Morley’s biggest
Dartmouth Park
Park or garden
5.9 ha (15 acres)1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
8 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0C+Outdoors Grade
Outdoors in Morley · parks, paths & countryside
87% of Morley’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Footpaths add up to 112 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.9 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Morley add up to 1.2 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Morley grades C+ for the outdoors: #69 of 91 in West Yorkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
1.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
87%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
112 km
3.9 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Nidderdale National Landscape
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Morley?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths3.9 km of path per km², more than 78% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Less park per person1.2 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1.
Morley’s strongest suit is dense footpaths. Where it falls short is park space per person.
Outdoors grade
Morley grades C+ for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Morley, 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 37% of UK towns#69 of 91 in West Yorkshire · 44th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space1.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
18out of
100
100
A park within a walk87%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
61out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.9 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
79out 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
Morley is 44th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 29,600 to 35,800 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
Morley3.9
Towns its size3.7
West Yorkshire towns3.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Morley1.2
Towns its size2.1
West Yorkshire towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Morley87%
Towns its size84%
West Yorkshire towns87%
All UK towns83%
Morley falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 53 of the 59 others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Locks Heath Hampshire | A+ | 3.5 | 91% | 3.7 | 4% |
| 2 | Great Malvern Worcestershire | A+ | 3.9 | 90% | 6 | 38% |
| 3 | Northfleet Kent | A | 2 | 85% | 7.7 | 4% |
| 4 | Burgess Hill West Sussex | A | 2.4 | 87% | 5 | 27% |
| 5 | Skelmersdale Lancashire | A | 7.8 | 91% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 6 | Witney Oxfordshire | A | 2.5 | 88% | 4.6 | 19% |
| 7 | Prestwich Greater Manchester | A | 9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 8 | Redhill Surrey | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 4.3 | 14% |
| 9 | Rustington West Sussex | A− | 2.1 | 78% | 2.7 | 25% |
| 10 | Chandler's Ford Hampshire | A− | 2.7 | 80% | 5.3 | 6% |
| 11 | Dunstable Bedfordshire | A− | 2 | 78% | 8 | 29% |
| 12 | Caversham Berkshire | A− | 2.5 | 77% | 4.3 | 32% |
| 13 | Accrington Lancashire | A− | 2.6 | 79% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 14 | Nelson Lancashire | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 5.2 | 15% |
| 15 | St Neots Cambridgeshire | A− | 3.5 | 91% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Didcot Oxfordshire | A− | 1.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 39% |
| 17 | Cleethorpes Lincolnshire | A− | 3 | 84% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Exmouth Devon | A− | 1.4 | 82% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 19 | Waterlooville Hampshire | B+ | 1 | 66% | 5.2 | 18% |
| 20 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 84% | 2.9 | 2% |
| 21 | Fulwood Lancashire | B+ | 3.5 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Swadlincote Derbyshire | B+ | 4.1 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 23 | Chichester West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3 | 40% |
| 24 | Lichfield Staffordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 82% | 3.1 | 2% |
| 25 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | B+ | 3.1 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 26 | Pudsey West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 94% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 27 | Hitchin Hertfordshire | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 4.4 | 10% |
| 28 | Windsor Berkshire | B | 5.5 | 83% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 29 | Consett County Durham | B | 1.7 | 87% | 3.1 | 19% |
| 30 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Wigston Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 32 | Billingham County Durham | B | 4.7 | 86% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 33 | Loughton Essex | B | 2.9 | 74% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 34 | Letchworth Hertfordshire | B | 2.2 | 85% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Abingdon-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 36 | Caerphilly Gwent | B | 2.6 | 82% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Morecambe Lancashire | B− | 0.8 | 84% | 2.2 | 2% |
| 38 | Radcliffe Greater Manchester | B− | 1.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 39 | Whitstable Kent | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 40 | Billericay Essex | C+ | 4.1 | 70% | 3 | 0% |
| 41 | Winsford Cheshire | C+ | 1.3 | 92% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 43 | New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater Surrey | C+ | 2.2 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 44 | Morley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Horndean Hampshire | C+ | 0.9 | 57% | 3.3 | 53% |
| 46 | Newark-on-Trent Nottinghamshire | C | 2.2 | 91% | 2 | 0% |
| 47 | Bedworth Warwickshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Barnstaple Devon | C | 1.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Rayleigh Essex | C | 2 | 71% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 50 | Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.7 | 92% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Sedgley West Midlands | C | 1.5 | 65% | 4 | 0% |
| 52 | Congleton Cheshire | C | 1.7 | 72% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 53 | Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | Bilston West Midlands | C− | 1.5 | 76% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 55 | Rushden Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 56 | Heywood Greater Manchester | C− | 1.3 | 80% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 57 | Bromsgrove Worcestershire | C− | 1.4 | 75% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Port Talbot West Glamorgan | C− | 1.3 | 68% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 59 | Spalding Lincolnshire | D | 1.1 | 85% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 60 | Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.5 | 70% | 1.9 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Morley’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 Morley
The biggest is Dartmouth Park, 5.9 ha (15 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
All 7 named parks by size: 22 ha (55 acres) and 6 km of path
Parks & gardens 16 haPlaying fields 6.6 ha
The two biggest, Dartmouth Park and Scatcherd Park, are 50% of the named green space and carry 3 km of path between them.
Scatcherd Park
Park or garden
5.2 ha (13 acres)1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
7 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Morley
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Churwell Park
Park or garden
2.0 ha (5 acres)0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.9 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Hembrigg Park
Playing field
3.7 ha (9 acres)0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi southfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Lewisham Park
Park or garden
2.0 ha (5 acres)0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
3 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of Morley
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Millshaw Playing Fields
Playing field
2.8 ha (7 acres)0.3 km of path
4 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.4 mi north-eastfrom the centre
Definitive Footpath MORLEY 33Definitive Footpath MORLEY 229
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Scarth Gardens
Park or garden
0.5 ha (1 acres)0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Morley
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Morley’s homes are to 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 (87%)Further (13%)
Morley87%
Towns its size84%
West Yorkshire towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 4,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 45 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 724 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Nidderdale National Landscape is 10 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
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 Morley
112 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Morley and the kilometre around it, 3.9 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalLocalOther waymarked
Leeds Country Way10.2 km
Kirklees Way6.1 km
Dewsbury and District Ramblers Centenary Walk0.9 km
Close to home, the Leeds Country Way has 10 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. The regional route here is the Kirklees Way.
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 Morley: 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 55 | 51 | 49 | 50 | 62 | 55 | 63 | 59 | 72 | 69 | 72 |
April is the driest month (49 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 72 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 38 nights a year. The climate in Morley →
Things to do
45 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
Morley is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Treasure Beach23 mi from Morley’s edge
DirectionsYork Beach24 mi from Morley’s edge
DirectionsDoncaster Lakeside Beach25 mi from Morley’s edge
DirectionsBeach at Doncaster Lakeside25 mi from Morley’s edge
DirectionsSea Lions28 mi from Morley’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
Nature reserves 3
Plus 3 nature reserves without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
GildersomeEast ArdsleyDrighlingtonBatleyThorpe on the HillHeckmondwikeMorley
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morley | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 0% |
| Gildersome 1.5 mi | C− | 1.2 | 81% | 0% |
| East Ardsley 2.1 mi | C+ | 1.8 | 91% | 0% |
| Drighlington 2.6 mi | B+ | 4.1 | 92% | 0% |
| Batley 2.7 mi | B+ | 2.7 | 94% | 0% |
| Thorpe on the Hill 3.1 mi | C+ | 2.2 | 64% | 0% |
| Heckmondwike 3.8 mi | A− | 2.9 | 100% | 0% |
Heckmondwike, 3.8 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Drighlington, Batley and Heckmondwike have at least twice Morley’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Morley
What is the biggest park in Morley?
Dartmouth Park, 5.9 ha (15 acres), with 1.8 km of path. Scatcherd Park (5.2 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Morley near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 13 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Nidderdale National Landscape, 10 mi away.
What are the best walks near Morley?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Leeds Country Way, Kirklees Way and Dewsbury and District Ramblers Centenary Walk.
What is the nearest beach to Morley?
Treasure Beach, 23 mi from the edge of the town, then York Beach (24 mi). Morley itself is inland.
How many people in Morley live near a park?
87% 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 Morley?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Morley good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.9 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 79% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 18% (1.2 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 Morley’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Morley’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.