75% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 118 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.0 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Walsall add up to 2.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Walsall grades C+ for the outdoors: #26 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 Walsall, 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 36% of UK towns#26 of 35 in West Midlands · 53rd of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.5 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
58out of 100
A park within a walk75%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
38out of 100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of 100
Footpaths3.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
59out 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
Walsall is 53rd of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 57,500 to 87,500 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
Walsall3.0
Towns its size3.7
West Midlands towns3.0
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Walsall2.5
Towns its size2.5
West Midlands towns2.7
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Walsall75%
Towns its size86%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
Walsall falls furthest behind on path per km², where 46 of the 59 others do better.
The biggest is Rough Wood Country Park, 107 ha (263 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 12 named parks by size: 237 ha (586 acres) and 35 km of path
Parks & gardens 237 haPlaying fields 0.3 ha
The two biggest, Rough Wood Country Park and The Grange, are 71% of the named green space and carry 21 km of path between them. 5 of the 12 are under 2 ha: small gardens, play spaces and pitches.
7 in 10 Walsall 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 (75%)Further (25%)
Walsall75%
Towns its size86%
West Midlands towns77%
All UK towns83%
About 18,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 65 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 1,089 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Cannock Chase National Landscape is 6.7 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
118 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Walsall and the kilometre around it, 3.0 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
Beacon Way17.4 km
Monarch's Way7.5 km
Walsall Walk of Art5.4 km
Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail3.4 km
Forest of Mercia Way1.8 km
Paupers Memorial Trail0.4 km
Close to home, the Walsall Walk of Art has 5 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Beacon Way and Monarch's Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
History along the way
2 historic parks, and what stands in them
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Walsall’s named parks.
Registered park · Grade II
The Grange
62 ha. Part of Walsall Arboretum, a registered historic park (Grade II). 1 listed structure stands inside it or at its edge.
IIThe Boat House Adjoining Hatherton Lake in Walsall Aboretum
Registered · Grade IIWalsall Memorial Garden1.6 ha
Heritage walks
Walk Wednesbury Heritage Trail 3.4 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 Walsall: 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)
8.1
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
11
14
17
20
22
22
19
14
10
8
Rain (mm)
65
50
50
53
58
64
58
63
61
76
71
72
February 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 76 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 38 nights a year. The climate in Walsall →
Things to do
4 viewpoints, 65 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.
Rushall and Shelfield, 2.6 miles away, grades B, the best next door: 88% 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 Walsall
What is the biggest park in Walsall?
Rough Wood Country Park, 107 ha (263 acres), with 11.8 km of path, just outside the built-up area. The Grange (62 ha) is second. 12 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Walsall near a National Park?
The nearest protected landscape is the Cannock Chase National Landscape, 6.7 mi north of the town’s edge. It covers 69 km² and was designated in 1958.
What are the best walks near Walsall?
6 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Beacon Way, Monarch's Way and Walsall Walk of Art. Rough Wood Country Park alone has 11.8 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Walsall?
library, 20 mi from the edge of the town. Walsall itself is inland.
How many people in Walsall live near a park?
75% 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 Walsall?
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 Walsall are historic?
Walsall Arboretum (Grade II) and Walsall Memorial Garden (Grade II) are on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
Is Walsall good for walking?
About average for paths: 3.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 59% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 58% (2.5 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 Walsall’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: Martin Richard Phelan · CC BY-SA 2.0