Photo: Jon Farman · Public domainParks and walks in Thornton
Parks and playing fields in Thornton add up to 0.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. 54% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. 44 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 3.1 for every square kilometre. Thornton grades D for the outdoors: #89 of 91 in West Yorkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Thornton grades D for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Thornton, 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.
Thornton is 54th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 5,200 to 5,600 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Thornton stands out most for path per km²: only 17 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 56 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ventnor Isle of Wight | A+ | 4.5 | 61% | 3.7 | 25% |
| 2 | St Ives Cornwall | A | 0.8 | 89% | 3.5 | 24% |
| 3 | Budleigh Salterton Devon | A− | 2.7 | 70% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 4 | Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire | A− | 5.6 | 90% | 4 | 0% |
| 5 | Hoylake Merseyside | A− | 3.5 | 83% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 6 | Brotton North Yorkshire | A− | 1.4 | 89% | 3 | 2% |
| 7 | Eynsham Oxfordshire | A− | 3 | 94% | 2.8 | 1% |
| 8 | Steyning West Sussex | A− | 1.6 | 86% | 3.7 | 58% |
| 9 | Merley Dorset | B+ | 3.9 | 64% | 4.1 | 6% |
| 10 | Highbridge Somerset | B+ | 2.9 | 83% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 11 | Carlton in Lindrick Nottinghamshire | B+ | 9 | 95% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 12 | Sonning Common Oxfordshire | B+ | 2.6 | 60% | 3.7 | 74% |
| 13 | Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire | B+ | 3.1 | 61% | 3.8 | 29% |
| 14 | Llantwit Major South Glamorgan | B+ | 3.2 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 15 | Drighlington West Yorkshire | B+ | 4.1 | 92% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 16 | Whitchurch Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 3.3 | 43% |
| 17 | Cottam Lancashire | B+ | 6.4 | 92% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 18 | New Alresford Hampshire | B+ | 2 | 94% | 2.3 | 38% |
| 19 | Waverley and Catcliffe South Yorkshire | B+ | 8.8 | 65% | 5 | 0% |
| 20 | Shrivenham and Watchfield Oxfordshire | B+ | 3.5 | 96% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 21 | Dartmouth Devon | B+ | 2.1 | 71% | 1.8 | 45% |
| 22 | Newent Gloucestershire | B+ | 3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 23 | Battle East Sussex | B+ | 1.7 | 64% | 4.3 | 84% |
| 24 | Benson Oxfordshire | B | 6 | 44% | 2.3 | 50% |
| 25 | Askern South Yorkshire | B | 8.5 | 100% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 26 | Longstanton and Northstowe Cambridgeshire | B | 4.3 | 86% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 27 | Rowlands Gill Tyne and Wear | B | 4.9 | 84% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Shinfield Berkshire | B | 1.6 | 100% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 29 | Llandrindod Wells Powys | B− | 4.5 | 88% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire | B− | 1.6 | 84% | 7.8 | 0% |
| 31 | Midhurst West Sussex | C+ | 0.3 | 28% | 4.3 | 100% |
| 32 | Brynmawr Gwent | C+ | 1.2 | 68% | 2.9 | 45% |
| 33 | Broseley Shropshire | C+ | 1.2 | 74% | 3.4 | 8% |
| 34 | Quorndon Leicestershire | C+ | 2.7 | 81% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 35 | Helsby Cheshire | C+ | 1.4 | 66% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Rainford Merseyside | C+ | 2.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Oakley Hampshire | C | 1.7 | 56% | 2.6 | 21% |
| 38 | Coningsby and Tattershall Lincolnshire | C | 2.7 | 79% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 39 | Bovingdon Hertfordshire | C | 1.4 | 55% | 2.3 | 26% |
| 40 | Shevington Greater Manchester | C | 1.8 | 73% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 41 | Waterbeach Cambridgeshire | C | 1.5 | 94% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 42 | Looe Cornwall | C− | 0.1 | 47% | 1.7 | 6% |
| 43 | Welshpool Powys | C− | 2.6 | 82% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 44 | Ludgershall Wiltshire | C− | 0.7 | 72% | 1.9 | 32% |
| 45 | Llangefni Gwynedd | C− | 1.8 | 95% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 46 | Ingatestone Essex | C− | 3.2 | 56% | 2 | 0% |
| 47 | Measham Leicestershire | C− | 1.3 | 83% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Littlestone-on-Sea Kent | C− | 1.4 | 37% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 49 | Long Sutton Lincolnshire | D | 2.2 | 81% | 0.7 | 0% |
| 50 | Takeley and Little Canfield Essex | D | 1 | 45% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 51 | Potton Bedfordshire | D | 1.3 | 77% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 52 | Blackrod Greater Manchester | D | 1 | 83% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 53 | Wigton Cumbria | D | 2.4 | 65% | 1 | 0% |
| 54 | Thornton West Yorkshire | D | 0.4 | 54% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 55 | Pontardawe West Glamorgan | D | 2.3 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 56 | Treherbert Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.2 | 73% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 57 | Eye Cambridgeshire | D | 1.4 | 77% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 58 | Winslow Buckinghamshire | D− | 1.4 | 59% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Ravenshead Nottinghamshire | D− | 0.1 | 0% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirton Lincolnshire | D− | 0.6 | 58% | 0.5 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Thornton’s built-up area.
5 in 10 Thornton 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 2,500 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 14 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 386 residents.
The Nidderdale National Landscape is 9.1 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 Thornton
44 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Thornton and the kilometre around it, 3.1 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 Bronte Way.
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 Thornton: 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 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 113 | 107 | 95 | 76 | 71 | 91 | 88 | 104 | 102 | 120 | 130 | 145 |
May is the driest month (71 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 145 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 53 nights a year. The climate in Thornton →
2 viewpoints, 14 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
Thornton 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.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
Playgrounds 14
Plus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Slipways 3
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton | D | 0.4 | 54% | 0% |
| Queensbury 1.8 mi | B | 2.6 | 91% | 0% |
| Wilsden 2.1 mi | D | 0.6 | 61% | 0% |
| Denholme 2.1 mi | B | 1.6 | 100% | 0% |
| Cullingworth 3.0 mi | C− | 1.1 | 72% | 0% |
| Shelf and Northowram 3.3 mi | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 0% |
| Bradford 3.6 mi | C+ | 1.4 | 88% | 0% |
Shelf and Northowram, 3.3 miles away, grades A−, the best next door: 88% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. Queensbury, Denholme and Cullingworth have at least twice Thornton’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Thornton
Is Thornton near a National Park?
Yes. Yorkshire Dales National Park begins 11 mi north of the town’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, 9.1 mi away.
What are the best walks near Thornton?
2 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Bronte Way and Bradford Millennium Way.
What is the nearest beach to Thornton?
Treasure Beach, 12 mi from the edge of the town, then Car Park Beach (23 mi). Thornton itself is inland.
How many people in Thornton live near a park?
54% 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 Thornton?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Thornton good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 62% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 4% (0.4 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 Thornton’s overall grade.
Where Thornton’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.