Holmfirth’s biggest
Sands Recreation Area
Playing field
5.6 ha (14 acres)0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Richard Harvey · CC BY-SA 2.0 ukAOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Holmfirth · parks, paths & countryside
Holmfirth has more footpath per square kilometre than nearly 9 in 10 UK towns
Footpaths add up to 61 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 4.6 for every square kilometre. The Peak District National Park begins 0.9 mi from the town’s edge. A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 88% of residents. Holmfirth grades A for the outdoors: #6 of 91 in West Yorkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
88%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
61 km
4.6 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
27%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Peak District National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Holmfirth?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths4.6 km of path per km², more than 89% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Protected countryside27% of the land within 5 km is Peak District National Park.
Holmfirth’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by protected countryside on the doorstep.
Outdoors grade
Holmfirth grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Holmfirth, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A
Better than 87% of UK towns#6 of 91 in West Yorkshire · 10th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
50out of
100
100
A park within a walk88%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
64out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape27%of the land within 5 km
82out of
100
100
Footpaths4.6 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
89out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of
100
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
Holmfirth is 10th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 4,800 to 5,200 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
Holmfirth4.6
Towns its size2.6
West Yorkshire towns3.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Holmfirth2.2
Towns its size2.2
West Yorkshire towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Holmfirth88%
Towns its size79%
West Yorkshire towns87%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Holmfirth stands out most for path per km²: only 4 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rye East Sussex | A+ | 3.5 | 89% | 3.5 | 46% |
| 2 | Pill Somerset | A+ | 5.2 | 100% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 3 | Frinton-on-Sea Essex | A+ | 7.5 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 4 | Burry Port Dyfed | A+ | 11.8 | 75% | 2.8 | 17% |
| 5 | Wilford Nottinghamshire | A | 7.7 | 93% | 9.6 | 0% |
| 6 | Moreton-in-Marsh Gloucestershire | A | 5 | 100% | 1.8 | 55% |
| 7 | Wirksworth Derbyshire | A | 2 | 100% | 4.6 | 8% |
| 8 | Rhymney Gwent | A | 2.9 | 97% | 3.8 | 6% |
| 9 | Meols Merseyside | A | 3.1 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 10 | Holmfirth West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 88% | 4.6 | 27% |
| 11 | Fitzwilliam and Kinsley West Yorkshire | A− | 11.5 | 100% | 3 | 0% |
| 12 | Joyden's Wood Kent | A− | 2.7 | 82% | 5.6 | 4% |
| 13 | Fordingbridge Hampshire | A− | 3.6 | 92% | 2 | 56% |
| 14 | Coleford Gloucestershire | A− | 2.8 | 66% | 4.3 | 48% |
| 15 | Elvetham Heath Hampshire | A− | 8.7 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 16 | Needham Market Suffolk | A− | 7.2 | 88% | 4 | 0% |
| 17 | Overseal and Castle Gresley Derbyshire | A− | 2.5 | 100% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 18 | Binfield Berkshire | A− | 8.5 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Huthwaite Nottinghamshire | B+ | 8.1 | 75% | 4.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Seaton Cumbria | B+ | 2.5 | 87% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 21 | Cranbrook Devon | B+ | 6.4 | 87% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 22 | Hildenborough Kent | B+ | 6.5 | 40% | 2.8 | 46% |
| 23 | Sturry Kent | B+ | 2.7 | 80% | 3.4 | 1% |
| 24 | Stone Cross East Sussex | B+ | 1.4 | 86% | 2.3 | 9% |
| 25 | Aspull Greater Manchester | B | 7.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 26 | Easingwold North Yorkshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 1.5 | 14% |
| 27 | Grimethorpe South Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Market Rasen Lincolnshire | B | 2.6 | 94% | 1.6 | 16% |
| 29 | Sedgefield County Durham | B | 6.2 | 81% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 30 | Headley Down and Headley Hampshire | B | 2.1 | 55% | 3.4 | 44% |
| 31 | Whitburn Tyne and Wear | B− | 2.5 | 46% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 32 | Wotton-under-Edge Gloucestershire | C+ | 0.4 | 32% | 5.4 | 60% |
| 33 | Stokesley North Yorkshire | C+ | 0.9 | 100% | 1.7 | 16% |
| 34 | Wool Dorset | C+ | 2.3 | 51% | 2.5 | 33% |
| 35 | Steeton West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 36 | Moulton Northamptonshire | C+ | 3.3 | 88% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 37 | Barton-le-Clay Bedfordshire | C+ | 1.3 | 43% | 3.2 | 38% |
| 38 | Church Lancashire | C | 1.5 | 79% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Billinge Merseyside | C | 0.9 | 94% | 3 | 0% |
| 40 | Treharris Mid Glamorgan | C | 2.6 | 72% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Copthorne West Sussex | C | 1.2 | 62% | 2.9 | 13% |
| 42 | Bungay Suffolk | C | 0.5 | 78% | 2.6 | 12% |
| 43 | Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe Lincolnshire | C | 1.8 | 67% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 44 | Northway Gloucestershire | C | 0.9 | 58% | 3.1 | 13% |
| 45 | Odiham Hampshire | C | 1.9 | 72% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Jaywick Essex | C− | 1.1 | 75% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Shavington Cheshire | C− | 1.1 | 87% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 48 | Melbourne Derbyshire | C− | 1.5 | 67% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 49 | Halesworth Suffolk | C− | 1.4 | 55% | 1.9 | 5% |
| 50 | Tickhill South Yorkshire | D | 1.7 | 69% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 51 | Haslington Cheshire | D | 1.8 | 41% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 52 | Gresford Clwyd | D | 1.4 | 76% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 53 | Melbourn Cambridgeshire | D | 1.2 | 45% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Fleckney Leicestershire | D | 0.8 | 63% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 55 | Lepton West Yorkshire | D− | 0.9 | 36% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Wingate County Durham | D− | 1 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Harleston Norfolk | D− | 0.2 | 42% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 58 | Bulford Wiltshire | D− | 0.9 | 51% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Shotton Colliery County Durham | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Somerton Somerset | D− | 0.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Holmfirth’s built-up area.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Natural England / NRW
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Holmfirth
The biggest is Sands Recreation Area, 5.6 ha (14 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Victoria Park
Park or garden
1.0 ha (2 acres)0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Holmfirth
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Wooldale Wanderers Athletic Football Club
Playing field · 130 m outside town
1.1 ha (3 acres)
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
9 in 10 Holmfirth 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 (88%)Further (12%)
Holmfirth88%
Towns its size79%
West Yorkshire towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 24 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 208 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 0.9 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
27% of the land within 5 km of Holmfirth is National Park or National Landscape, more than 82% of UK towns. Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
3 waymarked walks pass through or near Holmfirth
61 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Holmfirth and the kilometre around it, 4.6 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
Holme Valley Circular Walk13.6 km
Kirklees Way6.3 km
Peak District Boundary Walk Stage 71.8 km
Close to home, the Holme Valley Circular Walk has 14 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 2 regional routes pass through, including the Kirklees Way and Peak District Boundary Walk Stage 7.
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 Holmfirth: June 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 126 | 103 | 86 | 76 | 77 | 82 | 90 | 86 | 94 | 109 | 127 | 153 |
April is the driest month (76 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 153 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 50 nights a year. The climate in Holmfirth →
Things to do
24 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.
The nearest beaches
Holmfirth is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Stone Beach21 mi from Holmfirth’s edge
DirectionsCar Park Beach21 mi from Holmfirth’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North21 mi from Holmfirth’s edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South21 mi from Holmfirth’s edge
DirectionsWader Point21 mi from Holmfirth’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Wolfstones0.7 mi from town
DirectionsSwinny Knoll1.0 mi from town
DirectionsBurned Hill1.2 mi from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 1
Plus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 24
Luke Lane Play Area1.0 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 23 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Rising Sun Farm Campsite0.4 mi from town
DirectionsHolme Valley Camping & Caravan Park1.1 mi from town
DirectionsNext door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
UpperthongHolmbridgeScholes (near Hade Edge)HonleyMelthamNetherton (Kirklees)Holmfirth
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holmfirth | A | 2.2 | 88% | 27% |
| Upperthong 0.7 mi | B | 1.7 | 65% | 26% |
| Holmbridge 1.3 mi | A+ | 2.5 | 100% | 45% |
| Scholes (near Hade Edge) 1.3 mi | A+ | 3.8 | 100% | 16% |
| Honley 2.0 mi | A− | 2.1 | 87% | 8% |
| Meltham 3.0 mi | B− | 1.0 | 63% | 27% |
| Netherton (Kirklees) 3.3 mi | A− | 2.0 | 88% | 6% |
Scholes (near Hade Edge), 1.3 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Holmfirth
What is the biggest park in Holmfirth?
Sands Recreation Area, 5.6 ha (14 acres), with 0.7 km of path. Victoria Park (1.0 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Holmfirth near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 0.9 mi west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Holmfirth?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Holme Valley Circular Walk, Kirklees Way and Peak District Boundary Walk Stage 7.
What is the nearest beach to Holmfirth?
Stone Beach, 21 mi from the edge of the town, then Car Park Beach (21 mi). Holmfirth itself is inland.
How many people in Holmfirth live near a park?
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%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Holmfirth?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Holmfirth good for walking?
For paths, yes: 4.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 89% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 50% (2.2 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 Holmfirth’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Holmfirth’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, 16 October 2026.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Historic England, National Heritage List for England, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: ONS Census 2021 output areas.
- Grade: TownRatings’ Outdoors Grade, ranked against UK towns only.
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.