%)
Solihull54%
Cities its size86%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 49,000 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 city, about one for every 1,796 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cannock Chase National Landscape is 17 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
222 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Solihull and the kilometre around it, 3.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the city.
RegionalLocal
Grand Union Canal Walk11.5 km
Rail Trail: Solihull Circular (via Malvern & Brueton Park)8.3 km
Rail Trail: Marston Green Circular via Elmdon8.1 km
Rail Trail: Olton > Shirley8.0 km
Acocks Green Heritage Trail7.1 km
Rail Trail: Shirley > The Lakes6.9 km
Rail Trail: Widney Manor > Dorridge3.9 km
Rail Trail: Wythall > Shirley3.4 km
North Worcestershire Path3.0 km
Rail Trail: Whitlocks End > Shirley2.7 km
Rail Trail: Birmingham International > Marston Green2.4 km
Millstream Way1.6 km
Rail Trail: The Lakes > Earlswood1.3 km
Close to home, the Rail Trail: Solihull Circular (via Malvern & Brueton Park) has 8 km of local walk within 2 km of the city. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Grand Union Canal Walk and North Worcestershire Path.
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 Solihull: May to September
The city’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
16
19
22
21
18
14
10
7
Rain (mm)
69
52
51
52
60
67
65
66
62
74
74
73
March is the driest month (51 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 47 nights a year. The climate in Solihull →
Things to do
60 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the city in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK city its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Dickens Heath, 2.9 miles away, grades C+, the best next door: 82% 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 Solihull
What is the biggest park in Solihull?
The Shire Country Park, 92 ha (228 acres), with 11.1 km of path. The Shire Country Park (92 ha) is second. 26 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the city or within 400 m of it.
Is Solihull near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cannock Chase National Landscape, 17 mi north of the city’s edge. It covers 69 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Solihull?
13 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the city, including the Grand Union Canal Walk, Rail Trail: Solihull Circular (via Malvern & Brueton Park) and Rail Trail: Marston Green Circular via Elmdon. The Shire Country Park alone has 11.1 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Solihull?
library, 13 mi from the edge of the city. Solihull itself is inland.
How many people in Solihull live near a park?
54% 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 Solihull?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Solihull good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 61% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 68% (2.9 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 Solihull’s overall grade.
National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Photo: Robin Stott · CC BY-SA 2.0