Tipton has more footpath per square kilometre than nearly 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 124 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.5 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Tipton add up to 1.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 79% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Tipton grades B− for the outdoors: #16 of 35 in West Midlands. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Tipton’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by its views.
Outdoors grade
Tipton grades B− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Tipton, 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 46% of UK towns#16 of 35 in West Midlands · 45th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.9 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
42out of 100
A park within a walk79%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
44out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths4.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
88out 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
Tipton is 45th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 41,700 to 53,600 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
Tipton4.5
Towns its size3.6
West Midlands towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Tipton1.9
Towns its size2.3
West Midlands towns2.7
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Tipton79%
Towns its size83%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Tipton stands out most for path per km²: only 9 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 41 of the others do better.
The biggest is Sheepwash Urban Park, 39 ha (96 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 8 named parks by size: 81 ha (201 acres) and 10 km of path
Parks & gardens 80 haPlaying fields 1.7 ha
The two biggest, Sheepwash Urban Park and Victoria Park, are 64% of the named green space and carry 7 km of path between them. 3 of the 8 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
8 in 10 Tipton 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 (79%)Further (22%)
Tipton79%
Towns its size83%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 10,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 120 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 393 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cannock Chase National Landscape is 9.4 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
124 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Tipton and the kilometre around it, 4.5 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 Way13.2 km
Black Country Canals: The Dudley & Stourbridge Ring10.4 km
Walk Tipton Heritage Trail9.5 km
Neptune Health Park Walk6.4 km
Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail6.0 km
The Limestone Way6.0 km
Rowley Hills Geology Trail4.7 km
Bilston to Loxdale Health Walk2.9 km
Sheepwash Park Circular Health Walk2.5 km
Moorcroft Wood/ Walsall Canal Health Walk2.5 km
Dudley Public Art Heritage Trail (Wolverton Road Trail)2.4 km
Wren's Nest UNESCO Black Country Geopark Geotrail2.3 km
Dudley Architectural Heritage Trail2.2 km
Dudley Time Trail1.9 km
Weddell Wynd Circular Health Walk1.6 km
Dudley Geological Heritage Trail1.6 km
Plus 5 more waymarked walks on the map.
Close to home, the Walk Tipton Heritage Trail has 9 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.
History along the way
A historic park in the middle of Tipton
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Tipton’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade II
Victoria Park
13 ha. Part of Victoria Park, Tipton, a registered historic park (Grade II). 2 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
IIDrinking Fountain Canopy, Victoria ParkIITipton War Memorial
Heritage walks
Walk Tipton Heritage Trail 9.5 km Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail 6.0 km Moorcroft Wood/ Walsall Canal Health Walk 2.5 km Dudley Public Art Heritage Trail (Wolverton Road Trail) 2.4 km Dudley Architectural Heritage Trail 2.2 km
A listed building or monument counts when it sits inside the park’s OS Open Greenspace outline (to about 15 m), so a few at the boundary are included. Historic England, National Heritage List for England.
When to get out
The best walking months in Tipton: 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
17
20
22
21
18
14
10
7
Rain (mm)
62
50
49
55
61
71
66
68
64
80
75
74
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 80 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Tipton →
Things to do
13 viewpoints, 120 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, 2.6 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 91% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Rowley Regis has at least twice Tipton’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Tipton
What is the biggest park in Tipton?
Sheepwash Urban Park, 39 ha (96 acres), with 5.1 km of path. Victoria Park (13 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Tipton near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cannock Chase National Landscape, 9.4 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 69 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Tipton?
21 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. Sheepwash Urban Park alone has 5.1 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Tipton?
library, 24 mi from the edge of the town. Tipton itself is inland.
How many people in Tipton live near a park?
79% 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 Tipton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Which parks in Tipton are historic?
Victoria Park (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Tipton good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.5 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 88% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 42% (1.9 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 Tipton’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: Tony Hisgett · CC BY 2.0