Walton’s biggest
Walton Colliery Nature Park
Park or garden
78 ha (193 acres)7.3 km of path
1 h 35 minto walk all 7.3 km of path
109 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.4 mi northfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Christine Johnstone · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Walton · parks, paths & countryside
Walton has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 UK towns
Parks and playing fields in Walton add up to 12.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 28 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.0 for every square kilometre. 78% of residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park or playing field. Walton grades B for the outdoors: #37 of 91 in West Yorkshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
12.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
78%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
28 km
3.0 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Peak District National Park
Outdoors grade
Walton grades B for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Walton, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
B
Better than 62% of UK towns#37 of 91 in West Yorkshire · 16th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space12.3 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
97out of
100
100
A park within a walk78%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
43out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape0%of the land within 5 km · None within 5 km
31out of
100
100
Footpaths3.0 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
61out 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
Walton is 16th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 3,100 to 3,400 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
Walton3.0
Towns its size2.3
West Yorkshire towns3.5
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Walton12.3
Towns its size1.7
West Yorkshire towns2.1
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Walton78%
Towns its size78%
West Yorkshire towns87%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Walton stands out most for park space per resident: only 2 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whyteleafe Surrey | A+ | 16.3 | 100% | 4.9 | 15% |
| 2 | Bakewell Derbyshire | A | 5.5 | 91% | 2.7 | 98% |
| 3 | Bignall End Staffordshire | A | 9.1 | 100% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 4 | Broadwell and Coalway Gloucestershire | A | 2.8 | 72% | 5.5 | 38% |
| 5 | Moira Leicestershire | A | 15.5 | 86% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 6 | Neyland Dyfed | A− | 3 | 93% | 1.2 | 13% |
| 7 | Birdwell South Yorkshire | A− | 3.6 | 90% | 4.6 | 0% |
| 8 | North Petherton Somerset | B+ | 3.8 | 91% | 2.3 | 5% |
| 9 | Addingham West Yorkshire | B+ | 1.8 | 93% | 3 | 32% |
| 10 | Newlyn Cornwall | B+ | 1.5 | 67% | 3.2 | 24% |
| 11 | St Agnes Cornwall | B+ | 1 | 81% | 3 | 5% |
| 12 | Markyate Hertfordshire | B+ | 1.4 | 100% | 2.2 | 53% |
| 13 | Mickletown West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 93% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 14 | Elton Cheshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 15 | Madeley Staffordshire | B | 3.8 | 100% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 16 | Walton West Yorkshire | B | 12.3 | 78% | 3 | 0% |
| 17 | Treeton South Yorkshire | B | 4.4 | 63% | 5.3 | 0% |
| 18 | Fishbourne West Sussex | B | 1.9 | 38% | 2.5 | 47% |
| 19 | Fernhill Heath Worcestershire | B | 3.2 | 88% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 20 | Caddington Bedfordshire | B | 1.3 | 81% | 3.6 | 33% |
| 21 | Hemingford Grey Cambridgeshire | B | 1.9 | 100% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 22 | Ringmer East Sussex | B− | 1.9 | 91% | 1.8 | 37% |
| 23 | Pangbourne Berkshire | B− | 2.9 | 61% | 2 | 85% |
| 24 | Askam in Furness Cumbria | B− | 1.7 | 90% | 2 | 0% |
| 25 | Dunton Green Kent | B− | 1 | 82% | 2.7 | 69% |
| 26 | Healing Lincolnshire | B− | 2 | 78% | 1.3 | 1% |
| 27 | Highley Shropshire | C+ | 3.4 | 73% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 28 | Pegswood Northumberland | C+ | 1.3 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 29 | Milborne Port Somerset | C+ | 1.6 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 30 | Leadgate County Durham | C+ | 1.5 | 91% | 1.9 | 1% |
| 31 | West Bergholt Essex | C | 1.5 | 82% | 1.8 | 9% |
| 32 | Marlow Bottom Buckinghamshire | C | 0.5 | 40% | 3.4 | 50% |
| 33 | Ashburton Devon | C | 1.7 | 74% | 1 | 60% |
| 34 | Somersham Cambridgeshire | C | 2.7 | 81% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 35 | Earls Colne Essex | C | 1.4 | 91% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 36 | Bedale North Yorkshire | C | 3.6 | 78% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 37 | Adderbury and Twyford Oxfordshire | C | 1.7 | 89% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Laceby Lincolnshire | C | 1.6 | 64% | 2.1 | 18% |
| 39 | Hadlow Kent | C− | 1.7 | 61% | 2 | 11% |
| 40 | Sapcote Leicestershire | C− | 2.4 | 67% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 41 | Appleby-in-Westmorland Cumbria | C− | 1.2 | 63% | 2.1 | 24% |
| 42 | Bishopthorpe North Yorkshire | C− | 3.2 | 51% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 43 | Yarnton Oxfordshire | C− | 0.4 | 69% | 3 | 0% |
| 44 | Farnsfield Nottinghamshire | C− | 2 | 63% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 45 | Purton Wiltshire | C− | 0.8 | 60% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 46 | Rendlesham Suffolk | C− | 0.8 | 52% | 1.6 | 59% |
| 47 | Astwood Bank Worcestershire | C− | 0.9 | 79% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Navenby Lincolnshire | D | 1.2 | 81% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 49 | Talbot Green Mid Glamorgan | D | 0.7 | 66% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 50 | Messingham Lincolnshire | D | 3.4 | 46% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 51 | Eglwys-Brewis South Glamorgan | D | 0.3 | 0% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 52 | Iver Buckinghamshire | D | 1.3 | 60% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 53 | Tarporley Cheshire | D | 1 | 69% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Eccleshall Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 74% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 55 | Heckington Lincolnshire | D | 1.4 | 68% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 56 | New Tredegar Gwent | D− | 1.4 | 68% | 1.2 | 0% |
| 57 | Headcorn Kent | D− | 1.6 | 48% | 1 | 0% |
| 58 | Dunnington North Yorkshire | D− | 0.8 | 44% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Upper Tean Staffordshire | D− | 0.6 | 60% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Donington Lincolnshire | D− | 0.8 | 54% | 0.8 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Walton’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 Walton
The biggest is Walton Colliery Nature Park, 78 ha (193 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
8 in 10 Walton 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 (78%)Further (22%)
Walton78%
Towns its size78%
West Yorkshire towns87%
All UK towns83%
About 700 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 13 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 251 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 13 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 Walton
28 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Walton and the kilometre around it, 3.0 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
RegionalOther waymarked
Trans-Pennine Trail (Wombwell to Leeds)8.2 km
Wakefield Way7.6 km
Walton 20.6 km
2 regional routes pass through, including the Trans-Pennine Trail (Wombwell to Leeds) and Wakefield 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 Walton: 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 | 17.0 | 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) | 49 | 48 | 47 | 49 | 48 | 66 | 60 | 64 | 56 | 66 | 67 | 64 |
March is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 21 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 67 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 36 nights a year. The climate in Walton →
Things to do
13 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
Walton is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Doncaster Lakeside Beach17 mi from Walton’s edge
DirectionsBeach at Doncaster Lakeside17 mi from Walton’s edge
DirectionsSea Lions20 mi from Walton’s edge
DirectionsYork Beach26 mi from Walton’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.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 13
Plus 13 playgrounds 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.
CroftonSharlstonCrigglestone and DurkarHavercroft and RyhillHall GreenWakefieldWalton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walton | B | 12.3 | 78% | 0% |
| Crofton 1.5 mi | B+ | 3.6 | 95% | 0% |
| Sharlston 2.4 mi | B+ | 4.9 | 93% | 0% |
| Crigglestone and Durkar 2.7 mi | B− | 4.4 | 45% | 0% |
| Havercroft and Ryhill 2.8 mi | C | 1.6 | 81% | 0% |
| Hall Green 2.8 mi | B+ | 7.5 | 82% | 0% |
| Wakefield 2.9 mi | B+ | 3.9 | 86% | 0% |
Wakefield, 2.9 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: 86% of its residents live within 400 m of a park. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Walton
What is the biggest park in Walton?
Walton Colliery Nature Park, 78 ha (193 acres), with 7.3 km of path. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Walton 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.
What are the best walks near Walton?
3 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Trans-Pennine Trail (Wombwell to Leeds), Wakefield Way and Walton 2. Walton Colliery Nature Park alone has 7.3 km of path.
What is the nearest beach to Walton?
Doncaster Lakeside Beach, 17 mi from the edge of the town, then Beach at Doncaster Lakeside (17 mi). Walton itself is inland.
How many people in Walton live near a park?
78% 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 Walton?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Walton good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.0 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 61% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 97% (12.3 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 Walton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Walton’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.