Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Parks and playing fields in Pontefract add up to 2.6 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 75 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 2.6 for every square kilometre. Pontefract grades C+ for the outdoors: #64 of 91 in West Yorkshire. 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 Pontefract, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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.
The 60 UK towns and cities of 30,100 to 36,200 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Pontefract stands out most for park space per resident: only 20 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 51 of the others do better.
| 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 | Hyde Greater Manchester | A | 4.3 | 91% | 3.9 | 1% |
| 4 | Epsom Surrey | A | 5.7 | 80% | 4.8 | 2% |
| 5 | Burgess Hill West Sussex | A | 2.4 | 87% | 5 | 27% |
| 6 | Skelmersdale Lancashire | A | 7.8 | 91% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 7 | Witney Oxfordshire | A | 2.5 | 88% | 4.6 | 19% |
| 8 | Prestwich Greater Manchester | A | 9 | 94% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 9 | Redhill Surrey | A− | 2.2 | 91% | 4.3 | 14% |
| 10 | Rustington West Sussex | A− | 2.1 | 78% | 2.7 | 25% |
| 11 | Chandler's Ford Hampshire | A− | 2.7 | 80% | 5.3 | 6% |
| 12 | Dunstable Bedfordshire | A− | 2 | 78% | 8 | 29% |
| 13 | Caversham Berkshire | A− | 2.5 | 77% | 4.3 | 32% |
| 14 | Accrington Lancashire | A− | 2.6 | 79% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 15 | Nelson Lancashire | A− | 1.8 | 85% | 5.2 | 15% |
| 16 | St Neots Cambridgeshire | A− | 3.5 | 91% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Didcot Oxfordshire | A− | 1.6 | 88% | 3.8 | 39% |
| 18 | Exmouth Devon | A− | 1.4 | 82% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 19 | Waterlooville Hampshire | B+ | 1 | 66% | 5.2 | 18% |
| 20 | Chippenham Wiltshire | B+ | 2.8 | 76% | 3.9 | 7% |
| 21 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 84% | 2.9 | 2% |
| 22 | Fulwood Lancashire | B+ | 3.5 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 23 | Swadlincote Derbyshire | B+ | 4.1 | 84% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 24 | Chichester West Sussex | B+ | 1.6 | 89% | 3 | 40% |
| 25 | Lichfield Staffordshire | B+ | 2.7 | 82% | 3.1 | 2% |
| 26 | Brierley Hill West Midlands | B+ | 3.1 | 82% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 27 | Pudsey West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.9 | 94% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 28 | Hucknall Nottinghamshire | B+ | 3 | 87% | 4 | 0% |
| 29 | Hitchin Hertfordshire | B+ | 1.5 | 83% | 4.4 | 10% |
| 30 | Windsor Berkshire | B | 5.5 | 83% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Brighouse West Yorkshire | B | 2.5 | 91% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 32 | Wigston Leicestershire | B | 2.9 | 88% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Billingham County Durham | B | 4.7 | 86% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 34 | Denton Greater Manchester | B | 2.4 | 88% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 35 | Loughton Essex | B | 2.9 | 74% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Letchworth Hertfordshire | B | 2.2 | 85% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 37 | Abingdon-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.1 | 91% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 38 | Caerphilly Gwent | B | 2.6 | 82% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 39 | Morecambe Lancashire | B− | 0.8 | 84% | 2.2 | 2% |
| 40 | Radcliffe Greater Manchester | B− | 1.7 | 86% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 41 | Tonbridge Kent | B− | 2.1 | 65% | 2.6 | 38% |
| 42 | Whitstable Kent | B− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 43 | Billericay Essex | C+ | 4.1 | 70% | 3 | 0% |
| 44 | Winsford Cheshire | C+ | 1.3 | 92% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 45 | Pontefract West Yorkshire | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 46 | New Haw, West Byfleet and Sheerwater Surrey | C+ | 2.2 | 69% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 47 | Morley West Yorkshire | C+ | 1.2 | 87% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 48 | Horndean Hampshire | C+ | 0.9 | 57% | 3.3 | 53% |
| 49 | Bedworth Warwickshire | C | 1.5 | 87% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 50 | Barnstaple Devon | C | 1.6 | 92% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Rayleigh Essex | C | 2 | 71% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.7 | 92% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Sedgley West Midlands | C | 1.5 | 65% | 4 | 0% |
| 54 | Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire | C | 0.8 | 80% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Bilston West Midlands | C− | 1.5 | 76% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Rushden Northamptonshire | C− | 1.5 | 84% | 2.4 | 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% |
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Pontefract’s built-up area.
The biggest is Pontefract Park, 76 ha (188 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
The two biggest, Pontefract Park and Friarwood Valley Gardens, are 95% of the named green space and carry 4 km of path between them.
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).
About 5,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 37 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 891 residents.
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.
Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
75 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Pontefract and the kilometre around it, 2.6 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The regional route here is the Wakefield Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
Historic England’s register of parks and gardens, and the listed buildings and scheduled monuments that stand inside Pontefract’s named parks.
3.6 ha. A registered historic park (Grade II). 0 listed structures and monuments stand inside it or at its edge.
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.
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 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 40 | 40 | 39 | 43 | 45 | 60 | 53 | 63 | 54 | 61 | 61 | 53 |
March is the driest month (39 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 63 mm of rain falls in August, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 33 nights a year. The climate in Pontefract →
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.
Pontefract is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Plus 29 playgrounds without a name on the map.
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontefract | C+ | 2.6 | 84% | 0% |
| Darrington 1.9 mi | D− | 0.5 | 72% | 0% |
| Holmfield 2.1 mi | C+ | 2.8 | 74% | 0% |
| Featherstone 2.3 mi | C | 2.0 | 77% | 0% |
| Castleford 2.5 mi | B | 2.3 | 92% | 0% |
| Knottingley 2.6 mi | B− | 2.7 | 88% | 0% |
| Byram 2.9 mi | D | 2.1 | 19% | 0% |
Castleford, 2.5 miles away, grades B, the best next door: 92% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Pontefract Park, 76 ha (188 acres), with 2.2 km of path, just outside the built-up area. Friarwood Valley Gardens (3.6 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 18 mi south-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Wakefield Way. Pontefract Park alone has 2.2 km of path.
Doncaster Lakeside Beach, 13 mi from the edge of the town, then Beach at Doncaster Lakeside (13 mi). Pontefract itself is inland.
84% 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%.
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Friarwood Valley Gardens (Grade II) is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens.
About average for paths: 2.6 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 48% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 63% (2.6 ha per 1,000 residents).
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 Pontefract’s overall grade.
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.