Photo: Tim Green aka atouch · CC BY 2.0Parks and walks in Scarcroft
A park or playing field is within a 5-minute walk for 15% of residents. Parks and playing fields in Scarcroft add up to 0.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 25 km of footpaths run through the village and the kilometre around it, 2.4 for every square kilometre. Scarcroft grades D− for the outdoors. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Scarcroft grades D− for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Scarcroft, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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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.
How Scarcroft compares with UK villages of 1,500 to 1,700
The 60 UK towns and cities of 1,500 to 1,700 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against villages its size, Scarcroft stands out most for path per km²: only 23 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on homes near a park, where 59 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portskewett Gwent | A+ | 10 | 100% | 2.9 | 3% |
| 2 | Melton Suffolk | A+ | 6.5 | 100% | 4.1 | 33% |
| 3 | Llansanffraid Glan Conwy Clwyd | A+ | 10.8 | 100% | 1.6 | 8% |
| 4 | Pen-clawdd West Glamorgan | A | 4 | 100% | 0.5 | 42% |
| 5 | Hale Bank Cheshire | A− | 9.1 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 6 | Shillington Bedfordshire | A− | 3.7 | 83% | 3.2 | 14% |
| 7 | Bean Kent | A− | 17 | 72% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 8 | Woodhouse Eaves Leicestershire | A− | 35.7 | 85% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 9 | Kewstoke Somerset | A− | 1.3 | 74% | 4.3 | 1% |
| 10 | Harrold Bedfordshire | A− | 19.1 | 100% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 11 | Hampton Magna Warwickshire | A− | 6.8 | 100% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 12 | Sonning Berkshire | A− | 11.1 | 80% | 2.5 | 7% |
| 13 | East Dean and Friston East Sussex | B+ | 1.2 | 18% | 4.6 | 58% |
| 14 | Stithians Cornwall | B+ | 3.2 | 80% | 3.4 | 3% |
| 15 | Staining Lancashire | B+ | 2.6 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 16 | Seal Kent | B+ | 3.3 | 78% | 2.1 | 77% |
| 17 | Littlebourne Kent | B+ | 1.6 | 100% | 3 | 9% |
| 18 | Farcet Cambridgeshire | B+ | 13.8 | 77% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 19 | Great Kingshill Buckinghamshire | B | 2.7 | 55% | 2.9 | 84% |
| 20 | Ardingly West Sussex | B | 1.7 | 53% | 4.1 | 83% |
| 21 | Abridge Essex | B | 3 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Edgworth Lancashire | B | 3.2 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 23 | Normandy Surrey | B− | 3.2 | 23% | 3.1 | 26% |
| 24 | Sibertswold Kent | B− | 1.9 | 79% | 2.2 | 38% |
| 25 | Onley Northamptonshire | B− | 2.3 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 26 | Whittington Shropshire | B− | 3.7 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 27 | West Horndon Essex | C+ | 2.2 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 28 | Bartestree Herefordshire | C+ | 2.1 | 81% | 1.9 | 10% |
| 29 | Everton Hampshire | C+ | 1.3 | 58% | 1.5 | 37% |
| 30 | Templecombe Somerset | C+ | 2 | 100% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 31 | Clutton Somerset | C+ | 0.9 | 74% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 32 | New Arley Warwickshire | C+ | 2.4 | 100% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 33 | High Littleton Somerset | C+ | 1 | 58% | 4.9 | 1% |
| 34 | Potterspury Northamptonshire | C | 1.4 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 35 | Acton Suffolk | C | 1.6 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 36 | Blisworth Northamptonshire | C | 2.2 | 81% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Buxted East Sussex | C | 1.1 | 63% | 2.4 | 52% |
| 38 | Stonesfield Oxfordshire | C | 1.9 | 60% | 1.8 | 38% |
| 39 | Harden West Yorkshire | C | 1.8 | 40% | 5 | 0% |
| 40 | Earith Cambridgeshire | C | 1.2 | 78% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 41 | Scawby Lincolnshire | C− | 25.7 | 68% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 42 | Wylam Northumberland | C− | 1.1 | 74% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 43 | Higher Walton Lancashire | C− | 2.2 | 61% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 44 | Thorney Cambridgeshire | C− | 3.4 | 74% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 45 | Creunant West Glamorgan | C− | 1.7 | 79% | 0.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Pensilva Cornwall | C− | 1.6 | 60% | 1.3 | 15% |
| 47 | Sywell and Overstone Northamptonshire | D | 3.1 | 62% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 48 | Upper Arncott Oxfordshire | D | 3.1 | 59% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 49 | Thurcaston Leicestershire | D | 1.1 | 33% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 50 | Whittlesford Cambridgeshire | D | 2.3 | 57% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 51 | Moulton Lincolnshire | D | 1.9 | 75% | 0.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Ketton Rutland | D | 2.1 | 56% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Balsham Cambridgeshire | D | 1.7 | 57% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 54 | St Erme and Trispen Cornwall | D | 0.3 | 69% | 1.2 | 2% |
| 55 | Findern Derbyshire | D | 1.8 | 40% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 56 | Skirlaugh East Riding of Yorkshire | D | 1 | 85% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Woodborough Nottinghamshire | D− | 1 | 45% | 2 | 0% |
| 58 | Ulceby Lincolnshire | D− | 1.2 | 72% | 0.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Scarcroft West Yorkshire | D− | 0.5 | 15% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Church Fenton North Yorkshire | D− | 0.3 | 50% | 0.7 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Scarcroft’s built-up area.
2 in 10 Scarcroft 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).
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 10 playgrounds are mapped in and around the village, about one for every 163 residents.
The Nidderdale National Landscape is 8.2 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.
Yorkshire Dales National Park covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954.
2 waymarked walks pass through or near Scarcroft
25 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Scarcroft and the kilometre around it, 2.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the village.
Close to home, the Leeds Country Way has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the village.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Scarcroft: May to September
The village’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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 48 | 44 | 49 | 48 | 62 | 56 | 65 | 57 | 64 | 65 | 63 |
March is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 65 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Scarcroft →
10 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the village in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK village its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Scarcroft is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the village.
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
Hills and peaks 4
Nature reserves 2
Plus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
The outdoors in nearby towns
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarcroft | D− | 0.5 | 15% | 0% |
| Thorner 1.2 mi | C+ | 2.1 | 74% | 0% |
| Bardsey 1.4 mi | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 0% |
| Shadwell 1.7 mi | D− | 0.3 | 25% | 0% |
| East Keswick 1.8 mi | D− | 0.2 | 0% | 0% |
| Collingham 2.7 mi | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 0% |
| Scholes (Leeds) 3.0 mi | D | 0.0 | 0% | 0% |
Thorner, 1.2 miles away, grades C+, the best next door: 74% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Thorner and Collingham have at least twice Scarcroft’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Scarcroft
Is Scarcroft near a National Park?
Yes. Yorkshire Dales National Park begins 16 mi north-west of the village’s edge. It covers 2,185 km² and has been a National Park since 1954. The nearest protected landscape of any kind is the Nidderdale National Landscape, 8.2 mi away.
What are the best walks near Scarcroft?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the village, including the Leeds Country Way and East Keskick And Hetchell Wood 6.25 miles 3.5 hours.
What is the nearest beach to Scarcroft?
York Beach, 16 mi from the edge of the village, then Pebble Beach (20 mi). Scarcroft itself is inland.
How many people in Scarcroft live near a park?
15% 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 Scarcroft?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Scarcroft good for walking?
About average for paths: 2.4 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 43% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 5% (0.5 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 Scarcroft’s overall grade.
Where Scarcroft’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.